JJ McCarthy continues to dominate the news cycle leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.

McCarthy’s draft stock has been surging, potentially all the way up to No. 2, according to a top NFL insider.

“It’ll be really interesting because everybody’s always trying to figure out, especially at the top of the draft, what the other teams are doing,” Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network said Monday. “When I’ve had conversations here with executives for other teams who know (Washington Commanders GM) Adam Peters well, who know the situation well, the most popular answer for what they do at No. 2 is JJ McCarthy. So, a lot of drama still to come.”

Peters himself isn’t tipping his hand, indicating that it’s wide open as far as who the Commanders take with the second-overall pick.

“We still have a lot of [time], a month ’til the draft [as of] today,” Peters said Monday, per Ben Standig of The Athletic. “It doesn’t sound like a long time, but you get a lot of information in that month. There are still some of the guys we haven’t seen in person. So, we’ll go out and do that next week, see a couple more quarterbacks. Then, we’ll do visits with them. We’ll do Zoom calls. We’ll do a lot of different things.

“So, we’re far from our answer.”

Odds move on news of Commanders’ interest

Those who believe Pelissero have the opportunity to make some serious money. Here are the current odds for the 5 most likely teams to pick McCarthy, per DraftKings:

  • Minnesota Vikings –130
  • New York Giants +250
  • Denver Broncos +550
  • Washington Commanders +600
  • New England Patriots +650

The Commanders line moved from +900 to +600 as Pelissero’s report spread on social media and around the web. Still, Washington is a distant fourth in DraftKings’ odds.

It would take a $130 bet on the Vikings to win $100 for a $230 payout. At current odds, a $100 bet on the Commanders would win $600 for a $700 payout.

As expected, all 5 teams have established interest. Albert Breer of Monday Morning Quarterback shared Monday that McCarthy had Friday meetings with the Patriots, Seahawks and Commanders. Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post reported last week that coach Sean Payton and other members of the Broncos organization met with McCarthy the day after Pro Day. The Vikings, meanwhile, planned a private workout with McCarthy.

Over on the NFL Mock Draft Database, media members favor McCarthy to the Vikings, but others have predicted he will be picked by the Patriots (Chiefs Wire, March 24), Broncos (The Sports Bank, March 26) and Giants (Tankathon, March 24).

The Database shows that McCarthy’s stock has surged over the past 6 weeks, as he has drawn rave reviews at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and at Michigan’s Pro Day.  Just recently, an ESPN analyst opined that McCarthy had solidified his status as a top-5 pick.

Fans have a lot of information to weigh, but the McCarthy buzz is making for an intriguing betting situation. Saturday Tradition has promos for the best Michigan online sportsbooks and Ohio sports betting apps.