Joel Klatt: Jim Harbaugh could decide where JJ McCarthy plays in NFL
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh and former Michigan Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy will get a lot of attention when the NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night. On The Joel Klatt Show this week, host Joel Klatt believes that Harbaugh, the former head coach of the Wolverines, holds McCartrhy’s NFL fate in his hands because the Minnesota Vikings could trade up to No. 5 overall in the draft, which is where the Chargers are currently picking.
“Jim Harbaugh holds the keys to where his college quarterback is going to play,” Klatt said. “I would be shocked if they aren’t in communication. I think that Jim Harbaugh in a lot of ways wishes he could take JJ McCarthy. They won’t do that. They’re not going to trade Justin Herbert.”
Klatt continued: “The problem is that the money doesn’t work. You would owe Herbert too much and he would count against your cap too much in the next couple of years in order to trade him and move on and go with a younger quarterback. But I don’t think that they have totally abandoned that type of thinking because Jim Harbaugh loves JJ McCarthy for obvious reasons.
Klatt went on to explain why Minnesota should trade with the Chargers to select McCarthy. He said, “Minnesota is the best place to go for any of the young quarterbacks, even Caleb Williams.”
Jim Harbaugh could help JJ McCarthy play for the Vikings
Klatt, who was doing a mock draft during his show, projected the Vikings trading with the Chargers to get the No. 5 pick and take McCarthy. “Because Jim loves him, he makes that trade and sets him up in a position to succeed,” Klatt explained.
Harbaugh and McCarthy had a lot of success together in college, winning the national championship at Michigan last year. But as Klatt mentioned, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter is confident that the two will not be together in the NFL.
“Now, would Jim Harbaugh love to have [McCarthy]? Sure. They just signed Justin Herbert to a contract extension last summer,” Schefter said on ESPN’s Get Up. “They are not drafting JJ McCarthy and I don’t know why those odds would spike like that. Might there be a quarterback that goes at the five spot? Yes, I could see the Chargers trading their spot for a team that wants to move into that spot to go draft JJ McCarthy. That, certainly, is possible, but the Los Angeles Chargers will not, will not, will not draft a quarterback at number five on Thursday night.”
On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.