Dan Quinn effectively confirmed the long-held expectation the Commanders will be likely to draft a quarterback this year. While the new Washington HC did not indicate that move would necessarily come at No. 2 overall, that should be expected.
Which passer the NFC East team will take may be this year’s most intriguing first-round development. With the Bears almost definitely set to draft Caleb Williams first overall, a Jayden Daniels-or-Drake Maye question persists for the Commanders. But the J.J. McCarthy rise may have reached the point where Washington’s No. 2 draft slot pertains to the recent national championship-winning passer.
A number of executives at this week’s league meetings view McCarthy as the most likely Commanders choice at No. 2, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero offers (video link). This would certainly be a considerable jump from where McCarthy was viewed as Michigan’s unbeaten season wound down, but the 21-year-old prospect has continued to climb during the pre-draft process.
McCarthy impressed at his pro day, with Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline noting the number of NFL execs topped the scout count at the Ann Arbor event. The Chargers trading out of No. 5 to a team aiming to leapfrog the Giants for McCarthy should be considered in play, per Pauline. The Commanders making this sort of move would obviously make this scenario moot, though it would be a different move compared to how the 49ers played it when Adam Peters last offered input into a quarterback decision near the top of the draft.
The 2021 draft featured Trevor Lawrence locked in at No. 1 for months in advance, and the Jets’ Zach Wilson intentions became clear weeks ahead of the event. The 49ers, who had traded two future first-rounders to move up to No. 3, went with Trey Lance. This came after reports linked Mac Jones to San Francisco. Viewed as a lower-ceiling prospect compared to Lance at the time, Jones did not profile as a player worthy of the No. 3 pick. This is believed to have impacted the 49ers’ thinking, as Kyle Shanahan may or may not have been overruled regarding Jones at 3.
Neither of those passers panned out with his original team, but the 49ers giving up on Lance after two years (four starts) proved eye-opening. The miss did not deter the Commanders from naming Peters their president of football ops, however, and he faces a similar decision in his first draft running Washington’s front office.
McCarthy has already met with the Giants and Broncos, but those teams would not have a route toward outflanking the Commanders for the fast-rising ex-Wolverine. Jim Harbaugh did not ask his final Michigan QB to do too much, and he totaled just 2,991 passing yards in 15 games last season. But the 6-foot-2 passer showed accuracy improvement from the 2022 season, vaulting to a 72.3% completion rate; his TD-INT ratios in two starter seasons: 22-5, 22-4.
Daniel Jeremiah’s most recent NFL.com mock draft has Maye going to Washington at No. 2 (with the Vikings coming up to No. 4 for McCarthy), while Mel Kiper Jr.’s ESPN.com big board sends Daniels to the nation’s capital. We are still weeks away from the draft, with prospect visit season beginning.
On that note, SI.com’s Albert Breer indicates Daniels is believed to hold pole position for the Commanders, citing the fit with OC Kliff Kingsbury as part of the reason behind this placement. The 2023 Heisman winner joined McCarthy in upping his draft stock considerably in his final college season, dominating in his second year at LSU. The Raiders have been the team most closely connected to Daniels, due to Antonio Pierce‘s past with the QB when the two were at Arizona State. Las Vegas sitting at No. 13 obviously presents a steep trade path to Daniels.
But the Commanders would have first dibs on Daniels, Maye or McCarthy; as of now, FanDuel odds give Daniels a slight edge on Maye. McCarthy’s rise should certainly be monitored, however, and it has become clear a team eyeing the Michigan-developed passer will probably need to move into or near the top five to draft him.
Do it! Draft JJ at #2! He wins big games.
Why not McCarthy to the Bears at #1?
Surrounded by talent when many of the teams he played were not. Was he that good or did his teammates make the difference? That’s one reason why QBs from championship teams rarely get picked early on…
It’ll be absolutely wild if Drake Maye somehow ends up QB4 in this class.
It’s hard to know what to believe leading up to the draft, but I don’t buy they’re going to take McCarthy at #2.
I don’t put it beyond Washington to make a totally stupid pick at #2.
“Trust the Process” …… The Josh Harris mantra.
So the process with the 76ers and Devil’s included a surrender of short term victories for future success and trading off commodities for future draft stock. Both those occurred this year with the Commanders.
Right now, one would have to think that the pick is weighing heavy on analytics. Since Josh Harris has raised the cost of ticket’s for this season, the analytics have better be paying attention to what pick will put butt’s in the seats.
Sadly, the Devils have regressed significantly from the success they enjoyed last season. The problem I have with analytics is they can’t measure dedication, determination and the will to overcome adversity…qualities that define champions.
They only draft him trading back. Washington fans would go nuts he’s drafted #2
Only if he doesn’t pan out. I mean it’s starting to look like QB will be the first 4 picks or 4 of the first 5 picks. So Washington should draft the QB they think will be the best NFL QB. Regardless of what the fans want….
Drafting McCarthy no. overall to play on a team almost completely devoid of talent is a sure fire to guarantee you will continue to pick at or near the top of the draft for years to come
More than half the QBs drafted in the first round turn out to be duds. This draft class will be no different.
Still worth the gamble if you are a QB needy team. Take your shot.
I do think at least 2-3 of the top 6 QBs will wind up as busts/career backups but it’s also not often when the QB class is this highly regarded. A lot of QBs drafted in the first get drafted higher than they should because of how desperate teams are to find the next franchise QB. I think in almost any other year you would see the Commanders and Patriots either trade down or take the best available player but its kind of a perfect storm where you have 3 QBs with legit top 10-15 pick grades on them and the top three teams all badly need a QB.
Imo McCarthy, Nix, and Penix should be late firsts (mainly for the 5th year option) or second round picks. But the amount of teams that need or are potentially looking for a QB, at least 3 teams and probably more, likely means at least 1 and probably 2 of those QBs get taken earlier than they should.
I like Penix more the JJ or Bo Nix. The only concern is his injury history. But he played his last 2 seasons at Washington without getting hurt.
Rumor can certainly help the Cardinals.
Just noise
I’m sure it is, but there’s always that GM in Jacksonville…
I remember being 12 going on 13 trying out for babe Ruth, I was no stud but hot damn did I have a great try out n got picked. Needless to say I sucked at 13-14 n took till I was 15 n actually got big enough to handle that talent level. Needless to say tryouts can be very deceiving.
Hate all you want ppl least I can give a true testimonial y’all just get hard on here being tough guys. Suck it.
You tried out for Babe Ruth?? In what 1940?? Are you saying you’re almost a 100 years old?? Lol
Tell us you’ve never played youth sports….without telling us you’ve never played youth sports.
Tell me you can’t take a joke, without telling me you can’t take a joke.
Jokes are usually funny
I found it pretty funny..doesn’t that count for something?? lol
Good lord, it’s a comments section about football rumors. It isn’t all that serious..
you found it funny because it was funny – I got a chuckle out of it
JJ is this year’s Mac Jones. Overrated talent who won a lot in college with a stacked team that’s getting pre draft hype.
If you want to try and either troll OR back up an opinion that JJ will not succeed in the NFL, the most apt comparison is Marcus Mariota, if anybody.
Mac Jones and JJ McCarthy is like Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes as far as QB skillsets. (No, im not saying JJ is Mahomes, just that his traits and strengths, like arm strength and agility,
Mirror the diff btw Mahomes and Smith when he was 1st drafted
Mac Jones arm is garbage.
I don’t watch college sports but the track record of QB’s on top teams is not very good.
They go from a lower level where they had it too easy to the hardest league in the world and get exposed more often than not.
I don’t think the issue is QBs “had it too easy”, imo the issue is QBs getting drafted in the top 10 are often getting picked by teams who are picking there because they are bad. Bad ownership, bad front office, bad coaching, no weapons, no oline, no defense…take your pick really. Most rookie QBs probably need at least a year on the bench to acclimate to the NFL to adjust to the quicker speed of the rest of the players on the field and to adjust to the complexity of offensive and defensive schemes from college to the pros. But they’re often rushed to be named the starter their rookie year when they aren’t ready and the team outside of the QB is just bad. Of the 300+ rookies that join the league every year, there might be 1-2 dozen players that are truly ready to be big contributors to their team.
My premise is that QB’s from lesser programs often have to carry those teams and end up being better prepared for the pros (and thus, often better pros) than guys who were just one of many cogs in well oiled machines.
I just don’t think there is any way to separate who’s a driver and who’s a passenger on elite college teams that steam roll their competition and not (often) worth the draft risk.
The QB’s don’t mean anything if you don’t have an OC and QB’s coach who recognize and devise a system catered to his needs and strengths. If Patrick Mahommes had been drafted by the Bears with who they had for coaches then, He would have been a gigantic flop. He goes to Andy Reid and now he’s in Canton 5 years after he quits. It’s where, When and how when it comes to the draft. Why the Bears should trade back and build a team that can’t fail first. They’ve made a good start.
Mac Jones definitely had a lot of offensive help guys constantly drafted in 1st 2nd round
Jj McCarthy did not have that level of talent on his teams. Not even close. Been a minute since Michigan sent a 1st round offensive player last couple drafts. Highest I think is as TE in the 2nd with many guys falling to 3rd or below picks.
JJ had no talent around him? LOL, he was the least skilled player on an offense stacked with pro-caliber prospects. He’ll be a backup in two years (or less).
Same level of talent =\= no talent
Reading comprehension is important
Alabama has sent
Young Gibbs Neal Williams Metchie Waddle Smith Jones Leatherwood Harris Dickerson Tagovailoa Wills Jr Ruggs Jeudy to the NFL as 1st ir 2nd round offensive draft picks since 2020
Michigan has sent Cesar Ruiz and Luke Schoonmaker as 1st or 2nd round draft picks in that time span.
Thats 15 vs 2. So no Michigan has not had the same level of talent Alabama has had on offense.
Collins just got 1300 yards when Stroud showed up in Houston, and he never cracked 850 at Michigan. Some of that is Harbaugh’s philosophy, but McCarthy needs a lot of work. He has the physical tools, but anyone thinking he’s a guy who starts early and has success is kidding themselves. He has a lot of mechanical issues with his game.
That’s fine.
I’m not arguing McCarthy is going to be the Stroud
I am saying Alabama has had significantly better offensive pieces than Michigan has. Proven by the fact they’ve sent an entire offense worth of 1st and 2nd round picks to the NFL.
Michigan in contrast has not. Their picks have been 3rd or below, 12 to be exact
15 1st or 2nd round picks for Alabama
12 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th round picks for Michigan
On offense since 2020
What they do at the NFL level 3 years after being drafted has no bearing on what made them a 1st 2nd…..7th round pick based on college production.
Does McCarthy have issues with his game? Sure.
Did he have a stacked team around him at Michigan? On defense sure. Plenty of guys were high draft picks based on college production. Not offense.
Again. We are talking college production. Not what they accomplish at the NFL being coached by new teams 2, 3 years after being drafted.
I think the talent around them is irrelevant in what you’re talking about though. Mac Jones wasn’t a first round pick based on physical traits. He had a popgun arm and did nothing exceptional. I still am figuring out how people talked him into the first round. Belichick clearly knew this and hid him as long as he could, but the league catches up with everyone. McCarthy is a five-star athlete who as you said just operated the game plan of his conservative offensive head coach. I wouldn’t spend a first rounder on him, but it is justified if you are determined to take a QB just because you know physically he could be a Joe Flacco or name your physically gifted QB from the past who needs more refinement to be good at the next level and you think your coaching staff can get him there once you get him in the building. No different than the Anthony Richardson gamble a year ago except McCarthy is a different profile athlete. Both of them have big learning curves, but the payoff will be good if you do it right.
Kraft forced BB to draft Mac Jones.
Except….
There is NOTHING comparable in their skill sets OR personality
JJ is an exceptional athlete with legit upper tier arm strength–neither of which was Mac Jones. Additionally JJ ran read option and screens way way more than Jones did at Bama. If you want a cherry on top of why your post is dumb a.f.–UM/JJ didn’t have a fraction of the WR talent that Jones did in college. So the whole “stacked team” comparison doesn’t work when UM was stacked on the defensive and offensive lines primarily.
McCarthy was in the perfect system in college. Michigan ran the ball a ton & he rarely was asked to win games with his arm. Heck, he didn’t even throw a pass in the 2nd half of their win over Penn State. Can McCarthy win a game with his arm? That is the big question. He may have a successful career in the NFL, but I don’t know if he can succeed in Washington.
Yeah. By the time he’s realistically ready from where he is now, everybody there will have gotten fired because they need almost everything. Most QBs can’t handle that and keep progressing as a player with no results on the field. Next thing you know, beat writers are constantly referencing that he’s 8-28, 8-29, 8-30, etc. as a starter and no one believes in him from coaching to the players to the fan base. Now, it’s a make or break third year, blah, blah, blah. You see it all the time and why most of these guys bust.
Verbal posturing. If they really want him they’ll trade back. No chance he goes number 2 though.
The McCarthy surge is being generated by Arizona and/or the Chargers to get a big haul. This is similar to a few years back when Malik Willis “surged” into the top 10 of all the mock drafts.
There is absolutely no comp between the two. You are just spewing nonsense at this point bro
High degree of difficulty, but they could try to add an extra pick by trading out and then coming back up for Cardinals or Chargers spot if their guy is still there.
No, the Vikings are very clearly going to take him if they can trade up with someone.
He was gold at the scouting combine. 62 MPH on his throws. I would take him No. 2 overall.
For quarterbacks all about coach / system. Bears will -probably wreck Williams just like fields. Actually Mahomes probably failed If he end up in Chicago.
Maye is dropping for several reasons: he (like Howell) never played under center at UNC. He’s never learned how to red coverages from that perspective. OL play was awful,so he had to make several throws a game under duress or take too many sacks. Maybe if he drops to a team that can provide protection and teach him the position he’ll be a solid QB1. But he didn’t get what he deserved at Chapel Hill.
I wonder if they are setting the table for a trade offer.
After trading down they get to say ,” He was our guy all along!”
When in reality he wasn’t, but they got extra picks to draft someone slightly lower rated.
But honestly, this kind of talk happens every year. You never know when a team is lying.
Williams is too fumble prone and he’s gonna be a bust. You can bet one of Daniels, Maye and McCarthy are gonna be a bust as well. So knowing this is typically the history with first round QBs why make a massive investment in draft capital knowing you gpt a 50% chance of drafting the next Zach Wilson when you got several big time WRs who are gonna hit. Give me Harrison, Nabors or Odunze all day long out of this draft. I like Daniels and Maye but I’m not sold on this QB group as a whole.
Bad franchises make bad decisions.
The cardinals are foaming at the mouth hoping this happens. Their #4 pick would instantly become more valuable knowing a non JJ QB would fall.
Williams will be by far the best out of the bunch only downside will be some of the gunslinger attitude may cause turnovers. This has all the makings of the 2020 NFL draft. Zach Wilson/Trey Lance jumped up the boards post season and Justin Fields was actually the 4th QB taken. The Bears have set Williams up with Moore/Allen and Swift and Allen already knowing Williams will allow him to educate him on the speed of the NFL. If I was Washington I’d be lurking in the weeds with an offer for #1 if the Bears hesitate at all. If they’d take the #2, #36 and #40 I’d do it in a heartbeat, just not giving away future capital.
The Bears bet on Williams being more Patrick Mahomes than Baker Mayfield, and I think they’re going to get closer to the latter when it’s said and done. Williams reminds me very much of Baker coming out.
I can see a practice being a deciding factor over 2 same players.
but…I never understand, how one good pro day,
Can mean a sizeable jump in draft. Over other players who have production.
There are some players who have multiple years to evaluate. Versus a practice.
I don’t have the answers, but it still mystifies me that talent evaluators still miss so often on QB, despite mostly agreeing on separate skills needed, and even having those same skills measured regularly.
The pro day is about seeing the guy make throws he didn’t make in college due the scheme, etc. A lot of great college tape doesn’t translate to the pros.