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Jim Harbaugh: J.J. McCarthy's pro day workout was 'best throwing day I’ve ever seen'
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- Jim Harbaugh: J.J. McCarthy's pro day workout was 'best throwing day I’ve ever seen'
ORLANDO — The Los Angeles Chargers don't need a quarterback in this year's NFL draft, but if they did, Jim Harbaugh knows exactly who he'd target — his former star at Michigan, J.J. McCarthy .
"I think he's the best quarterback in the draft," Harbaugh said Monday at the NFL's annual meeting. "That's just what I think, just my opinion. He's the one who plays quarterback. Of all the quarterbacks that are in the draft, and there's great quarterbacks in the draft, I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft."
McCarthy is widely considered one of the top four quarterbacks in this year's draft along with USC's Caleb Williams , LSU's Jayden Daniels and North Carolina's Drake Maye , and there's a chance all four could go in the first four picks.
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Williams is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears , and the Washington Commanders at No. 2 and New England Patriots at No. 3 also are in the market for rookie signal callers.
Neither the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 nor Chargers at No. 5 are believed to looking for quarterbacks, but six other teams in the top 14 have quarterback needs.
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Harbaugh, who left Michigan for the Chargers job after leading the Wolverines to a national championship in January, said that adds value to No. 5 pick.
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"There's talk of four quarterbacks going in the first four picks, where if that happens then that pick really becomes like the No. 1 pick in the draft," he said. "If four quarterbacks go in the first four picks, that's not like the fifth pick anymore. That's like the No. 1 pick of the draft for teams that have a great quarterback already. So we'll see.
"Maybe four quarterbacks don't go in a row. It's unprecedented that's ever happened, but maybe there's still another quarterback there when the fifth pick comes around. Again, that would be like the No. 1 pick. It wouldn't be like the calculator for the fifth pick anymore."
McCarthy has seen his stock rise steadily since he declared for the draft.
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He completed 72.3% of his passes last season - best among the draft's top four signal callers - with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions, threw for 140 yards without a turnover in the national championship game and had strong showings at the NFL combine earlier this month and Michigan's pro day last week.
Harbaugh, who attended Michigan's pro day, said McCarthy had the best pro day workout he's ever seen.
"I've been to a lot of pro day workouts and watched quarterbacks throw, that was the best I've ever seen a quarterback do at a pro day," Harbaugh said. "I mean, not only was feet great and the individual drills, but then he started throwing and it was like every throw was right there. I thought our receivers did a great job, too. They all had a great day, but that was the best throwing day I've ever seen, and then to hear coaches and GMs come up to me and say, 'Hey, great job with J.J.'
"Like I predicted, once they were around him, I was hearing the stories about how he is on the board, how he is on the field, the little things. The intangibles. It was absolutely no surprise whatsoever, but there was raving. And it was great to hear, incredible to hear, and I know it was sincere. It was unsolicited, but it was numerous, numerous GMs, numerous head coaches couldn't say enough good things. And it was, you could just see it. His pro day, literally I have never seen a better one."
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Harbaugh doubled down on the prediction he made last summer, that Michigan will break Georgia's 2022 record for most picks in a single draft (15).
The Wolverines had a record 18 players invited to the combine.
"I hate to be one of those guys that says I told you so, but I did predict that last summer that Michigan would set the record for most players drafted from a school in a single year," Harbaugh said. "And just watching that come to life and be that way, it was talking to every single guy and seeing all the parents again. I really, I watched all the O-line workout, I was able to watch J.J.'s throwing session, and the rest of the time I was just talking to people. It was just incredible."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Harbaugh: J.J. McCarthy 'the best quarterback in' NFL draft
