Could J.J. McCarthy Land in Washington? NFL Insiders Reporting a Potential Surprise Pick by the Commanders at No. 2

The 2024 NFL Draft is just a month away, and as the days get closer, the rumors get louder. However, they’ve gotten just as surprising. While at the NFL‘s annual league meeting, NFL insiders reported that J.J. McCarthy, the former Michigan quarterback, could find his way to Washington, D.C., with the second overall pick. What are the rumors?

Insiders Claim J.J. McCarthy Could Be Drafted by the Washington Commanders

Ever since the 2023 NFL season ended, the Washington Commanders have been in line for the second-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. They’re preceded by the Chicago Bears and followed by the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.

However, despite not having the top pick and likely missing out on USC’s Caleb Williams, the team is still expected to take a quarterback — especially considering they traded 2023 starter Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks at the beginning of free agency.

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— Luke Braun (temporary college basketball fan) (@LukeBraunNFL) March 25, 2024

With Williams likely off the board, that leaves three main options: Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and McCarthy. For a majority of the process, it was believed to be between Maye and Daniels, but that might have changed.

“It’s been really interesting because everybody’s always trying to find out, especially at the top of the draft, what the other teams are doing,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network said at the NFL’s annual league meeting.

“When I’ve had conversations here with executives from other teams who know [Commanders general manager] Adam Peters well and understand the situation well, the most popular answer for what they do at No. 2 is J.J. McCarthy,” Pelissero said.

What Is McCarthy’s Draft Stock?

For McCarthy, this offseason has been the story of his meteoric rise to the top. Coming in, there was minimal belief he’d be a top pick, but that’s drastically changed since then. According to PFN Draft Analyst Ian Cummings, McCarthy is the fourth-best quarterback in the draft and the seventh-best player overall.

While he has risen highly, especially due to his recent pro day, this still does mean it would be a surprise to see McCarthy go second overall over both Daniels and Maye. That would also mean that the Patriots and a potential trade suitor with the Cardinals could have the opportunity to get those two for themselves.

“I think he’s the best quarterback in the draft,” Jim Harbaugh said at the league meeting. “That’s just what I think, just my opinion. He’s the one who plays quarterback. Of all the quarterbacks that are in the draft, and there’s great quarterbacks in the draft, I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft.”

Harbaugh was recently hired by the Los Angeles Chargers after his stint coaching both Michigan and J.J. McCarthy. “I’ve been to a lot of pro day workouts and watched quarterbacks throw, that was the best I’ve ever seen a quarterback do at a pro day,” Harbaugh said of his former quarterback.

“They all had a great day, but that was the best throwing day I’ve ever seen, and then to hear coaches and GMs come up to me and say, ‘Hey, great job with J.J.,'” Harbaugh said.

“Like I predicted, once they were around him, I was hearing the stories about how he is on the board, how he is on the field, the little things. The intangibles. It was absolutely no surprise whatsoever, but there was raving,” Harbaugh said.

KEEP READING: ESPN Analyst Claims Michigan Quarterback Is ‘Lock’ for Top-5 Pick

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