Minnesota Vikings move up to 10th pick to grab Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy

Former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, so often described by analysts the last few months as the most polarizing at his position in this year’s NFL Draft, finally knows his NFL destination.

McCarthy, who helped lead Michigan to the 2023 national championship and was 27-1 as a two-year starter, was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 10 overall pick in the three-day draft that began Thursday night in Detroit. The Vikings made a trade with the New York Jets to move up a spot and grab McCarthy, who was the fifth quarterback chosen.

"As excited as our fans are, they can know that J.J. McCarthy really wanted to be a Minnesota Viking," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters late Thursday. "He can't wait to get here and get to work."

For the sixth straight year, Michigan has produced at least one first-round selection. McCarthy, the highest-drafted Michigan quarterback in program history, is the first Michigan quarterback to be selected in the first round since his former coach Jim Harbaugh, who went to the Chicago Bears in Round 1 in 1987. He also is the program's first offensive skill player to go in the first round since receiver Braylon Edwards in 2005.

Michigan had a record 18 players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and is looking to break Georgia’s record of 15 players drafted in 2022.

Harbaugh, now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, described McCarthy before last season as a “once-in-a-generational” type of quarterback and compared him to NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in terms of talent and the willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team. Last October, Harbaugh said McCarthy was on the path to being the best quarterback in Michigan history and would be the quarterback “all future quarterbacks are compared to.”

“That’s where he wanted to go. That’s where he had his heart set. I’m just so happy for him,” Harbaugh told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I love him like a son. I was praying and pulling for it to work out the way he wanted it to work out, and the stars aligned. Minnesota got themselves a great player.”

During the 2023 season, McCarthy completed 72.3% of his passes, which ranked sixth nationally. He threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns with four interceptions. He ranked ninth nationally in pass efficiency. He was named the Big Ten’s Quarterback of the Year and the most valuable offensive player of the Rose Bowl national semifinal. He also ran for 202 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns.

As a first-time starter in 2022, McCarthy threw for 2,719 yards while completing 64.6% of his attempts and had 22 touchdowns against five interceptions. He helped lead the Wolverines to a 45-23 win at Ohio State, for the program’s first win in Ohio Stadium since 2000, a second-straight Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth.

Operating in Michigan’s offense, McCarthy did not generate the type of gaudy numbers like USC’s Caleb Williams or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. Hence, the hand-wringing about what type of quarterback McCarthy might be at the next level.

“Part of it is the system and philosophy Michigan had, which wasn’t quarterback-reliant,” FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt said Wednesday in Detroit, explaining why there was so much discussion of McCarthy and how he might fare at the next level. “They were going to win a lot of games regardless of who the quarterback was. When you get in this draft process, they want to see a quarterback their team was totally reliant on. Like Michael Penix at Washington, and Caleb Williams is that way. They didn’t need J.J. to be great all the time.”

Michigan was reliant on a physical run game and a dominant defense, which didn’t mean McCarthy was simply a placeholder for the offense, but the offense didn't rely on his arm. His performance on third down, however, was critical last season. McCarthy was 53-for-79 (67.1%) on third down and in third-and-7-plus situations, he was 36-for-49 (73.4%) for 544 yards with 27 first downs or touchdowns (six).

“That was remarkable last year,” Klatt said of McCarthy in third-and-long situations. “This guy is incredible in those situations. He’s confident. Those things are going to serve him well at the next level.”

McCarthy said at the NFL combine that during interviews with teams, they focused on the second half of the Penn State game last fall when Michigan ran 32 straight times. The only pass attempt was negated by a penalty.

“That was a big one that came up,” McCarthy said at the combine. “It was kind of the ability, especially that example, to let them know, hey, my teammates, the receivers specifically, were not very excited when Coach (Sherrone) Moore was saying, ‘Hey, it's gonna be one of those games.’ But just letting (NFL teams) know, the process of the approach I took during that time of just saying, ‘Hey, guys, this is a huge part in our quest to become national champions.’ And not necessarily saying that I was only selfless one, but telling the teams, that my teammates were very selfless in that situation. Just explaining situations like that, and just ultimately letting them know the first thing of three things about me is I’m the ultimate team guy, want to win games, and I love this game more than anything.”

That was evident to Klatt, who has called 18 Michigan games the last three years.

“J.J. is a winner,” Klatt said. “What I appreciated most about covering him over the last three years — and I got to see every iteration, true freshman getting spot time all the way to being the starter last year on the national championship team — I love his selflessness but also his maturation as a quarterback. I don’t think that gets talked about enough.

“When he was young, he was living on athleticism, confidence and raw talent. He was going out there and he could be effective. What you saw was a guy who had to learn the schematics of the game and also how to operate within those schematics to the point where last year, I thought his best trait was his ability to move the chains on third down. He was uniquely aware of the protection, he knew how to read all of his concepts and then he could use his legs as a threat. That’s what somebody’s going to get is somebody who understands how to operate and is incredibly talented.”

Harbaugh, during the NFL owner meetings in Orlando last month, praised McCarthy's ability.

“He’s the one who plays quarterback of all the quarterbacks in the draft,” Harbaugh told reporters. “There are great quarterbacks in the draft, but I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft.”

Now, McCarthy has a chance to prove that.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

@chengelis