Field Yates, Mel Kiper defend J.J. McCarthy's spot in mock draft

J.J. McCarthy has become a polarizing prospect in terms of quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, at this point of the process, Field Yates and Mel Kiper Jr. hope that some teams aren’t going to pick him too highly just for the sake of doing so.

Yates and Kiper Jr. assessed McCarthy’s stock in this upcoming draft in an episode of ‘First Draft’ last week. While they had him going No. 12 to the Denver Broncos, they agreed that it would be a reach by the franchise considering the pickle that they’re now in at the position and as far as capital in terms of picks.

“He at 12? You and I both agree to this, Mel. I’m going to speak out of both sides of my mouth here and I’m okay with that. It’s a reach relative to my board – 27th on my big board right now,” said Yates. “However, Mel, it’s also a justifiable reach for this reason. If you’re the Denver Broncos? You’re moving on from Russell Wilson. That much we know or at least we assume. Who is the player that you can acquire that you can upgrade at the quarterback spot over Jarrett Stidham, who would be the leftover quarterback once Russ is released? The options are scant.”

“The Denver Broncos are equipped with a total of six picks this year – six picks and no second-round pick! So, if you don’t take a quarterback at 12? He ain’t going to be there at Pick 75 or whatever that third-round pick would be that you presently own,” Yates explained. “The Broncos are kind of backed into a corner and I think somebody else would come, swoop in, and take J.J McCarthy because they’re right after Minnesota, right before the Raiders. There are enough teams, Pittsburgh included at Pick 20, that you’re saying to yourself, ‘They’re in the quarterback market? We can’t wait around’. I think that J.J. McCarthy’s floor is now Pick 12, even if I don’t agree with it, by overall value.”

Kiper Jr. concurred in his response by saying worth at his position is what is driving this recent rise for McCarthy. With that being the case, he’s concerned that a team is going to pick him far too early rather than getting a player that they truly want based on their assessment of the class.

“It’s only positional value. I’m at 23 on J.J. McCarthy, you say you’re at 27. I can’t take a 23rd guy on my board at 12 because, at 12, I’ve always believed that you’ve got to get somebody inside your Top-10,” said Kiper Jr. “All the ratings are different. So, if you’re picking at 12? I got my sixth-best player, I got my seventh-best player – you hear it all the time if you’re being truthful. I don’t know. Sometimes they do revisionist history with their ratings but that’s what you always hear.”

“You don’t want to have to pick at 12 and get the 23rd player or the 27th player,” Kiper Jr. said. “You say, ‘Well, it’s a quarterback?’, positional value. The most important position in any sport is quarterback in the National Football League. I get all that but when you rank these players, Field, it protects you against overdrafting a player. That’s why you do it. This is overdrafting a quarterback.”

Both analysts are fine with the pick if a franchise indeed sees McCarthy as among their top picks. Still, based on where its trending, both are expecting some team to reach too high for the former Wolverine come draft night on April 25th.

“If Minnesota or, say, Denver or whoever it may be, Atlanta at eight, has him way up there or right behind Drake Maye at four on their board? Or ahead of Drake Maye? I get it. You take him,” Kiper Jr. said. “But if they have him at 23 like I do or 27 like you do? You cannot make that move.”

“You can’t do it. I feel that same way. You can’t overdraft that much,” said Yates. “I do think the end result is J.J. McCarthy goes much higher than most people currently think.”