Harbaugh makes bold claim on Cowherd

Picks for teams that need QB's

13. Seattle

19. Rams

20. Steelers

Don't see him going top 10 but I'd be surprised if he didn't come off the board by 20.  In LA he could sit behind Stafford for a year or two before his contract is up.  Depending on what they do Stafford would be costing LA about 50mil on their cap in his final year.  I would bet they would try and get rid of him before that.

Wait!  Jim Harbaugh said something that is 1. a little odd and 2. lifts up one of his guys?  Ya don’t say!

I don't follow the NFL very closely at all, so I apologize for my ignorance here ... but a question: where's the NFL going in terms of offensive scheme and ideal QB model?  I know Mahomes is a very good QB, but what about him makes him great in today's game? And then: how well does J.J. McCarthy map to that type of QB for today's game?

JJ - like so many others  - has been exemplary.

There’s no question un my mind he would be a positive difference in a locker room.  He’s probably the youngest QB in this draft.

Hopefully, he’ll notice what page in the playbook has the hundred dollar bill.

The backup USC QB lit it up.  Just saying. 

McCarthy has the best head on his shoulders of all the QBs as far as I can tell (Penix is just behind, he gets a knock for transferring). And he has incredible potential. That said, I don't see him as the first overall and not even sure I see him as first round. He only has two years of starter experience, he does not have the precision accuracy of some of the others, and he has spent so much of his career handing off the ball. For all those reasons, GMs are going to value Penix and Nix. And for some reason I can't fathom also Caleb Williams, who has easily the worst head on his shoulders of all the top QBs.

The biggest thing to me is JJ is so much younger than Daniels, Nix, and Penix.  Penix and Nix were both six year guys and Nix and Daniels were also both five year starters.  JJ is still very much scratching the surface of what he can do whereas those guys are much more finished products.

I don’t have a ton of thoughts on Drake Maye because I didn’t watch him play all year, but Caleb Williams is definitely good.  I think the big issue is he keeps trying to hit a home run every play and seemed like he was forcing it at times.  In theory he’ll settle down on that front in the NFL.

Coach likes his former players.

Tune in for more surprises at 11.

Tom Brady actually is a pretty good archetype for JJ. Like Brady, he lacks the gaudy stats of other college QBs, but the poise, flashes of brilliance, and ability to read defenses that he's shown are a better indicator of his ability than his stats.

I don't know if he'll go first round, but I think he'll have a great NFL career.

I love JJ but it's s a ridiculous statement. 

I’ve said before that I wouldn’t take Williams despite what the talking heads on ESPN say. Not sure I’d take Daniels either. Haven’t watched enough of Maye to get a read on him. Penix and Nix are both about as good as they’re gonna get. 
 

JJ, on the other hand, is just really starting to come into his full ability. He seems to read the defense better than those above and this year was very decisive with his passes. His total yard and TD numbers may not have been close to those others, but his efficiency and accuracy was near the top of cfb. Harbaugh isn’t wrong in his praise of JJ, but will probably be wrong with that prediction. Too many stargazers in control of team drafts will pick Williams and Daniels ahead of JJ.

JJ is going to be a great draft pick regardless of where he is drafted. He can throw from the pocket. He can throw on the run. He's good at RPO. He is very quick.

Underestimate JJ at your peril. 

People are sleeping on intangibles with him and he still needs a year of strength to be added (still unnervingly frail). He wasn’t going to have any overly complicated passing schemes at UM, so just move on. He’s maxed out his FB IQ in this system (and it’s tremendous). His athleticism will shock most. If he runs he will be in the 4.4s. He will wow with his arm and brain in interviews. His leadership/character is off the charts. His only knock is that he needs to add weight and he wasn’t in a very pass-oriented college offense. He will wow someone enough to go Day 1. 

I wouldn’t be surprised, so this isn’t a crazy statement. He said don’t be surprised, not “THIS WILL HAPPEN!” JJ could end up impressing the right people and COULD go as the top QB. I do think he could end up being the best QB in this class, but I don’t think he’ll end up first.

That’s probably for the best, because he would do well to sit behind someone for a year or two on a good team and develop more. Him being drafted somewhere between 15-25 would be for the best. 

Meh, pre draft predictions are as worthless as whatever celebrity frippery they're peddling on Entertainment Tonight.

I’ve been saying that. Processing speed, physical speed, arm strength, leadership, accuracy, quick release, good pocket presence, winner…who else has a combination of those skills better than JJ.

I would have said it differently. After the first NFL season, he will have the most promising future of all QBs drafted this year. Too many people are enamored by 4,000 yard seasons and 30+ TDs.

Guys like JJ who have the tools but don't have the numbers...he won't be the first off the board. He's not going to get talked up by anybody outside of Harbaugh. The dimwit draft prognosticators always just look at college results and talk up the high numbers guys. If there are teams out there who want JJ it isn't in their best interests at all to talk him up. I'll be surprised if he doesn't get quietly taken behind the other guys...and then wind up being the best value of them all.