How good is former Michigan football quarterback J.J. McCarthy? According to one former NFL general manager, it’s Heisman-level good. Longtime New York Jets executive Mike Tannenbaum lauded McCarthy during Monday’s episode of Get Up on ESPN, saying his abilities extend beyond the stats he accumulated while at Michigan. McCarthy, according to Tannenbaum, could have put up Heisman-type numbers if he had played for the LSU Tigers, which also have top-ranked draft prospect Jayden Daniels. McCarthy and Daniels, along with Drake Maye from North Carolina, are among the top quarterback prospects for the NFL draft in April, trailing just USC’s Caleb Williams as the consensus top choice.
Tannenbaum did not hide his belief that former Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy might manage an NFL team for the next decade. During a segment of ESPN’s morning show Get Up, Tannenbaum praised McCarthy in comparison to the other top quarterbacks in the 2019 NFL draft, namely LSU’s Jayden Daniel.
“We can discuss wins as a quarterback statistic. I fell in love with J.J. McCarthy in 2022, when he was down two points versus Illinois at home on a frigid cold day. He went down and scored the game-winning field goal with his feet while throwing, drawing pass interference. He’s a winner, he can make all of the throws, and what interests me most, Greeny, is if he played for LSU. What would his statistics be like?”
Tannenbaum remarked, “They’d look a lot more like Jayden Daniels. If Jayden Daniels were at Michigan, his stats would be lot more similar to J.J. McCarthy’s. And that’s where this discussion is so entertaining and engaging, because he can do everything, as that workout demonstrates, with tremendous anticipation and extremely good arm strength.”
