The Commanders are projected to select a quarterback second overall, but three candidates are in place to become the team’s next franchise passer. By the time the draft takes place, all three will have made a visit to the nation’s capital. 
[POLL: How Will Commanders Proceed At No. 2?]
Washington will meet with J.J. McCarthy next week, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. He adds the same is also true of Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, both of whose ‘top 30’ visits have previously been reported. Considering every signal-caller not named Caleb Williams will likely be on the board when the Commanders make their selection, it comes as no surprise the team is evaluating each option at the position.
McCarthy entered the pre-draft process as part of the second tier of passers behind the Williams-Maye-Daniels trio. The Michigan product has seen his stock soar in recent weeks, however, owing in large part to an impressive showing at his Pro Day. A report from last month indicated McCarthy could be in play at second overall, and Washington’s interest in an in-person visit certainly suggests that is still the case.
Helping lead the Wolverines to an undefeated season and a national title, McCarthy was not leaned on heavily by Michigan’s run-first offense. His performances in workouts along with his age (21) has led to strong projections based on his upside, though. As is the case with Daniels and Maye, opinions are split amongst NFL evaluators regarding where McCarthy should (and will) end up being selected later this month.
A survey of various active and former general managers, scouts, coaches and ex-players who are now analysts conducted by The Athletic’s Ben Standig slotted McCarthy as the class’ fourth-best quarterback (subscription required). Two of those who were polled ranked him second overall, however, and it will be interesting to see which assessments match the one ultimately made by Commanders’ new regime.
First-year general manager Adam Peters, new head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will be key players in the decision-making process at No. 2 overall. Washington has Marcus Mariota in place, but a rookie selected with the team’s top pick would have the chance to earn the starting gig right away. Passers with more college experience will be on the board when the time comes to make a selection, but McCarthy will nevertheless receive consideration.
Please no
Ok, the Commanders trade their number two pick and 2nd and 3rd round picks to the Bears for the number one pick. The Commanders draft Williams, and the Bears then select McCarthy. Who says no to that? Wait, there’s more. The Bears instead trade their number 2 to New England for its number 3, plus a 3rd and 4the round pick. The Pats then draft Jayden Daniels, while the Bears then select McCarthy, the QB they wanted all along.
The Bears would say no because taking McCarthy over Williams would be as dumb as taking Trubisky over Mahomes. McCarthy is the next Mac Jones.
McCarthy seems like the first round QB who most needs to be backup to start his career, but if you start Mariota with a first round rookie behind him, it won’t take long for there to be pressure to play the rookie.
He’s a winner, and was coached by the best QB coach in the sport. I’d like him on my team.
He’s a winner because of the school he attended. You put him on an average team and he’s Kenny Pickett. He had all the intangibles but just don’t see him throwing a deep ball in the nfl.
He may well turn out to be very good, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s barely 21 and not very experienced for a first round QB, and Marcus Mariota is a grim bridge QB at this point.
As for the winner part, I’m willing to believe he has great intangibles like everyone says, but plenty of the best QBs didn’t win jack in college and plenty of the biggest winners in college do jack in the pros. It’s not like he was carrying that team to those wins, and they were almost always playing with a lead, which takes a lot of pressure off the passing game. Again, he could be a very good pro QB, but let’s not give him too much credit for team results.
He was also in the perfect system for his skill set. He rarely was asked to win games with his arm. Michigan ran the ball a ton. He isn’t going to have that if he goes to Washington. McCarthy could have a good pro career, but he needs to be in the right situation. I don’t think that is with the Commanders
Adam Peters: “We would like you to be our next QB sacrifice to the football gods”. “We have no run game to support you but we can offer you a cyanide pill in a variety of colors”.
Do it Washington!
The only way this makes sense is if the Commies see the gap between McCarthy and Daniels/Maye to be marginal, and they would rather have McCarthy and 3-4 high draft picks over just 1 of those 2 other QBs