Daniel Jeremiah: J.J. McCarthy's Hype 'Not a Smokescreen' Ahead of 2024 NFL Draft

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been gaining a ton of momentum in recent weeks as a potential top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and the hype is reportedly real.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah said he has McCarthy going as high as No. 4 and his recent rise in popularity is "not a smokescreen."

"I'm talking to people that are in the quarterback market and teams not in the quarterback market, and J.J. McCarthy is really highly thought of, so I don't think that's a smokescreen situation," Jeremiah said. "I think that's legitimate, and you have too many teams, there's too much demand."

Jeremiah named the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders as teams "in the quarterback business" who have the potential to jump up in the draft order.

Many believe that the top three quarterbacks in this year's draft class are USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels. It now appears that McCarthy has the chance to break that threshold, as NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported earlier this week that rival executives speculate he can go as high as No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked McCarthy as the No. 4 quarterback in this year's class in its latest big board. In the B/R Scouting Department's latest mock draft, he went to the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 8 pick.

However, recent developments indicate that McCarthy will be off the board well before that. Whichever team takes a chance on him will be landing one of the most sought-after prospects in this year's class.