Sunday Patriots Notes: Is the J.J. McCarthy hype real?

Notes and thoughts on the Patriots and the NFL on April 14.

The 2024 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away, meaning that the entire league is entering crunch time. The New England Patriots are no exception, meaning that our coverage this week was mostly focused on draft-related matters.

For anything we did not touch on — draft or otherwise — here is our weekly notebook clean-out. Welcome to our Sunday Patriots Notes.

1. Is the J.J. McCarthy hype real? Sitting at No. 3 overall, the Patriots will have at least two of the non-Caleb Williams quarterbacks in this year’s draft on the board: only one of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy will be gone by the time the QB-needy team is on the clock. Who will actually make it this far remains to be seen, but the signs continue to point toward Maye and McCarthy being available for New England.

For Maye, that is not an unfamiliar position. The North Carolina quarterback was one of the top prospects throughout the pre-draft prospect, ranking in the top three of the consensus big board shared by Mock Draft Database going all the way back to early January.

McCarthy, on the other hand, can look back on a meteoric rise. After ranking as a fringe first-rounder through January and February, he saw his stock climb from the Scouting Combine on. He ranked 28th on the big board pre-Combine, and now finds himself at No. 7 overall — the fourth passer on the board, and somebody the Patriots might be quite interested in.

McCarthy is expected to visit the team this month, so now is a good time to assess what to make of this climb. Is the hype real?

First things first: the draft is a crapshoot, with even highly-touted prospects not guaranteed to work out. And in McCarthy’s case, there is more guesswork and projection needed given that Michigan did not ask him to do as much as other quarterbacks in the class did.

That being said, teams have indeed fallen in love with him. His pro day workout and interview performance seem to play a big role in this, and his tape itself also is better than a lot of people seem to realize — something that prompted one of the preeminent quarterback analysts out there to put him ahead of Drake Maye should both be available at the third overall position.

“If we were in a personnel room right now and we had the third pick of the draft and we were having Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, whoever else you want to insert into this, I’m not comfortable saying that for sure one of those guys is better than the other, or for sure that I would put a lot of money on one being more successful than the other,” said former NFL quarterback J.T. McCarthy during a recent appearance on the Bootleg Football Podcast.

“But if I was looking at the film going, ‘Man, who would I want to hitch with for the next half a decade?’ it would be hard for me not to go J.J. McCarthy there. I’m going to be honest, that’s just the truth. I see the big splash plays from Drake Maye, but I see him f–king skipping balls, man. I don’t see that from J.J. McCarthy.”

Now would the Patriots be willing to invest the third overall pick in McCarthy? That is anybody’s guess, with the team seemingly playing its card rather close to the vest.

Still, the fact that he is in the conversation either at that spot or lower — possibly with New England slightly moving down the board via trade — is no coincidence. McCarthy is a legitimate prospect, despite the projection needed being more significant than with Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels, for example.

Of course, the ultimate call will come down to Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf. And even if he deems No. 3 too rich to spend on McCarthy, it looks like his rise over the last few weeks is indeed a reflection of how clubs view him.

“Who would I want to play quarterback for our system?” asked O’Sullivan. “I don’t feel great about it either, but I would lean towards J.J. McCarthy and I don’t think that’s necessarily a knock on Drake Maye. Some of the stuff that I’ve seen from McCarthy looks more — and this is a term that people love to throw around this time of year — NFL-ready. More of it looks like stuff you see consistently on Sundays then the other stuff.”

2. Sione Takitaki looking forward to learning from two former linebackers: The Patriots did not make a lot of free agency splashes outside of retaining their in-house talent, but one of the external players they did bring aboard has the potential to make an impact right away: off-the-ball linebacker Sione Takitaki, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, should be a Day 1 contributor both on defense and special teams.

For a Patriots team that was unable to retain Mack Wilson in free agency, this is good news. For Takitaki himself, meanwhile, joining New England on a two-year deal also could become a career catalyst — in large part due to the coaches he will be working with: former NFL linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jerod Mayo.

Whereas the former will be Takitaki’s position coach, the latter is in his first year as the Patriots’ head coach.

“Obviously, they played for a while. Me being a linebacker, I’ve watched them growing up, and just the style of the way they use their linebackers here for the Patriots for a long time I feel like fits my modes,” Takitaki told reporters this week.

“I’ve always watched them from afar, even when I was young growing up — even when I got to the league, when I was with Cleveland. I always watched them. Their style of play, just so aggressive; linebackers move around. The versatility they have. Real familiar with those guys. It’s it’s cool to be coached by Hightower — a great — and learn from him, be a sponge from him. And even Mayo, being a head coach, excited for him too, [and] for me just to come and learn from these guys.”

3. Recovering Patriots in the spotlight with offseason program underway: The Patriots opened Phase 1 of their offseason workout program on Monday, and among the participants during the first voluntary sessions were some players coming off major injuries. For both them and the team as a whole, their presence is encouraging news.

Those players include cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), edge Matthew Judon (biceps), running back Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), guard Cole Strange (knee), tight end Hunter Henry (knee), wide receivers Kendrick Bourne (knee) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle), and defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (biceps) — all of whom ended the 2023 season on the sidelines. Most if not all of them are projected to play prominent roles on the team this coming season.

4. Kayshon Boutte participates in voluntary workouts: Also present during workouts was wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who is dealing with some legal issues. The sophomore was arrested during the offseason on illegal gambling charges, but he was accounted for on Day 1 of voluntary workouts.

While that does not mean he has a future with the club, his presence falls in line with what head coach Jerod Mayo said about him in March.

“We’re continuing to gather information on that,” Mayo said during the NFL annual meeting in Orlando. “He’s still on the team, and hopefully we can continue to develop this player — but really develop him as a man as well going forward.

“I think it’s important to remember: some of these guys are very young. They’ve made mistakes in the past. It’s easy to just throw them away, but there are certain instances where you’re like, ‘Alright, I can help this guy out.’ And I feel like we have a good player development group there that will definitely help us going forward.”

5. A fun behind-the-scenes peak at the New England weight room: The Patriots shared some photos from the start of their offseason workouts on social media, including one particularly interesting view at their weight room. While quarterback Jacoby Brissett is in focus, the wall behind him — listing the team’s weight room records — caught our eye.

While not all of the information is easily identifiable, some of it is. We therefore know that Rohan Davey (bench press), Matt Cassel (squat) and Jimmy Garoppolo (vertical jump) still hold some team records at the quarterback position. The same is true for running backs Fred McCrary (squat) and Walter Williams (vertical jump) as well as tight ends Benjamin Watson (squat) and Daniel Graham (vertical jump).

A blast from the past.

6. New England’s recent draft picks have some staying power: One of the main reason for the Patriots’ struggles over the last few seasons has been their inability to draft and develop true difference makers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. That being said, according to a recent analysis by Bryant Baucom of TestCasinos, New England’s players as a whole do have some staying power.

Going back to 2014, they rank fourth in the league in players still being in the league with a rate of 67.3 percent. For comparison, the top-ranked Atlanta Falcons have 70 percent of their draft picks over that span since in the NFL.

Obviously, there is more to draft success than the volume of players still in the league. Nonetheless, the Patriots under Bill Belichick were able to identify talent deemed as worthy of sticking around the NFL in some capacity.

7. Tom Brady sees attitude and adversity problems with today’s athletes: Needless to say, former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has some issues with athletes these days. Appearing on a new episode of the Deep Cut podcast, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer went on a brief rant about young players being to self-centered.

“I think the biggest problem with a lot of f–king kids these days is it’s all about them,” Brady said. “It’s all about them. Their brand, their social media. When it’s about me and not about us, well there’s no way to succeed as a team, if all you’re doing is thinking about how selfish it is for you to get the attention. …

“When people are looking for self-glorification, very self-serving attitudes, very selfish attitudes, it’s hard to have a team-first attitude, if all you’re concerned about is how you’re doing, or your stats, or the glory you’re getting, the gratification you’re getting. I feel like the physical, mental, emotional for all of us is so important. We have to evaluate ourselves every day.”

Brady also mentioned that a lack of adversity during the early non-professional stages of one’s career can be a problem.

“Lot of kids, they’re not prepared for all the attention,” he said. “And they’re doing really well. Next, first bit of adversity comes when they’re professionals and the lights are on. And then, ‘Oh man, I don’t know how to quite deal with it.’ And then, you end up having a really short career because you don’t know how to deal with when things don’t go your way.”

While there might be some “old man yells at cloud” energy to what Brady said, his status as the greatest and most successful player in NFL history makes his remarks worth revisiting. They also highlight some of the challenges organizations with well-established structures — like the Patriots of the two-decade-plus Bill Belichick era — can face through changing mentalities.

8. New helmet rule might impact Patriots at one point: Starting in 2025, NFL teams will be allowed to wear a third helmet design, and the Patriots might take advantage. While they are using the “Flying Elvis” helmet they have worn ever since the early 1990s, as well as a throwback featuring “Pat Patriot” they do have a third design in their team history: back during the 1960 season, they had a tricorne hat as their helmet decal:

The team does not appear to be in any rush to add this new design to its helmet rotation. However, the option to do so will at least exist starting in 2025.

9. Ex-Patriots are tying to make the jump into broadcasting: The NFL held its Broadcasting Bootcamp this week, and three former Patriots players were among the participants: defensive backs Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon as well as linebacker Tully Banta-Cain were taking part in the event, possibly setting the stage for a second career.

10. Setting up the week ahead: The Patriots will continue putting the finishing touches on their draft preparation this week, including hosting more prospects on in-house visits (including the aforementioned J.J. McCarthy). In addition, scouting director Eliot Wolf is scheduled to hold a pre-draft press conference on Thursday.