The Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was taken #10 overall after the Vikings swapped picks with the New York Jets, who moved down to #11 and took Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.
McCarthy is the highest drafted quarterback to ever come out of Michigan, topping his head coach in college, Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was taken #26 overall in the 1987 draft by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy is also the first Michigan quarterback to be selected since Jake Rudock (6th round, #191 overall by the Detroit Lions) in 2016.
McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan over 2022 and 2023, with the lone loss coming to TCU in the 2023 College Football Playoff. He threw for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions from 2021-2023. He set Michigan records for completion percentage in a season (72.3% in 2023) and in a career (67.6%) and won a national championship in 2023.
Of the quarterback-needy teams in the 2024 draft, I felt like Minnesota was the best fit for McCarthy. McCarthy’s main competition to start will be journeyman Sam Darnold, but they have a good cast of weapons that includes standout wide receivers (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison), an upper-echelon tight end (T.J. Hockenson), and a productive running back (Aaron Jones). I would like to see the Vikings beef up their running game with a complementary running back and/or some offensive line help, but they may address those issues in the draft or in subsequent years.
Probably like many of you, I occasionally have a hankering for some Michigan NFL Draft history. Below you will find (as far as I’m aware) every pro draft pick in the history of Michigan’s football program going all the way back to 1937.
A few little factoids:
Michigan’s only two #1 overall NFL Draft picks are Jake Long in 2008 and Tom Harmon in 1941.
Michigan set a record in 2017 with 11 total draft picks.
Michigan’s record number of 1st round NFL draft picks is a tie with 3 each in 1995 (Tyrone Wheatley, Ty Law, Trezelle Jenkins) and 2001 (David Terrell, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus).
2023 1st round: Mazi Smith – DT – Dallas Cowboys (#26) 2nd round: Luke Schoonmaker – TE – Dallas Cowboys (#58) 2nd round: D.J. Turner II – CB – Cincinnati Bengals (#60) 3rd round: Jake Moody – K – San Francisco 49ers (#99) 5th round: Mike Morris – DE – Seattle Seahawks (#151) 5th round: Olu Oluwatimi – C – Seattle Seahawks (#154) 6th round: Brad Robbins – P – Cincinnati Bengals (#217) 7th round: Ryan Hayes – OT – Miami Dolphins (#238) 7th round: Ronnie Bell – WR – San Francisco 49ers (#253)
2022 1st round: Aidan Hutchinson – DE – Detroit Lions (#2 overall) 1st round: Daxton Hill – S – Cincinnati Bengals (#31 overall) 2nd round: David Ojabo – OLB – Baltimore Ravens (#45 overall) 4th round: Hassan Haskins – RB – Tennessee Titans (#131 overall) 7th round: Andrew Stueber – OT – New England Patriots (#245 overall)
2021 1st round: Kwity Paye – DE – Indianapolis Colts (#21 overall) 3rd round: Jalen Mayfield – OT – Atlanta Falcons (#68 overall) 3rd round: Nico Collins – WR – Houston Texans (#89 overall) 3rd round: Ambry Thomas – CB – San Francisco 49ers (#102 overall) 5th round: Cam McGrone – LB – New England Patriots (#177 overall) 5th round: Ben Mason – FB – Baltimore Ravens (#184 overall) 6th round: Chris Evans – RB – Cincinnati Bengals (#202 overall) 7th round: Camaron Cheeseman – LS – Washington Football Team (#225 overall)
2020 1st round: Cesar Ruiz – C – New Orleans Saints (#24 overall) 2nd round: Josh Uche – OLB – New England Patriots (#60 overall) 4th round: Ben Bredeson – OG – Baltimore Ravens (#143 overall) 5th round: Khaleke Hudson – LB – Washington Redskins (#162 overall) 5th round: Mike Danna – DE – Kansas City Chiefs (#177 overall) 6th round: Michael Onwenu – OG – New England Patriots (#182 overall) 6th round: Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Cleveland Browns (#187 overall) 6th round: Jon Runyan, Jr. – OG – Green Bay Packers (#192 overall) 6th round: Josh Metellus – S – Minnesota Vikings (#205 overall) 6th round: Jordan Glasgow – LB – Indianapolis Colts (#213 overall)
2019 1st round: Devin Bush, Jr. – LB – Pittsburgh Steelers (#10 overall) 1st round: Rashan Gary – DE – Green Bay Packers (#12 overall) 3rd round: Chase Winovich – OLB – New England Patriots (#77 overall) 3rd round: David Long, Jr. – CB – Los Angeles Rams (#79 overall) 5th round: Zach Gentry – TE – Pittsburgh Steelers (#141 overall)
2018 3rd round: Mason Cole – C – Arizona Cardinals (#97) 5th round: Maurice Hurst, Jr. – DT – Oakland Raiders (#140)
2017 1st round: Jabrill Peppers – S – Cleveland Browns (#25) 1st round: Taco Charlton – DE – Dallas Cowboys (#28) 3rd round: Chris Wormley – DT – Baltimore Ravens (#74) 3rd round: Jourdan Lewis – CB – Dallas Cowboys (#92) 3rd round: Delano Hill – S – Seattle Seahawks (#95) 3rd round: Amara Darboh – WR – Seattle Seahawks (#106) 4th round: Ben Gedeon – LB – Minnesota Vikings (#120) 4th round: Ryan Glasgow – DT – Cincinnati Bengals (#138) 4th round: Jehu Chesson – WR – Kansas City Chiefs (#139) 5th round: Jake Butt – TE – Denver Broncos (#145) 6th round: Jeremy Clark – CB – New York Jets (#197)
2016 3rd round: Graham Glasgow – C – Detroit Lions (#95) 4th round: Willie Henry – DT – Baltimore Ravens (#132) 6th round: Jake Rudock – QB – Detroit Lions (#191)
2015 2nd round: Devin Funchess – WR – Carolina Panthers (#41) 2nd round: Frank Clark – DE – Seattle Seahawks (#63) 4th round: Jake Ryan – LB – Green Bay Packers (#129)
2014 1st round: Taylor Lewan – OT – Tennessee Titans (#11) 3rd round: Michael Schofield – OT – Denver Broncos (#95) 7th round: Jeremy Gallon – WR – New England Patriots (#244)
2013 5th round: Denard Robinson – RB – Jacksonville Jaguars (#135) 6th round: William Campbell – DT – New York Jets (#178)
Hit the jump for the remainder of Michigan’s historical draft picks.
Two of these guys will be involved in the first round, and hopefully a third will get drafted on day two.
It’s that time of the year for another mock NFL Draft. Here are my guesses for how the draft shakes out. If I guess wrong, oh well. And if I guess right? I’m a genius. That’s just how it works.
1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams – QB – USC Why? He seems to be the consensus choice here. This one seems obvious.
2. Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels – QB – LSU Why? A few months ago, I never would have believed that Daniels would hop ahead of Maye to be QB#2, but again, it seems to be the case.
3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye – QB – North Carolina Why? Some people are running the angle of taking J.J. McCarthy as “another Michigan Man” to fill the shoes of Tom Brady, but when I’ve tried to make those connections in the past, it just rarely seems to work out that way. Maye is a bigger prospect, too, and I think some are concerned about McCarthy’s sturdiness.
Mount Zion (IL) Mount Zion tight end J.C. Anderson was offered by Michigan following a weekend visit to Ann Arbor. He’s a 6’7″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others.
Woodberry Forest (VA) Woodberry Forest wide receiver Dyzier Carter was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 180-pounder with offers from Indiana, Maryland, Miami, and Tennessee, among others; I mention Indiana in that group mainly because his brother Dequece, also a wide receiver, transferred to Indiana. Dyzier is a 4-star, the #10 wide receiver, and #63 overall.
Knoxville (TN) Catholic wide receiver Tyreek King was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 165 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #31 wide receiver, and #206 overall to Rivals.
Boca Raton (FL) West running back Javian Mallory was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 200-pounder with offers from Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #7 running back, and #109 overall according to Rivals. As a sophomore in 2023, he had 131 carries for 1,415 yards and 18 touchdowns, plus 22 catches for 438 yards and 6 scores.
Dunlap (IL) Dunlap tight end Mack Sutter was offered by Michigan. Sutter is a 6’5″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Iowa, Ole Miss, and Penn State, among others.
MISCELLANEY
Here’s a list of visitors from this past weekend (LINK).
Oak Park (MI) Fenwick defensive tackle Nate Marshall
Oak Park (MI) Fenwick defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall committed to Michigan on Monday morning. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, and USC, among others.
