J.J. McCarthy's PSA 10 rookie is a cheap flyer on the Giants' fifth-round bet
His 2024 Prizm sells for about $40 in PSA 10, close to Jayden Daniels' and a fraction of Caleb Williams' $300.
The Giants paid a 2027 fifth-round pick for J.J. McCarthy on Sept. 28, the kind of price teams put on a backup. His 2024 Panini Prizm rookie in PSA 10 sells for about $40, down at the cheap end of his first-round class with Jayden Daniels' and Michael Penix Jr.'s, even though Minnesota took him 10th overall. Caleb Williams' PSA 10 from the same set sells for about $300.
McCarthy went 6-4 in 10 starts for Minnesota in 2025 before Kyler Murray took the job this summer. New York got him three weeks into the season, after losing Jaxson Dart for the year. He threw for 243 yards off the bench in the fourth quarter against the Saints on Oct. 18, the most any player has thrown in 11 minutes in NFL history, according to Sports Illustrated. A week later he won his first start for the Giants, 27-21 in overtime at Houston, with 252 yards. He landed with John Harbaugh, whose brother Jim won a national title with him at Michigan in 2023.
PSA has graded 3,350 copies of McCarthy's Prizm rookie, level with Penix's 3,375 and well short of Maye's 8,296 or Daniels' 16,164. His count hasn't moved since Oct. 13, five days before the Saints game, while Maye's, Nix's and Daniels' all added copies on Nov. 1. Copies sent in after his record night may still be sitting at PSA.
McCarthy still has to keep the job after the bye. But I'd take a flyer on his Prizm PSA 10 at around $40, because the Giants bought a 6-4 starter for a fifth-round pick while his card sells with the cheapest quarterbacks in his class. If he holds the job, that's a cheap place to have bought in. If he doesn't, at least you're on your way to a 2026 rookie QB master set.
