JJ McCarthy in the top five???
The other week I wrote a piece on how quarterback selection in the NFL Draft is so contingent on landing spot for the selected player as to make the whole exercise of projection one of futility.
It’s sort of a “great man vs forces of history” debate. The easiest guy to look to for a “great men change their eras” at quarterback is Tom Brady. This was clearly a great man but also one who was drafted into an amazing context with a legendary coach who A) gave him the shot to play in the first place over a franchise quarterback who’d just signed a big extension and B) proceeded to develop that quarterback and pair him with deep and smart teams for the next 20-ish years.
So while Brady’s own drive and giftings had a major role in his unparalleled success, there’s just no way he puts together the run he did without being drafted by Belichick. If you look back at Brady’s Michigan career it becomes plain that his greatness wasn’t bright enough to shine through without the right context around him. Lloyd Carr didn’t even want to play Brady, he wanted to play his hotshot recruit Drew Henson (LOL yet this sort of miscalculation is normal), and was forced to let Brady finish his senior year due to his knack for closing out games with wins while Henson could not.
If you are looking for a quarterback who can do great things if he finds the right context, I still think there are signs that indicate that potential. Most of them center around the quarterback’s capacity to recognize and make winning decisions consistently.
This brings us to the newest Michigan quarterback draft prospect, National Champion J.J. McCarthy. Some folks are mocking him to be taken in the first three picks of this upcoming draft. Others think that’s completely insane. Here’s what I think…
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