Watch Colin Cowherd release his first NFL mock draft of the off-season with the 2024 NFL Draft less than a month away.
Colin believes the Minnesota Vikings, currently holding the no. 11 pick, will swap places with the Los Angeles Chargers at no. 5 to draft Michigan Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy’s presence in the top 10 has surprised many around the sport, with Cowherd and FS1 colleague Nick Wright saying they ‘don’t understand’ why a player who threw for less than 3,000 yards last season with only 22 touchdown passes could possibly be vaulting up draft boards, but understand the process of talented teams getting hungry for potential franchise quarterbacks on their rookie deals.
In perhaps Michigan’s biggest game of the regular season at no. 10 Penn State, McCarthy attempted just 10 passes as the Wolverines, playing without suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh, at one point ran the ball 31 consecutive times in mild weather and with McCarthy perfectly healthy. Michigan boasted a power running game all season, but it seemed mysterious that the team would avoid letting McCarthy throw the ball, referencing former derided San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo infamously getting frozen out of the Niners offense in the 2020 NFC Championship Game vs. the Green Bay Packers, and only attempting eight passes.
McCarthy had a completion percentage of 72.3%, and ranked 3rd in the NCAA in QBR for a 15-0 Wolverines team who won the National Championship.
Colin’s other most notable prediction was the Seattle Seahawks, currently holding the no. 16 pick, trading up to no. 12 with the Denver Broncos to select Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci are the only quarterbacks on the Broncos dept chart at this time, and are the most obvious team looking to draft a quarterback.
Penix Jr. led the NCAA in passing yards with 4,903.
Check out the full segment above as Colin discusses all 12 of his selections.
1. Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams, QB, Southern California
2. Washington Commanders – Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
3. New England Patriots – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
4. Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
5. Minnesota Vikings [Trade with Chargers] – JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
6. New York Giants – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
7. Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
8. Atlanta Falcons – Dallas Turner, DE, Alabama
9. Chicago Bears – Jared Verse, DE, FSU
10. New York Jets – Rome Odunze , WR, Washington
11. Los Angeles Chargers [Trade with Vikings] – Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
12. Seattle Seahawks [Trade with Broncos] – Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
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