Report: Seahawks had ‘lengthy’ meeting with JJ McCarthy prior to Pro Day

This is the second reported meeting the Seahawks have had with the national champion quarterback.

Former University of Michigan starting quarterback and national championship winner J.J. McCarthy has seen his draft stock rise considerably in recent weeks. There’s speculation that he may be off the board within the first five picks, if not second overall to the Washington Commanders.

Prior to last week’s Michigan Pro Day, the Seattle Seahawks were reportedly among the teams that had an extensive visit with McCarthy in Ann Arbor.

Seattle previously met with McCarthy at the NFL combine. There’s no report that he’s had or will have a formal top 30 visit, which would mean traveling to the Seahawks’ team facilities for an interview and a physical.

If we go by the hype surrounding McCarthy, the odds that he’s available when Seattle is on the clock at No. 16 is very slim. The Seahawks have never traded up in the first round under John Schneider, and presumably they’d have to part ways with a key player or two and/or major draft capital in order to trade up for a first-round QB. Both the Commanders and Patriots are far more likely to land McCarthy than Seattle.

With the Seahawks trading for Sam Howell, it doesn’t exclude Seattle from drafting a quarterback, but the combination of the Howell acquisition and the decision to restructure Geno Smith’s contract theoretically reduce the possibility that Seattle’s first draft choice is a quarterback. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen the Seahawks eyeing quarterbacks projected to go toward the top of the draft order, but it’s always worth paying attention to despite Seattle’s history of not taking QBs early.

Other quarterbacks the Seahawks have met with (either at the combine or a top 30 visit) include Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU, Drake Maye of North Carolina, Tulane’s Michael Pratt, and UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee.