Where is JJ? And other combine notes … Actually JJ – aka JJ McCarthy, QB of the national champion Michigan Wolverines – is Indianapolis with the rest of the leading prospects for the 2024 draft at the NFL’s annual scouting combine. McCarthy, though, may be the most interesting prospect in Indianapolis; certainly, he is the most polarizing. Indeed, talk to people from one team he’s a legit top 10 guy with a grade just below that of the top 3 QBs in this year’s draft class. And that would bring him well into range for teams like the Giants and Atlanta who have the 6th and 8th picks respectively or others a little farther back should they be willing to trade up into the first 5 selections. There are other teams, though, and maybe the majority, that have McCarthy rated more in the 15-25 range where teams like Minnesota (11th pick, Denver (12th), Las Vegas (13th), Seattle (16th) and even Pittsburgh (20th). What makes the question really interesting, as well as important, at least for the 2024 draft, is where McCarthy ultimately rates will have a major bearing on how the first round plays out. Stay tuned!
One always hates to talk about players ‘rising’ because its never clear whether the player is actually moving up boards across the league, or whether he was always there and we the pundits are just starting to notice. And more than anyone heading to Indianapolis, Texas DT Byron Murphy fits that bill. Indeed, its wasn’t all that long ago that Murphy, a 6-1, 310 fire hydrant type with a great, wasn’t even considered to be the Longhorns highest rated interior defensive lineman beyond T’Vondre Sweat, but it now appears that Murphy just maybe the top-ranked DT overall with top 20 potential.
Arguably, the most interesting position in the 2024 draft these days, at least other than the QBs, just could be the corners. we reported in a post earlier this winter that Alabama’s Terrion Arnold and Quinyon Mitchell of Toledo appear to have emerged as the 1-2 prospects at the position. And nothing in that regard has changed except that it appears that Arnold is starting to get some top 10 consideration, while Mitchell may have moved (or whatever) into the 15-20 range off of a terrific week at the Senior Bowl. Throw in Ennis Rakestraw of Missouri, who also appears to now be considered to be a legit late first round candidate and all of a sudden people may start talking about the CB position, with the talent that already was at the top of the positional board, in the same breath as the QBs, WRs and OTs as being THE strength of the 2024 draft.
Every draft year it seems there are 1-2 players who emerge very late in the process as top 5-10 prospects. And while we’ll likely only find out when we find out, two players who strike us as having that potential are LSU WR Brian Thomas and Missouri DE Darius Robinson. In fact, Thomas, who is already considered to be the #4 WR in the 2024 class behind Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison, Rome Odunze of Washington and his Malik Nabers his LSU teammate, is a freakish big-play threat with the athletic skills to blow up the combine – he was also a star basketball player in high school – just started to scratch the surface this fall with the Tigers when he caught 68 passes for almost 1,200 TDs including a nation-leading 17 TD catches. For his part, Robinson who was arguably the best player overall at last month’s Senior Bowl, is a DT-sized 6-5, 285, but with DE agility which gives him the versatility to play outside on early downs where he can still get pressure on the pocket as well as kick inside on passing downs. And in a draft with no true elite big defensive lineman it won’t be a total shock if Robinson ultimately goes way earlier than the 25-30 range he is currently projected to go.
Speaking of Thomas and the top 3 WRs, it is interesting to note that of the latter three, Harrison and Nabers have announced they won’t be running at Saturday’s on-field testing session for QBs and receivers while Odunze will. On the surface one is tempted to wonder whether Odunze might think he needs to prove to NFL teams that he has the same kind of speed as the other two, especially given his rep as being a superior contested ball catcher. However, in truth, Odunze was a track star in high school with a 100M PB of 10.57 seconds which translates to roughly a 4.4 40. So maybe he’s just showing off! For the record, Malik reportedly was credited with a 4.44 40 time in high school with a 38-inch vertical, while Harrison was listed at 4.46, although he claims whenever he does run he’ll time close to 4.3. In fact, it is very possible, though, that Harrison doesn’t run at all prior to the draft. Indeed, while just about every other top prospect – and many who aren’t – are at a training camp somewhere across the country preparing for the combine, Harrison is back at Ohio State working almost exclusively with the WR coaches on his route-running and receiving skills.
