Antonio Pierce convinced about National Champion JJ McCarthy being ‘top three’ prospect in upcoming draft
JJ McCarthy won the national championship with the Michigan Wolverines this year.
JJ McCarthy and Antonio Pierce (Via Imago)
The 2024 NFL Draft is hardly a month to go and the Las Vegas Raiders‘ HC Antonio Pierce is firm that college football star JJ McCarthy will be a top-three prospect in the coming draft. The quarterback has impressed the head coach with his impressive showing at the college level.
With the Michigan Wolverines, JJ McCarthy won the National Championship. He showed consistency in all three years as the quarterback earned 2,991 passing yards with 22 touchdowns. He had an impressive passing completion rate of over 70% last year. In overall quarterback ranking, McCarthy came third, having also played the most pivotal role in leading the team to the championship battle.
However, there is one thing that could raise eyebrows behind his drafting. The quarterback is reportedly termed ‘skinny.’ He is close to six-feet-three-inches and hence has a perfect height; however, his weight is 219 pounds, and that can create a negative impact on him. In addition to this, the college-level quarterback has an alleged ‘passing’ problem, with multiple flags having already been raised over his passing abilities.
Pierce said during his media availability on March 25:
J.J. McCarthy you're talking about a National Champ, a winner. So I don't know how he's not in the top three if you want to be honest.Antonio Pierce said
Nevertheless, the last time a famous quarterback was criticized for being skinny, it was none other than Tom Brady. Despite being criticized, Brady made history by becoming the most successful quarterback ever.
Jim Harbaugh has always been full of praise for JJ McCarthy
This is not the first time McCarthy had some words of appreciation. His former head coach Jim Harbaugh earlier set the tone for him. Despite all the big names like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels, Harbaugh claimed that his former student could give a surprise by getting drafted.
Addressing the reporters recently, Harbaugh said:
I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft. He's incredible. So, big market, small market. Cold weather, hot weather, it won't matter. Like I predicted, once they were around him, I was hearing the stories about how he is on the board, how he is on the field, the little things, the intangibles. I mean, it was absolutely no surprise whatsoever.Jim Harbaugh said
With all the great coaches vouching for him, it is to be seen whether he manages to get the top three draft picks in the coming time. It is worth noting that the 2024 NFL Draft begins on the 25th of April.
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Akash Chatterjee
(810 Articles Published)