The worst-kept secret in the NFL is how badly the Denver Broncos need an upgrade at quarterback.
It is hard to fathom that head coach Sean Payton will head into his second season with Jarrett Stidham under center. Most teams across the league have a hard time believing that as well.
ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler reported that multiple teams view Denver as a possible trade-up option for Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy.
“Multiple teams believe Minnesota or Denver could be trade-up options for McCarthy, who’s considered a good fit in both places,” Fowler wrote in his April 16 article. “He’d be best served to sit a year behind a veteran, per multiple scouts.”
McCarthy’s draft stock has skyrocketed this offseason ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. According to Fowler, several NFL scouts and executives have compared McCarthy to Kirk Cousins and Brock Purdy.
The Michigan star and reigning national champion has been a difficult prospect to measure with the draft on the horizon. Will Payton fall under McCarthy’s spell like other desperate teams needing a franchise signal caller?
Jim Harbaugh ‘Didn’t Trust’ McCarthy Like Andrew Luck at Michigan: AFC Coach
Analysts have debated whether McCarthy was held back at Michigan or if it was by design. One AFC coach relayed to Fowler that Harbaugh “didn’t trust” McCarthy like another highly-touted quarterback prospect.
“Harbaugh didn’t trust him like he did Andrew Luck. When he makes a mistake, Harbaugh leans into the running game even more so during the flow of the game,” the unnamed coach told Fowler.
In all fairness, Luck was a generational QB prospect entering the 2012 NFL draft. However, there is some merit to the Harbaugh not trusting McCarthy debate.
McCarthy threw under 3,000 yards in his two seasons as the full-time starter from 2022-23. He also had at least 30 passing attempts in six of his 40 collegiate appearances. Another unnamed scout was unfazed by McCarthy’s limited passing abilities with the Wolverines.
“[McCarthy] wasn’t a game manager because they had to hide something — he has high-level traits. It’s more a function of Jim Harbaugh’s offense. He’s never been asked to throw 30-plus times a game but I think he can handle it,” the scout told Fowler.
NFL Films Producer Does Not View McCarthy as a 1st-Round Pick
McCarthy is a polarizing prospect and many analysts and draft experts have debated his potential. For every analyst who recognizes his worth, others question his status as a likely first-rounder.
NFL Films producer Greg Cosell told media personality Rich Eisen that he does not view McCarthy as a first-round pick.
“I think the system he played in, I’m sure it was pro-based in terms of terminology and methodology,” Cosell said on the April 15 episode of “The Rich Eisen Show.” “You like to see things on tape that you feel you can extrapolate to the next level. You did not see a lot of that with J.J. McCarthy.”
Cosell emphasized that it does not mean McCarthy “can’t do it” but stressed that “you’d like to see it and you didn’t.” Eisen jumped in and asked Cosell whether Payton and the Broncos would fit if McCarthy slips to the No. 12 pick.
“Probably,” Cosell answered before continuing: “I think ultimately with J.J. McCarthy, you want him in a system where the run game is a factor, where personnel and formations really factor into the equation, where play-action factors.”
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Broncos Viewed as Possible Trade-Up Option for Polarizing QB Prospect: Insider