JJ McCarthy Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

School: Michigan

Class: Junior

Position: QB

HT: 6’2

WT: 219 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #89

Background: JJ McCarthy was regarded as a 5-star prospect by some outlets. He is from La Grange Park, Illinois and attended Nazareth High School for three years before he transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year of high school. He led Nazareth to the state championship game in both 2017 and 2019. As a high school starter, he had a record of 36-2 with 7,905 passing yards. He was a well decorated player out of high school, pulling in offers from just about every school in the country. McCarthy chose Michigan over Ohio State, Penn State, Miami, and many more.

College: As a freshman at Michigan, he was primarily a backup quarterback. However, due to his speed and versatility, he saw action in every game that season. His sophomore season is when JJ officially took the starting QB job away from Cade McNamara. He led the Wolverines to a spot in the College Football Playoff and was an All-Big 10 selection. JJ McCarthy has been fortunate enough to be a part of a team in which he does not have to be the reason they win the game.

Strengths: Michigan’s offense is a run-first offense and when McCarthy is called upon he can either use his legs to gain chunks of yards, or they can rely on his arm to produce in big ways. He is a great scheme fit for Michigan as he has grown into a productive quarterback with arm strength that is rarely matched. McCarthy has a certain zip on his throws that allows the ball to be delivered on a rope. While being a smaller quarterback, McCarthy displays pocket presence and poise. He maneuvers the pocket with excellent footwork and does not ditch the pocket unless necessary. His dual-threat ability translates well to play action. McCarthy is most effective in play action and RPO schemes. Another note about McCarthy is that a lot of these dual-threat quarterbacks have unorthodox throwing mechanics, McCarthy’s mechanics are nearly perfect.

Weaknesses: McCarthy struggles to diagnose coverages and almost never progresses through his entire reads. He is pretty consistently a one read quarterback. While he has the talent, his football IQ is lower than what professional teams would be expecting of a top pick. McCarthy’s biggest weakness is ball placement. He has benefited from a brilliant offensive scheme and talented receivers. McCarthy needs to do better to place the ball in advantageous positions for his targets. He also needs to work on his rhythm and touch. Not everything needs to be a fastball, throw the occasional changeup. JJ

Conclusion: McCarthy can be a productive NFL starter if he works on some very fixable weaknesses. He has all the attributes and talent of an NFL quarterback. His potential is through the roof and he has not only managed to keep Michigan afloat, but he has been one of the main contributors to their dominance.

Scheme Fit: Shanahan Offense

Ideal Role: Developmental QB

Best Team Fits: NYJ, DET, MIN

Player Comparison: Teddy Bridgewater

Player Grade: 76.7