A new name has entered the No. 2 overall pick conversation in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Betting odds on J.J. McCarthy to be the second player taken in next month’s draft improved dramatically after some NFL team executives theorized at the league’s annual meetings that the Commanders could take the Michigan quarterback with that selection.
McCarthy was as high as +2500 at BetMGM Sportsbook on Monday before plummeting to +350, the third-best odds on the board, as of Tuesday evening.
That puts him just behind LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (-135) and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (+170).
With Washington in the market for a new quarterback, both players had been the clear-cut favorites to go in the top three before McCarthy’s late entrance into the race.
Even if Daniels and Maye are selected second and third, in whichever order, there is momentum for McCarthy to go in short order.
He currently has the second-best odds to go fourth (+220) and third-best odds to go fifth (+350).
Despite the latest rumors, the Vikings, who hold the No. 11 pick in the first round, are seen by oddsmakers as the most likely team to pick McCarthy at -125 odds.
The 21-year-old McCarthy, who is coming off a national championship win with the Wolverines, has previously been connected to the Giants, Broncos, Seahawks and Patriots.
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New Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who also departed Michigan for the NFL after the college football season, has touted McCarthy as “the best quarterback in this draft.”
While who will be picked at No. 2 is still up in the air, oddsmakers have no question who will be selected with the first overall pick.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams is a -10000 favorite to be the first player selected. The Chicago Bears hold the No. 1 pick.