Wild rumor could derail J.J. McCarthy's dynasty league value

With the 2024 NFL Draft just over one month away, the stock of J.J. McCarthy continues to slowly rise. Fantasy football players in dynasty leagues have certainly taken notice and those with a need for a young QB could be positioning themselves to draft the man who led his team to a national championship last season.

His former head coach, Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, recently had some incredibly high praise for McCarthy.

Mock drafts have had McCarthy's landing spot all over the place. The New England Patriots at No. 3 could be fun, especially with a well-known former Michigan QB having a pretty good career there. What about the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 or the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 13? Then you have the Denver Broncos at No. 12 or the thought of the Minnesota Vikings trading up to get him.

All of those places are exciting, but the Washington Commanders are not. The Commanders, who have the No. 2 overall selection in the draft, wouldn't take McCarthy that high, would they? Well, take a look at this.

The Commanders have been tied to either Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels all offseason as their next quarterback. Would they really bypass both of them for McCarthy, a guy many saw as a second or even third-round pick not long ago?

It seems like a wild assertion but one that must be considered as McCarthy is really becoming the most intriguing player in this entire draft. But McCarthy as a Commanders quarterback would not be intriguing for your dynasty team.

This isn't a knock on McCarthy's talent, but more the history of the quarterback position in Washington. When was the last time a Commanders QB was consistently good? You have to go way back.

Kirk Cousins had some good seasons there and Robert Griffin III was tremendous as a rookie, but then fell off a cliff. Prior to that, you'd have to go back to the Joe Theismann days or even Sonny Jurgensen in the 1960s and 1970s. It has just not been a place for great quarterback play and for fantasy football players, not a fantasy points factory.

Could a new general manager (Adam Peters), new head coach (Dan Quinn) and new offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) bring change to Washington? Sure. It's definitely a more attractive spot for fantasy players from a coaching standpoint than it has been in recent years. But it will still take time for a player to acclimate, particularly one as young as McCarthy.

Washington would be a less-than-ideal landing spot for McCarthy and in dynasty drafts, a player's landing spot is among the most important factors in their overall value. If he ends up being selected by the Commanders, dynasty players should consider other QB options.

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