Mel Kiper breaks down fit between J.J. McCarthy, Denver Broncos
Russell Wilson is out, and Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos are in need of a new franchise quarterback. Currently holding the No. 12 overall pick, could Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy be the right guy at the right time for Denver?
Longtime ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. certainly believes so, as he slotted the reigning College Football Playoff national champion right there for the Broncos to select. He broke down his decision to fellow analyst Field Yates during an appearance on NFL on ESPN.
“Denver makes sense to me,” Kiper Jr. told Yates. “You think about Sean Payton in that division (AFC West), you think about where we are in AFC. Where are they going to go after quarterback Russell Wilson isn’t going be back? Who is Denver’s quarterback going to be? They could could try to trade up. Good luck on that. If [Denver] sits where they are, maybe McCarthy’s gone.”
Kiper Jr. asked Yates where he could see McCarthy going if not for Denver. He responded with the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8. However, in that scenario Yates has Justin Fields going to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears sticking with No. 1 and taking Caleb Williams.
At the same time, Yates believes the best fit for Fields would be Atlanta. However, McCarthy is the next best thing. Regardless of who drafts him, McCarthy has a few statistics to back up why he can be useful for either Denver, Atlanta or any team that wants to take the chance and draft him.
McCarthy was wildly successful as a starting quarterback for Michigan, taking over the job after winning an open competition with Cade McNamara prior to the 2022 season. He guided Michigan to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff berths. He’s only lost as a starting quarterback in the CFP.
In nearly two seasons as the starter, McCarthy has been a highly efficient but low-volume passer, relative to other top quarterbacks. He completed 64.6% of his 322 attempts in 2022 for 2719 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He bumped up his completion percentage to 74.2% in 2023 on 287 pass attempts for 2630 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.
McCarthy now awaits April 25 when the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft takes place. He’s expected to be one of several quarterbacks to be selected in the early first round.