Giants legend offers passionate J.J. McCarthy draft take

Tiki Barber.

From early March through the second Friday of April, rumors and stories have hinted that the New York Giants are either hoping they can land Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy via the sixth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft or are willing to move up in the draft order to take him.

Giants legend and current NFL analyst Tiki Barber clearly isn’t a fan of either plan.

“The J.J. McCarthy thing, I’m tired of hearing it,” Barber said during Thursday’s edition of the WFAN “Evan and Tiki” program, as shared by Matt Ehalt of the New York Post. “Stop with the J.J. McCarthy thing. His film doesn’t say he’s a first-round quarterback. His film doesn’t say, ‘I need to get rid of all my assets and go draft this guy,’ because a lot of what he does doesn’t translate.”

Barber may have little to worry about regarding his beloved Giants possibly going all-in on McCarthy.

Assuming analysts and reporters are right about USC Trojans star Caleb Williams and LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels becoming the first two picks of the draft, the New England Patriots could select McCarthy over Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels via choice No. 3.

Even if the Patriots go with Maye, it’s believed a club such as the Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders or Denver Broncos will move up ahead of pick No. 6 to take McCarthy.

As for the Giants’ supposed desire to move on from 2023 Week One starter Daniel Jones next offseason, they may take a flier during the upcoming draft on either Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon Ducks signal-caller Bo Nix.

Some think New York could wait until the 2025 player-selection process to find Jones’ replacement if Penix and Nix become first-round picks on April 25.

“The scheme that he ran at Michigan — and maybe this is an indictment on the scheme and not necessarily on him — but it didn’t highlight the things that you need to do, second-, third-level reads, multiple combo routes that you have to get correct,” Barber added about McCarthy. “He didn’t do any of that stuff. They were run-based and he thrived in it…”

As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Vikings as the betting favorites at +125 odds to select McCarthy. The Patriots were second at +250, followed by the Giants at +320.

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