Former Michigan quarterback and 2023 college football national champion J.J. McCarthy is headed to Minnesota. The Vikings chose McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
With McCarthy going 10th overall, this is the first time in the common draft era that five quarterbacks have been taken in the top 10. McCarthy is now the highest-drafted QB out of Michigan, surpassing Jim Harbaugh, who went 26th overall in the 1987 NFL Draft. They are the only two Michigan QBs to be taken in the first round in the common draft era.
McCarthy was a lightning rod of debate throughout the draft process. The former five-star prospect never became anything close to a superstar at Michigan, but will still always be remembered by Wolverines fans as the quarterback who led Michigan to its first national title since 1997, even though the team’s strengths were in its run game and defense. Still, that did not prevent constant rumors about McCarthy going in the top five of the draft, as his former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh gushed about him as an NFL prospect after making his own leap back to the pros as the new coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
FOX sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang described McCarthy as “a slithery runner with the instincts, anticipation and aggression NFL teams crave at the [quarterback] position” while FOX sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt praised McCarthy’s unselfishness and ability to make big plays when his team needed him to en route to a perfect 15-0 national title season.
McCarthy went 27-1 as Michigan’s starter with 6,226 pass yards, 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his collegiate career. He also rushed for 632 yards and 10 scores.
The Vikings went 7-10 last season and lost QB Kirk Cousins in free agency.
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