Huard: Seahawks should ‘do whatever it takes’ to draft J.J. McCarthy

Will the Seattle Seahawks draft a quarterback this year?

Schneider: Seattle Seahawks haven’t ‘shut the door’ on bringing back cut players

The Hawks flirted with the idea last year when they held the No. 5 overall pick, but after three quarterbacks were selected in the first four picks, Seattle took cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

Since John Schneider took over as general manager in 2010, the Seahawks have drafted only two quarterbacks, and none came in the first or second rounds.

If that changes this year and the Seahawks draft a quarterback to build the franchise around under new head coach Mike Macdonald, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard knows who his guy is. That would be Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

“I feel more of a conviction on this than maybe I have in years past,” Huard said during Thursday’s Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports. “And there are some concerns a little bit with J.J. That’s real. I’m not going to be blind to that.”

Don’t normally have such strong convictions this early in the process…but on March 7th, JJ McCarthy is my guy pic.twitter.com/CinRxbZ5tD

— Brock Huard (@BrockHuard) March 7, 2024

McCarthy was in a run-heavy offense at Michigan and had a suffocating defense on the other side. McCarthy was rarely the Wolverines’ focal point.

But diving into the tape, Huard thinks McCarthy would be a great player for the Seahawks to build around.

“My conviction is this: If John Schneider and Mike Macdonald – and Mike Macdonald was embedded there at Michigan for a year (as defensive coordinator in 2021) – if he says to John, ‘we’ve got to go get him. I don’t care, this is the guy I want to build the program around.’ He’s a leader, he’s a winner, he’s tough … I sent you a play last night that reminded me of Patrick Mahomes back in the day,” Huard said to his co-host Mike Salk.

The play in question? Check it out below.

Have yourself a first half Roman Wilson 🔥@UMichFootball makes it 28-0 in the first half vs Nebraska 💪 pic.twitter.com/BLkJfAkflA

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 30, 2023

“He is at a dead sprint, flips his hips, and throws a laser 30 yards down the field for Roman Wilson’s eighth touchdown of the year. I mean an absolute dot,” Huard said. “A play that (Seahawks starting quarterback Geno Smith) at this stage of his career could not make. A play that Michael Penix just with his talents and who he is could not make. (McCarthy) has that kind of upside.”

The Seahawks hold the No. 16 overall pick and McCarthy is not expected to be available when they’re on the clock. If Seattle wants him, the Hawks likely need to trade up, which is harder since they don’t own a second-round pick this year.

Find a way, Huard says.

“My conviction would be you do whatever it takes (to get him),” Huard said. “Is it trading DK Metcalf? Is it trading next year’s (first-round pick)? I really would love for him to be this year’s (first-round pick). I really would. I still would love to add a Troy Fautanu and some of the difference-makers who are in the top-50 of this draft. But I don’t walk away from this draft without doing and exhausting every opportunity to go get J.J. McCarthy.”

In addition to Macdonald’s ties to McCarthy, the Seahawks have even more extensive ties to him as new special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh was there for McCarthy’s entire Michigan career coaching under his dad, Jim, the team’s head coach.

“Jay Harbaugh was embedded with this team not for one year, not for two years, for the entirety of J.J. McCarthy’s career (at Michigan),” Huard said on Friday. “So you have a (former) Michigan linebacker coach that was embedded in that. You have people in that building that you have not had in the past in a critical decision like this, the most important decision if you were to go up and go do this and go attack it this way.”

Listen to the full fourth hour of Thursday’s Brock and Salk at this link or in the video near the top of this story.

More on the Seattle Seahawks and the NFL Draft

• This offseason is chance for Seahawks to prioritize the trenches
• Who Seahawks’ safety options could be after cutting Adams, Diggs
• Seattle Seahawks Draft: Versatile players for Mike Macdonald’s defense
• AP Mock NFL Draft: D-lineman to Seahawks in 1st round?
• The one UW Huskies player Seahawks shouldn’t pass on in draft

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