How hockey is part of J.J. McCarthy's rise to the NFL (2024)

NFL Draft week is upon us. And while the Chicago Bears are largely expected to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, the questions — and domino effects — begin at No. 2, where the Washington Commanders could go a couple of ways.

Follow here for the latest news, trade rumors and prospect analysis leading up to Thursday night.

Pre-draft reading

• 'The Beast': Dane Brugler's prospect rankings and scouting reports
• A seven-round mock draft predicting all 257 picks
• An NFL Draft guide for every team

Draft schedule

• Round 1: Thursday, 8 p.m. ET
• Rounds 2-3: Friday, 7 p.m. ET
• Rounds 4-7: Saturday, noon ET

The draft will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network.

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Dan Capuano’s funeral at St. Rita of Cascia High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side was standing-room only. Hundreds of firefighters from Chicago and around the country attended. Members of the St. Jude Knights youth hockey club were there, too, wearing their jerseys.

Capuano’s sons, Andrew and Nick, played for the Knights, a Northern Illinois Hockey League program that feeds many of Chicago’s powerhouse Catholic schools. Nick was on the 2012-13 team that won the Squirt A state championship.

Dan had devoted much of his time to the Knights before he died in the line of duty while fighting a warehouse fire on the South Side on Dec. 14, 2015.

That title-winning Knights team wanted to get back together to honor Capuano and his family, so in March 2016, a new team was formed. “Team Capuano” would play in the Shamrock Shuffle at the University of Notre Dame over a weekend. Their jerseys would be red and white and include Dan’s badge number: 1676.

There was an early hiccup. “The guy that was running the tournament, he didn’t want to let us in,” said Ralph Lawrence, a former St. Jude coach. “He said that the competition would be way too high.”

Team Capuano just wanted to play together again. It got in. Things got chippy. During one game, a hit from behind sent center Luke Lawrence, Ralph’s son, hard into the boards.

“Could have paralyzed him,” Ralph said. “It was a bad hit.”

That’s when 13-year-old wing J.J. McCarthy rushed in. The future five-star recruit, Michigan quarterback, national champion and soon-to-be NFL draft pick was livid. He didn’t drop his gloves, but a scrum ensued.

“It was a little cheap hit in the corner,” Luke said. “J.J. was the first one to me, come into the corner and exchange a few words with the kid.”

“J.J. went off on the kid and got kicked out of the game,” Ralph said.

The whole scene was unlike McCarthy. He was typically more collected on the ice — his father, Jim, one of the primary organizers of Team Capuano, didn’t like the outburst — but Luke was J.J.’s close friend, and the tournament was an emotional experience. And in hockey, leadership often involves going into the corners.

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The Baltimore Ravens have nine picks in Thursday's draft, including the 30th pick of the first round.

Here are their needs:

Offensive lineman: The cupboard is not bare as the Ravens could potentially have either Daniel Faalele or Patrick Mekari step in at right tackle, and they have several starting guard candidates, including Josh Jones, Andrew Vorhees, Ben Cleveland and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. However, it feels significant, particularly for an organization that constantly talks about the importance of building a big and physical offensive line, that Baltimore currently has three vacancies up front.

Edge rusher: Baltimore’s most established edge rusher is Odafe Oweh, a 2021 first-round pick who is a work-in-progress and has 13 sacks in three seasons. With the departure of Clowney, the release of Tyus Bowser and uncertainty about the return of veteran Kyle Van Noy, what the Ravens need is an established double-digit sack guy. But they’ll have their eyes on adding more young talent at outside linebacker, too.

Cornerback: Marlon Humphrey is coming off a disappointing injury-marred season, Brandon Stephens is entering a contract year and a few of Baltimore’s younger corners have yet to establish themselves. The Ravens believe in adding cornerbacks every year, but it’s a necessity rather than a luxury this offseason.

Wide receiver: Ravens decision-makers have talked about the continued development of Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and the return of veteran Nelson Agholor. Yet, the depth chart is quite thin after them. Given the strength of this year’s receiver class, it’s hard to believe the Ravens would miss an opportunity to add to this group.

Safety: The Ravens love their starting duo of Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton, but they don’t have an obvious No. 3 safety on the roster. That must be addressed, as Williams has struggled to remain healthy over the past two years.

It’s the 10-year anniversary.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ poor track record of making good picks early in the draft has become an annual talking point. The last draft class where they truly cashed in on their early-round selections came in 2014 when they took edge rusher Khalil Mack, quarterback Derek Carr and guard Gabe Jackson with their first three picks.

A decade later, the pressure is on for general manager Tom Telesco to end the proverbial drought. The hiring of head coach Antonio Pierce sent a wave of optimism through team headquarters and the fan base alike, but the on-the-field results will only continue to fall short unless the Raiders start to have much better success in the draft.

Signing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was a major move and adding Gardner Minshew gave them an important safety net at quarterback, but the rest of the Raiders’ veteran additions so far this offseason have largely been complementary pieces. To take the step forward they want, the Raiders have to add some impact players through the draft.

The Raiders currently hold eight picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Their biggest positions of need are quarterback, guard, offensive tackle and cornerback. Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur teamed up to put together their final seven-round Raiders mock draft ahead of the start of the draft on Thursday. Here’s a breakdown of each pick they made.

Round 1, Pick 13: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

Reed: Mitchell is a 6-foot, 195-pound ball-hawking cornerback with good speed, athleticism and awareness. He should be a Day 1 starter and would complete a starting cornerback unit featuring cornerback Jack Jones and nickelback Nate Hobbs.

Tafur: My guy Taliese Fuaga was gone in this mock and we didn’t like the value of quartertback Michael Penix Jr. at 13, so the only discussion was Mitchell or Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold. Mitchell is faster and Arnold is younger, though they both project as impact day-one starters. This is the Raiders, so we went with speed.

Continue reading for the rest of the mock draft.

The Cleveland Browns have spent big to assemble and retain a veteran roster. Later this week, the final two picks they gave the Houston Texans in the 2022 Deshaun Watson trade will be used. Next year, the Browns will have a first-round pick for the first time since 2021.

For now, they have six picks in this draft — but just two in the top 150. They’re slated to start their draft at No. 54 in the second round before picking again at No. 85 in the third. There’s not one pressing need, and there’s probably not an immediate starting spot available for a rookie added this weekend. But things change quickly, and Cleveland’s pick count might change, too, if general manager Andrew Berry decides to trade down. He also hasn’t made a second-round pick since 2021.

Who might the Browns be targeting? Which names are obvious fits? Which ones might be a little less obvious? As the draft draws closer, here’s how I view a working list of potential Browns picks. The key here is working. It will be updated throughout the first two days of the draft.

Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft guru, has his rankings and full scouting reports in his monstrous NFL Draft guide, “The Beast.” What’s here is based on Brugler’s research, the Browns’ past draft preferences, their current perceived needs and conversations with talent evaluators throughout the pre-draft season. Cleveland is in position to draft for the future.

These are best guesses. The Browns themselves aren’t going to know which direction their draft will head until Friday night. Will Berry trade down and look to add more picks? Is there a big surprise in store? Let’s get to the names.

So, how’d everyone do?

It’s still too early to fully grade the 2023 NFL Draft class. However, with a year’s worth of evidence under our belts, we can do our best to redraft the first round. Let’s take a look at how last year’s Round 1 might go today and which teams hit home runs a year ago.

To keep things simple, we’ve limited any pick movement to pre-draft transactions. Trades like the Panthers’ jump to No. 1 and the Jets/Packers Aaron Rodgers deal that included a Round 1 pick swap are taken into account; the Texans–Cardinals deal at No. 3 and other shifts that occurred during Round 1 are not.

The new top five:

1. Carolina Panthers: QB C.J. Stroud
2. Houston Texans: QB Bryce Young
3. Arizona Cardinals: Edge Will Anderson Jr.
4. Indianapolis Colts: QB Anthony Richardson
5. Seattle Seahawks: DT Jalen Carter

Continue reading.

The 49ers have first-round grades on 22 prospects this year, which is slightly higher than average. He said this year’s draft class also includes 16 so-called “gold helmet” players, which is the highest character designation the 49ers give a prospect and is about average for a given year.

Gold helmet players have to be “exemplary” in a number of areas, including performance, leadership and intelligence. Some recent gold helmet players: tackle Colton McKivitz (fifth round, 2020), safety Talanoa Hufanga (fifth round, 2021), safety Ji’Ayir Brown (third round, 2023) and tight end Brayden Willis (seventh round, 2023).

“We like keeping that standard high,” general manager John Lynch said. “You always want to give out more because our hit rate with those guys is so high. But I think it’s, ‘Let’s stick to our standard,’ because there’s a reason our hit rate’s high.”

Lynch said he hasn’t gotten any phone calls from teams interested in moving back into the first round but he expects those to come later this week. A team that passes on a quarterback early in the round, for instance, might be interested in someone like Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

“I think (pick No.) 31 is an interesting spot,” he said. “I think at the end of Day 1 teams are eager to go get someone. So I imagine there will be some calls. … The big thing is to be open for every scenario.”

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Once a year, every year, the ground beneath the football world moves.

Welcome back to the NFL Draft.

The 2024 NFL Draft, live from Detroit, kicks off Thursday night with one of the best and deepest quarterback classes we’ve seen in years. But that’s not all. Not even close. This is a talent-rich draft at a number of positions, and trade rumors have been rampant for months. Will we see four quarterbacks selected in the first four picks? Who’s going No. 1? Which teams are going to trade? Who’s going to stand pat?

Let’s get you caught up.

The truth is C.J. Stroud never let it get to him, even as draft day neared and the questions started coming and the conversation around him shifted.

“Look at my perspective,” he’d say later. “I’m about to get drafted regardless of that dang test.”

He was right — Stroud, the Ohio State quarterback who was among the top prospects in last year’s NFL Draft, still went second to the Houston Texans, and in a matter of months, the 22-year-old would put together one of the most prolific seasons by a rookie quarterback in league history, lifting a franchise from the league cellar to the divisional round of the playoffs.

But his ascent was less assured last April, when Stroud’s on-field intelligence was being debated, even doubted. Most of this stemmed from his leaked score on the S2, a pre-draft cognition test that has quickly gained credence around the NFL for its ability to measure a quarterback’s mental capacity and, some believe, forecast his chances of future success.

Ten months later, it’s hard to tell the story of Stroud’s record-setting rookie season without at least addressing the reliability of that dang test and what the ensuing firestorm says about the draft process and the veracity of the information that trickles out along the way. Too often, according to several high-ranking league executives granted anonymity by The Athletic so they could discuss Stroud and the test without tampering charges, vital context is missing. Stroud’s case, they believe, is a prime example.

For starters, one exec wondered, why was his score leaked to the media in the first place? And by whom?

“I think it was thrown out there by a team that had their own goals and wanted to use it to put him down and gloat on what they wanted seen,” said one general manager whose team was not in the running for a top quarterback in last year’s draft.

“It was complete B.S. that it was leaked,” offered another GM, “but people in our league can’t help themselves.”

Continue reading.

What more can you ask for as a signal-caller? Justin Jefferson is the best receiver in the game. Jordan Addison can be one of the better No. 2 receivers in the league. Tight end T.J. Hockenson won’t be ready at the beginning of the season because he tore his ACL late last season, but he’ll be back.

The Vikings could use interior offensive line upgrades, but they already have one of the league’s best tackle duos with left tackle Christian Darrisaw and right tackle Brian O’Neill. They finished 13th in offensive rushing success last season despite defenses being able to focus on the run more with Jefferson and Kirk Cousins missing significant time. Jefferson’s presence makes it hard for teams to put that extra defender in the box no matter who is playing quarterback.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell is a strong play-caller who can get his best weapons the ball, schemes up ways that make it difficult to double Jefferson and takes advantage of the extra attention Jefferson gets. Minnesota still finished 10th in yards per play last season despite Jefferson missing eight games and Cousins missing 10.

Ultimately, the potential for a long-term partnership with O’Connell and Jefferson makes the Vikings the top destination for a young quarterback. The Vikings also play indoors, which is conducive to passing.

I’d love to see Drake Maye fall to No. 4 and for the Vikings to trade up to get him. Despite some accuracy issues, Maye would be in a much better situation with talent relative to his competition than he was at North Carolina. He’ll take chances and give his playmakers chances to make plays. There might be some misfires but there would be plenty of fireworks.

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Sitting with the No. 5 pick, the Los Angeles Chargers control a pivot point in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz could remain in their spot and come away with a blue-chip prospect, perhaps a receiver. They could also trade down to accrue more capital for these early stages of the roster build.

The Chargers, of course, do not need a quarterback with Justin Herbert on the roster. There are teams drafting behind them that need to fill that position, and a prospect could be available at No. 5, such as Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. Some teams might also trade up for one of the receiver prospects: Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze.

Stay put or trade down? Pros and cons exist for both options. One thing is certain: If the Chargers trade down, they have to make it worth it. Passing on one of these receivers will be a bold move. For that decision to be palatable, the Chargers would have to earn considerable value in a trade return.

The sweet spot for a trade down is the No. 9 to 13 range. The Chicago Bears pick at No. 9. The New York Jets at No. 10. The Minnesota Vikings at No. 11. The Denver Broncos at No. 12. And the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 13. Moving into this range would allow the Chargers to recoup significant capital while also staying in position to take one of the many intriguing offensive line prospects in this year’s class.

Using recent trade precedent for this range and the Fitzgerald-Spielberger trade value chart from Over the Cap, I set a benchmark for the return the Chargers should be seeking.

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Two days before the 2021 NFL Draft, the Broncos, a team then in need of a quarterback just as it is now, acquired Teddy Bridgewater in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.

Bridgewater joined third-year player Drew Lock in Denver’s quarterbacks room, but the Broncos, who held the No. 9 pick, insisted the trade hadn’t taken them out of the first-round quarterback market. In reality, general manager George Paton wasn’t eager to select a signal-caller out of that draft’s much-hyped quarterback class. The Broncos traded for Bridgewater to be their starter, then drafted cornerback Pat Surtain II to be a centerpiece of the defense.

It was the plan all along.

Three years later, the Broncos have once again traded for a quarterback right before the NFL Draft, where they hold another premium pick (No. 12) and still have a hole at quarterback. Denver on Monday swung a trade with the Jets for Zach Wilson, one of the quarterbacks from the failed 2021 class. He became the fourth quarterback of the five drafted in the first round that year to change teams.

Unlike in 2021, though, this trade shouldn’t be viewed as a referendum on Denver’s plans in the draft. Wilson’s arrival doesn’t fundamentally change the calculus. Paton last week said that if there is a special player available at the game’s most important position when the draft begins, “then you do whatever it takes to get him.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton has called moving up to the top of the draft to select a quarterback a “realistic” proposition.

“Certainly a possibility,” he added last week.

Continue reading.

Of all the NFL quarterback coaches The Athletic has spoken to leading up to the draft, none question Caleb Williams’ ability. “His talent is undeniable,” said one QB coach who played in the league. “The arm, the escapability. There is a lot of ‘wow’ stuff there.”

But there is some skepticism about his fit with the Chicago Bears and, more specifically, how good of a situation the former USC star will be entering. The QB coach pointed to recent examples of young quarterbacks who have thrived, ranging from Patrick Mahomes to Brock Purdy to C.J. Stroud, and compared them to those who have struggled. Think Sam Darnold, Justin Fields and Bryce Young. The coach stressed how important the ecosystem is around the quarterback.

“If guys don’t have like a C.J. Stroud-type start, and they don’t have the right people, right system, right person talking to them every day, right composed demeanor from the head coach, supportive — all of that, it can really ruin a young quarterback,” the coach told The Athletic.

The coach thought so many key elements of the Bears’ dynamic appeared to be stacked against Williams.

“Is the head coach for the Bears safe? You have a first-year coordinator. It’s not like he’s going to a place that’s stable,” he said. “It’s not like the Jordan Love takeover (in Green Bay), where everything was pretty much in place. Same system. The head coach calls plays — ‘I’ve been in these meetings my whole career. I’m ready to take over.’

“It’s not gonna be like that in Chicago. Defensive head coach on the hot seat. New OC. There was quarterback stuff with the last No. 1 guy with Justin Fields. Half of the team wanted him to stay. Maybe half of them didn’t. Those things are huge factors for a young QB coming in at the start of his career. You have to have stability somewhere, whether it’s the head coach, the system, the QB coach, whatever that is, you need it.

“Look at Purdy. He goes into that situation and all of those boxes were checked: solid organization, good defense. That play caller and developer of the talent knew exactly what he was looking at and looking for and allowed him to use that talent in the right way to get the job done. Those things are critical. If Purdy goes to the Panthers, we don’t know him right now.”

The Bears are all too familiar with having to figure out the best way to usher in a rookie quarterback. They will be the second team to draft a quarterback in the first round three times in eight years, joining the Cleveland Browns.

From the outside, with Matt Eberflus putting together a record of 10-24 in two years, it may look like 2024 is a win-or-else season. But Bears ownership doesn’t want to create a similar environment that hindered the development of their previous two first-round QBs.

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The Packers are tied for the most picks in this year’s draft with 11, including five between selections No. 25 and 91 thanks to the Aaron Rodgers and Rasul Douglas trades made in the last year. Coming off a Divisional Round appearance and with seemingly only a hole or two in the starting lineup, perhaps the Packers can afford to package picks to trade up for a prospect or two that can get them over the playoff hump.

General manager Brian Gutekunst acknowledged the possibility of trading up, while also saying he’d love to add at least two more picks. That would increase the likelihood the Packers add to their hits list of the past two years that includes offensive tackle Zach Tom, wide receiver Jayden Reed, wide receiver Romeo Doubs and others.

“I don’t ever subscribe to the thought process, ‘Hey, we’ve got a pretty good team. These guys might not have a chance to make the team,'” Gutekunst said. “I think I’ve talked a lot about competition in every room and how much it accelerates the growth of your football team. I think that’s the best way for your team to move forward, so to me, there’s never enough.

“We’re never afraid to move around. Where we sit right now with five picks in the first 91, 11 total, I think we’re in a pretty good space to move or just sit and pick.”

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — His plan for the NFL Draft remains the same. Brett Veach, the Kansas City Chiefs’ general manager, wants to make another deal, a splashy trade that he hopes will allow the reigning champions to acquire another star player.

Veach, who is known for his aggressiveness this time of year, has made a trade during or before the draft almost every year since he was promoted to his role after the draft in 2017. That year, of course, Veach had a prominent role in the Chiefs pulling off the greatest trade in franchise history: The team moved up 17 spots in the first round via a trade with the Buffalo Bills to acquire the 10th pick to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

This year, the Chiefs’ draft could start in the middle of the first round, perhaps as early as the 14th pick, which the New Orleans Saints possess. If Veach can move the Chiefs to the 20th pick or even higher, it will be the highest pick he’s ever had as general manager.

“I can envision myself (doing that), but you’ve got to get the owner’s approval on that,” Veach said with a smile Friday during his pre-draft news conference. “We have a pretty good plan this upcoming week, but every situation is unique. I certainly could see something like that, but a lot of things have to fall in place.”

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In our first Broncos mock draft in early February, Denver nabbed All-American tight end Brock Bowers and addressed the quarterback position with late-round flyer Joe Milton of Tennessee. In our second mock draft in March, the Broncos traded back in the first round, selected edge rusher Jared Verse with the 17th pick and punted the task of finding a franchise quarterback to 2025.

Our third mock draft, dropping with the real event only four days away, reflects a greater urgency to find the permanent answer at quarterback. It reflects an aggressiveness I believe 60-year-old coach Sean Payton will have as he enters his second season in Denver, knowing his hope of rebuilding a downtrodden franchise hinges on him finding an answer at the most important position. It also reflects the dash of luck the Broncos might need to land a top-ranked passer as a handful of other QB-needy teams jostle for position.

Round 1, No. 8: J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

Trade: Broncos send No. 12, No. 76 (third round), No. 203 (sixth) and a 2025 second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for No. 8 and No. 109 (fourth)

You can find plenty of mock exercises that put quarterbacks in the first four slots of the draft, which would be an NFL record. I’m counting on precedent to give Denver a chance. Here’s how it would look:

The Patriots at No. 3 would make sense as a trade-back candidate given that both the lead front office figure (Eliot Wolf) and head coach (Jerod Mayo) are in their first seasons on the job and the team has significant building to do in the post-Bill Belichick era. Collecting a trove of picks for the No. 3 selection, and waiting to start the clock on a franchise quarterback, would be a prudent move. The Vikings, with the two first-round picks, are well-equipped to jump into New England’s spot and take the quarterback of their choice. If Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels go first and second to the Bears and Commanders, respectively, it’s possible the Vikings could be after McCarthy. But there has been enough connecting the dots between Minnesota and Drake Maye to believe the North Carolina quarterback could be their choice.

The question from there: How far would the Broncos need to climb to get McCarthy? Following a run of three straight quarterbacks, I think three straight wide receivers will come off the board — Marvin Harrison to the Cardinals at No. 4; Malik Nabers to the Chargers at No. 5; Rome Odunze to the Giants at No. 6 — and the Titans will take Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt with the No. 7 pick.

The No. 8 spot presents an opportunity for the Broncos to make a jump and hold off competition from teams like the Patriots (remember, they moved back in this scenario) or Raiders — and do so while preserving their first-round pick in next year’s draft.

Continue reading for the full seven-round Broncos mock draft.

So what does this mean for Denver in this upcoming draft?

Expect the Broncos to continue working behind the scenes to see if they have enough to move up in the draft for a quarterback. Otherwise, all other options are on the table.

I was told this front office is exploring it all.