He has a very small sample size in the NFL, but the Alabama national champions name has surfaced a few times as a QB that could possibly find himself in a starting role in the near future. During the 2015 season McCarron saw a 4 game stretch of starts, and posting some very decent numbers (6 TDs, 2 Ints, avg 208 pass yards p/g and a 66.5% completion percentage). Those games faced the Number 4, 11, 18 and 24th ranked pass defenses. While not terrible numbers there isn't really a whole lot that would suggest McCarron would have what's needed to be a full time starter in the league. Granted the sample size lacks opportunity in his 4 years as a pro, it is hard to gain playing time at the position without draft capital. McCarrons options could be pretty wide here given that he has a lack of starter experience, I don't see him commanding a ton of money in free agency which leaves him as a low risk/high reward player for a team. If teams learned from Mike Glennon I would hope that no one overpays for McCarron in a league desperate for passers.
Where do I see McCarron in 2018?
Cleveland- This spot is the easiest call based on reports of the Browns fudging up trade negotiations for him last year. They had a deal in the bag and apparently did not file the paperwork in enough time to get it done. The Browns still have a ton of holes to fill (especially at head coach) and having a QB with a few years under his belt in any capacity would be incredibly beneficial. The Browns really can only go up from here and taking a cheap shot on McCarron wouldn't hurt them in the slightest. The Browns are also in a great cap situation to allow them to offer more guaranteed money at the lowest risk, so if it doesn't work out the dead money won't hurt as bad
Buffalo- McCarrons career production has so far been fueled by high completion, short throws which would fit perfectly into the Bills system. Being a low risk option I could 100% see the Bills taking a chance here. In the limited action that Nate Peterman has seen, (and really I should scratch the week 11 Chargers game) we've seen nothing but short passes and very low completion percentage. Some of that can be blamed on scheme but when looking a bit deeper you can see the majority of his throws were intended. For example in weeks 11 and 13 his primary targets were to either Zay Jones, who ran the shallowest route tree and was one of the leagues most inefficient WRs in 2017 and Charles Clay. In Fact 80% of his completions in week 13 went to those 2 players. Buffalo didn't utilize the WR position a ton this year but there was almost 0 offensive production when Peterman was in the game. I think one thing is for certain though. Buffalo is done with tyrod
Jacksonville- If the Jags get stuck with having to roster Bortles then this is an easy fit. Cheap, low risk, and anything is better than what they had last year. Chad Henne has been on the roster for years and is nothing special. I see Jacksonville making a splash in the “backup” QB dept.
Pittsburg- This spot would be a bit of a wildcard since the steelers QB situation is a bit in the air. Mid season saw speculation of Ben retiring and Landry Jones has shown over his career he's a bench warmer at best. Add in the wasted pick on Josh Dobbs last year, there just isn't much promise outside of Big Ben. Pitts offensive situation hangs solely on the health and play of Roethlisberger. This is all tossed aside of course if the steelers decide to spend a high pick on a QB, which I think is the smart thing to do.
If its not Cleveland Im not optimistic he lands a starting role, especially given the draft class and other free agent QBs with more experience
Thanks for reading
As a Bengal fan, I'd love to see AJ stay in Cinci. The Eagles proved this year how valuable a solid backup QB can be. But, that's really all he is is a solid backup or starter for a bad team.
I don't think, however, that he's a long term solution in Cleveland or Pittsburgh (or even Cinci for that matter) due to his stature. He's not a particularly large guy and doesn't have a huge arm, which are attributes of QB's who typically play well in cold weather cities.
I think he'd compete for a starting job in Arizona or put a lot of pressure on Bortles in Jacksonville.
I agree so much its crazy. His sample size is small but overal pretty unimpressive posting a career YPC of about 6 yards. I think ALMOST anyone other than bortles would make the jags a real contender
Very interesting read. I think Jacksonville and Pittsburgh are in fact wildcard teams. I would say Cleaveland, Buffalo, and Arizona are more likely fit for him. It would have to be a lower market team.