Jim Harbaugh: J.J. McCarthy Best QB in NFL Draft and Pro Day is 'Best I've Ever Seen'
March 25, 2024
New Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is still stumping for his former quarterback at Michigan, J.J. McCarthy, who enters the 2024 NFL draft as a likely first-round pick.
He told reporters on Monday that McCarthy's Pro Day was "the best I've ever seen."
"Not only were his feet great, individual drills, but then he started throwing and every throw was right there. ... That was the best throwing day I've ever seen," he said. "Hearing coaches and GMs come up to me saying, 'Great job with J.J.' Like I predicted. Once they were around him—I was hearing stories about how he is on the board, on the field, the little things, the intangibles. It was absolutely no surprise whatsoever. There was raving."
Harbaugh didn't stop there, saying he thought McCarthy was the top quarterback available in this year's draft:
Harbaugh won't be working with his former Michigan signal-caller in Los Angeles. The Chargers already have an excellent option in Justin Herbert and likely will use the No. 5 selection to address other needs on the roster, like wide receiver or offensive line.
They may have their pick of the top non-quarterbacks at that selection, with a lot of buzz suggesting that quarterbacks could be the first four players off the board.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheetNew <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chargers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chargers</a> coach Jim Harbaugh notes "there is talk of four QBs going in the first four picks." That would mean No. 5 "is like the first pick of the draft." <br><br>Clearly excited about the options at his draft slot. "We know we got a great player that's gonna be there."
McCarthy ostensibly would be one of them, alongside USC's Caleb Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels and North Carolina's Drake Maye, although not necessarily in that order.
As for Harbaugh's comments, they don't come as a huge surprise for two reasons. One, he won a national championship with McCarthy at Michigan, so seeing him go to bat for his former player—especially since he isn't tipping his team's hand ahead of the draft, with Herbert already in place—is to be expected.
But two, the general consensus has been that the Michigan quarterback indeed nailed his Pro Day:
Thor Nystrom @thorkuJJ McCarthy is not a top-10 pick because he had a good combine and a good pro day and he is interviewing well.<br><br>He entered this process as a top-10 prospect. It's all over his tape. The narrative is merely catching up to reality. <a href="https://t.co/O2krObBlBO">https://t.co/O2krObBlBO</a>
"I just wanted to showcase the questions they had about out-breakers to the left and putting some air on the deep posts, stuff like that," McCarthy told reporters regarding his Pro Day performance. "I felt like I did that today. I'm pretty confident with the showing I put out there."
Time will tell where it lands him in the draft. He certainly has a wide range of projections. The B/R NFL Scouting Department ranked him as the No. 54 player on its latest big board, fourth among quarterbacks. Players at the position are generally drafted early and often, however, given their importance to teams.
In Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft for NFL.com, for instance, he projected the Minnesota Vikings to trade up to the No. 4 overall pick and select McCarthy. It's a scenario that wouldn't be a huge surprise given the continued ascent of his draft status.