I HATE this idea.
He is a much lesser version of the Patriot's Mac Jones. His college career was carried by an NFL caliber defensive front that consistently gave him good field position. A game manager that will fold at the first moment he has to go off script. He isn't going to bring you back from a two-score deficit. His absolute ceiling is less than the Giant's Daniel Jones because NFL linebackers will have no problem chasing down his designed runs. I couldn't say NO more emphatically. He is one of those guys that will be in constant panic mode once the league figures out that he can't deal with a disguised blitz. I think he is the worst 1st round mock pick in the last decade. Not just at quarterback but for ANY position. He will be out of the league within four years (once his rookie deal turns into something more expensive). There are at least ten college quarterbacks that I would much rather prefer. I wouldn't even waste a sixth-round flyer on him just because of the media distraction he would unintentionally albeit inherently create for the quarterback room. He would be the worst first round selection since Aaron Curry. Trust me on this one. John Schnieder is much smarter than this. He wants a quarterback that will "tip the table".
Mac Jones was a 4 star high school recruit, JJ McCarthy was a 5 star.
Jones had one good season at Alabama, McCarthy had 2 good seasons at Michigan.
The Michigan defense wasn't even in the top 10 for takeaways in 2023 so how exactly was McCarthy gifted all this "good field position"??
McCarthy was a game manager only because that is all Harbaugh asked him to do with a run heavy offense.
How would you or anyone know what McCarthys' ceiling is at this point??
How are NFL linebackers going to consistently track down McCarthy with 4.4-4.5 speed??
McCarthy is highly intelligent, so what makes you think he would have any more difficulty than other QB recognizing blitzes??
The combine is coming up so we'll see how he does. I suspect he'll do well and turn some heads.
At this point there is no way for you or I or anyone to know how successful McCarthy will be in the NFL. I do think he has all the tangibles in terms of size, speed and intelligence plus the intangibles of attitude and competitiveness to make it. But I don't know for sure and neither do you.