Analyst shares J.J. McCarthy warning for Giants

Add well-known analyst and NFL Network personality Brian Baldinger to the list of people who think the New York Giants should avoid trading up in the draft order to acquire Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy on the night of April 25. 

"I would not go after J.J. McCarthy," Baldinger told Steve Serby of the New York Post over the weekend. "He might become a great pro. He’s just a very difficult guy to evaluate because of where he comes from. He’s the only quarterback I can remember in recent history where nobody says anything negative about him. They just say, 'He’s 27-1, [former Michigan head coach] Jim Harbaugh says he’s the best quarterback in the draft.'"

The McCarthy hype is real to the point that some are convinced the Washington Commanders will draft the national champion with the second overall pick instead of Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers or North Carolina Tar Heels signal-caller Drake Maye. 

The Chicago Bears are widely expected to make USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams the draft's first choice, and many think the New England Patriots will select Daniels, Maye or McCarthy at No. 3. 

Giants legend and current NFL analyst Tiki Barber went viral last week when he said during a WFAN segment that McCarthy's film "doesn't say he's a first-round quarterback." 

Some nevertheless have suggested the Giants could trade up from pick No. 6 to the fourth or fifth selection to take McCarthy, but analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates of ESPN predicted in a joint mock draft updated on Monday that the Minnesota Vikings will move up to No. 5 for the right to take McCarthy.

"I like him, I don’t know that I love him," Baldinger added about McCarthy. "I can’t see how many off-platform throws he makes, or how creative he is when, I don’t know, [Detroit Lions pass-rusher] Aidan Hutchinson’s ready to swallow him up."

Baldinger thinks the Giants should completely pass on McCarthy and instead take a flier on Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at some point during the draft. Penix has been linked in stories with the Giants and also with the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams, among other clubs. 

Penix could become the fifth or sixth quarterback drafted later this month. 

"If you said to me, 'Let’s put J.J. McCarthy in Michael Penix’s offense, would they go 14-0 and come within 30 minutes of winning the national championship?' I’d say there’s no chance that he could do it," Baldinger explained. "It was a deep passing game offense, it was big attacking, they put up a lot of points. I don’t know that some of these quarterbacks could have played in that offense the way Michael did."