J.J. McCarthy is the biggest winner from the 2024 NFL Draft by a mile

A few days after the NFL Draft, everyone is looking to find out which team won. Someone who has turned their fortunes around or worked hard enough to overcome difficulties. Often we don’t discuss the players or more specifically how we discuss them. They are Faired in a draft trade. Looking through that lens, there is one huge winner from the class of 2024, and that is JJ McCarthy.

Rewind four months and the idea of ​​McCarthy being a first-round pick, let alone a top-10 pick, is laughable. Here we have a quarterback who is undoubtedly talented. He’s definitely leading Michigan to wins, but he failed to throw for 3,000 yards and attempted only his 332 passes, the most I’ve ever seen a quarterback attempt his own passes. There was no. coach Rather than having McCarthy be one of the starting quarterbacks and ultimately dictate the game, they relied on the run game.

we have seen that’s right This scenario before. He was truly a national championship-winning quarterback who led an offense that was primarily run-based.

McElroy was a seventh-round pick and spent one year in the NFL, but was garbage. There is a clear difference here, so don’t get me wrong. While McCarthy is actually an athlete, McElroy had the natural athletic ability of a car salesman. But the startling difference in their draft positions shows just how much Josh Allen has skewed the process when it comes to quarterbacks.

Now, any QB who doesn’t pass the traditional test will be looked at as, “Maybe he’s Josh Allen?” That’s because the Bills QB defied all draft logic by becoming one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks without any college film stats to back it up. Speaking of McCarthy, a lot The percentage of equity invested in the idea that “he’s a winner” and the belief that if he’s asked to throw 450 or more times, as is required of NFL starters, his impressive numbers can be extrapolated.

So let’s get back to why McCarthy is a big winner. This is the right place, right time, and right agent. All of that has boosted his stock and put him in a position to be a top-10 pick in a very rare draft class. Desperate circumstances forced the team to acquire a QB earlier than usual, and McCarthy’s agents exaggerated his positive traits, turning him into a can’t-miss prospect. But there’s also a big team factor here in Minnesota.

Some would argue that no rookie in modern NFL history has landed in a better position than McCarthy. Minnesota signing Sam Darnold means there’s no pressure to start right away. The rookie will be able to sit for a year and learn Kevin O’Connell’s system and, more importantly, be coached by quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. And a year later, he can fit into a top-tier offense with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson, and he has protection to boot.

Additionally, while the quarterback to replace Kirk Cousins ​​is certainly great, it’s not like Jordan Love is going to follow Tom Brady or replace Aaron Rodgers or Mac Jones. It’s not impossible to clear Cousins ​​Bar. won Anything in Minnesota.

The table is now set up. McCarthy may end up being great, or he’ll be a big miss. Either way, it’s admirable how his camp has handled this process from the National Championship to the draft, and the timing has turned a talented but questionable quarterback into a top-10 pick and a No. 1 pick. It doesn’t change the fact that I was able to join the best team that won. Passerby on the weekend.

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

A monster weekend with Omar Khan, Mike Tomlin and more.

This team collectively knew where they couldn’t take risks and where they could take risks, and they played the draft like a violin. The offensive line had a major challenge to get back on track after the disastrous Kenny Pickett era, and Pittsburgh ended up using two starters in Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier.

Now, the arrival of the Wilson Corps with Russell Wilson’s new target in Roman Wilson, combined with the bold move to steal sliding linebacker Peyton Wilson, takes this class to another level.

Peyton Wilson’s fall was caused by concerns about a medical check, including the shocking revelation that he didn’t have an anterior cruciate ligament in one knee. Steelers great Hines Ward.

The North Carolina State linebacker is one of the best players in his class and would have been a last-minute first-round pick had he not had any medical issues. And now he’s on a team that can turn an instinctive tackling machine into a monster.

The team continued to find value deeper, making this a landmark draft.

Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

The water is wet. The Eagles won again. It was a big weekend for Penn State teams as the Eagles joined their western cousins ​​in dominating the boards once again.

The back-to-back picks of Kunyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean solved the Eagles’ biggest defensive problem. This team doesn’t have a lot of holes, but somehow they managed to plug them all again, find value in the process, and trade boards to accumulate more draft capital for the future.

Topped it all off with a feel-good pick of Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the 5th inning, which was just a monster crop.

Loser: Atlanta Falcons

There’s nothing to say. Like the Eagles, this team entered the draft with only a few holes and left without them actually being filled. This draft will be studied for many years.

Winner: Nick Saban

If you had told me a week ago that Saban would be one of the highlights of draft weekend, I would have thought you lost it. Throughout the entire draft, the former Alabama coach was interesting, engaging and made the broadcasts better on ABC.

It’s a plot twist of the century, but I’d actually like to see more of it from analyst Saban.