For those who have watched all of the prospects extensively, why is McCarthy seen as a better prospect than Nix or Penix?
He’s way younger than both. He was 20 the entire college season. He’s a significantly better downfield thrower than Nix, and about as accurate, which is Nix’s best attribute. Penix is the better deep
ball thrower, but McCarthy is terrific in the intermediate range at leading his receivers and fitting the ball through small windows (sometimes perilously small it feels). McCarthy is also the better runner and doesn’t have Penix’ lengthy injury history.
If I wanted a QB for the next two years only, I’d probably pick Penix, because he’s ahead overall as a thrower. But if I was hopeful to get a QB for anything beyond that, it’s McCarthy. It’s that ceiling or floor debate, of course, but with a first round QB you should look much more at ceiling than floor in my mind.
I know Seattle is hoping McCarthy falls to them, so they can keep him behind Geno for a year and then let him take over. If the Bears keep Fields, I think they should consider the same with JJ. He’d be best served with a redshirt year, but his ceiling is vast.