ESPN: NFL Teams Doubt J.J. McCarthy Is 'Surefire Top 10' Talent; No. 4 'a Bit Rich'

A disconnect remains between where Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is likely to be drafted and where he actually sits in the 2024 NFL draft class, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Reporting Sunday on SportsCenter, Fowler referenced how USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels are widely projected to be the first three picks. As a result, McCarthy is "open for business as early as No. 4 overall because teams could be trading up."

"Now, some teams I've talked to believe that's a bit rich for him, that maybe he's not a surefire top 10-type talent," Fowler said. "But there is a lot of consideration for him right now. I've talked to a few scouts who've compared him to a stronger, bigger Kirk Cousins. He can run that pro-style offense, has a good arm and he was considered a game manager at Michigan, but he's got higher traits than that, higher ability, he just wasn't asked to throw the ball a lot."

This is the dilemma for QB-needy teams past the New England Patriots with the third pick.

Maye and Williams rank third and fourth respectively on Bleacher Report's 2024 big board. Once you get past Daniels at No. 29, there's a significant gap until you get to McCarthy at No. 54 and an even wider gulf before you arrive at Oregon's Bo Nix (No. 81) and Washington's Michael Penix Jr. (No. 84).

With the way this year's quarterback class is shaking out, it may not even be a case of waiting until Day 2 to snag Nix and Penix if you're a general manager who isn't all that sold on McCarthy.

In his newest mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had the Denver Broncos taking Nix with the 12th pick with Penix getting omitted in the first round. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network went the opposite direction in his newest mock as Penix went 13th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders and Nix was left off.

Either way, Nix and Penix could both plausibly be first-rounders.

As a draft prospect, McCarthy is far from a sure thing. In terms of strategy, working aggressively to select him is at least the safest path to ensure a team doesn't have to reach even more to address a quarterback void.