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Former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was excited about the possibility of playing for the Chicago Bears when speaking to the media at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
“It’s been one of my dreams of mine,” McCathy said, per Pete Nakos of On3.com. “… Certainly would be a dream come true.”
The 21-year-old grew up just outside of Chicago in La Grange Park, Illinois. He was recruited by the Fighting Illini as a prospect and received an offer from the school before he ultimately decided to join the Wolverines instead.
The move paid off, as McCarthy wrapped up an impressive season at Michigan in 2023 that ended up with a victory over Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The signal-caller threw for 2,991 yards as a senior, recording 22 touchdowns compared to four interceptions while he finished No. 10 in Heisman Trophy voting.
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J.J. McCarthy with a DART 🎯
The Bears own the No. 1 overall pick and the No. 9 pick in the 2024 draft. Selecting McCarthy with the top choice doesn’t seem likely though, as Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department currently has him ranked as the No. 7 quarterback on the latest big board.
Instead, Chicago would take a closer look at the young passer if the front office is interested in trading down. B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen was impressed with the signal-caller’s pre-snap decisions, although he was less than enthused when McCarthy needed to progress through his reads.
“McCarthy also needs more work as a processor,” Klassen wrote. “He did fairly well with the pre-snap indicators Michigan’s offense gave him, but when asked to progress and throw later in the down, McCarthy is very inconsistent both in terms of decision-making and accuracy.”
The possibility of the former Wolverines quarterback playing for his hometown team is enticing, although there’s a fair chance that he may be playing on Sundays in a city other than Chicago in the fall.
