With Caleb Williams effectively locked in with the first-overall pick and J.J. McCarthy quickly climbing up draft boards, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye‘s chance of being a top-three pick isn’t as definitive as it once was.
Fortunately, the prospect can rest easy knowing that the Commanders (No. 2) and Patriots (No. 3) had the largest contingents at his pro day. The Commanders also met with Maye privately before his public workout, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB. Specifically, coach Dan Quinn, general manager Adam Peters, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury spoke with the prospect.
While there were reports from earlier today that the Patriots may prefer Jayden Daniels over Maye, the organization was still well represented at the prospect’s pro day. The Patriots also met with the quarterback before he threw, and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf got an up-close look at the prospect during his workout, according to Evan Lazar of the team’s website.
“It’s been awesome,” Maye said of his meeting with the Patriots (via Lazar). “Try to get to know them. Trying to get to know what they’re about, and their championship mindset to get back to the glory days.”
Interestingly, Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda.com writes that the Broncos were also among the most represented teams at Maye’s audition. The Broncos currently sit with the No. 12 pick, and even if Maye does fall out of the top-three, it’s unlikely he drops all the way out of the top-10. In other words, the Broncos would surely have to move up in the first round if they want the UNC product.
As Adam Caplan of ProFootballNetwork.com passes along, NFL evaluators have lauded Maye for his size, arm strength, and aggressiveness. However, the prospect received criticism for hastily leaving the pocket and trying to make “hero throws,” a pair of attributes that could surely be curbed with experience.
Maybe he can curb hero throws . he be jeff george /Jay Cutler too big ego to adapt.
The king of hero throws was without a doubt Brett Favre.
the difference was that Favre could make them. A gunslinger if there ever was one
Something about Drake Maye says more Josh Rosen/Zach Wilson than it does Patrick Mahomes. I hope I’m wrong, for his sake and the team that ends up with him, but I’m getting more of a Blake Bortles/Dewayne Haskins vibe than a Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson feeling.
Most teams draft off vibes so this is really bad news, he could end up being Kirk Cousins or Cade McNown or Randall Cunningham or Jake Locker or possibly even Matt Schaub or maybe Jake Plummer
Blake Bortles was a lot better then Haskins. But I do agree Maye feels like one of the guys who could be a 1st round bust. I am not saying he will bust but when you look at the 6 QB’s that could go in the 1st round I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being one of the guys that is on a different team in 4 years.
I do feel as if Maye is one of those players whose fate will certainly depend on who he has as a coach. Payton could be a great choice, as he has a well established system and Maye seems to be able to make all of the throws he’ll need to. Maye certainly won’t fall to Denver, though, and moving up seems like costly prospect for them.
Whomever Maye gets as a coach will need to limit his risk taking to advantageous situations-that will be the first issue. Maye already makes a lot of pro style throws, and when he’s running in a rhythm, looks like the most pro-ready prospect in the draft. The issue is that he’ll push it and take an unnecessary risk, or get ahead of himself and collapse from a decision making standpoint. That’s something a good coach can fix, but an ineffectual coach will be overwhelmed by in my mind.
Watched sum of his footwork on utube, it’s horrendous. Is that sumthin a pro QB cch can clear-up or is that who Maye is ? Seems to panic when 1st read isn’t open or pocket starts to collapse. Can see why he’s slipped a lil maybe in eyes of scouts. Has all the other intangibles. That footwork has to impede his throws a lil. Kno that was Josh Allen’s red flag coming out of school but he seems to have corrected it.
I did the same with most of the top QBs and thought he looked, overall, the most polished and NFL ready. Footwork needs to get better but that can be fixed, will it – is another story. I think Maye is the best QB in this class. I think Williams is ready to be a bust and Daniels fits the mold of the new QB who can run around and throw it but I’m not quite sold yet. Like any QB system fit is key for any of these guys. McCarthy is a day 2 QB. Needs some development. Penix I don’t see being a good QB but I said the same about tua and he’s been good, not great. Nix can make some good throws but I’m not sold he’s going to be anything special. Who knows the draft is a lot to ticket. Hard to hit. Let’s see how they unfold, this should be an interesting QB class.
If it were me I would take Maye over Daniels. Daniels looks like the next RGIII, great until his body gives out. Just doesn’t seem built to last.
Footwork will be a big issue for Maye because he never took snaps under center. Fixable? Probably. But not if he’s expected to start immediately. Falling back in the draft could help him if he winds up with a team with a decent OL and solid coaching.
Justin Herbert is the only QB I can think of in my memory who was almost entirely inexperienced under center, and somehow learned to be great at it in the pros. Other than him, the prospects in this boat don’t tend to do well.
On the other hand, I agree with NYG4246 that Maye looks much more like a pro QB when he’s playing well than his competitors. Decision making obviously needs some work, but the advantage that he has is that so many offenses now are willing to run young QBs in shotgun. Of course, the rules making offense easier helps to compensate for deficiencies there. Additionally, no matter how much shotgun we see in the league today, the best quarterbacks are those who can play under center. They need to at least have that ability to see defenders and observe proper protections. Maye will have to learn how to do that-will he able to pull a Herbert? We shall see.
Mayes makes a lot of bad/unjustifiable throws. Those kinds of throws become turnovers in the NFL. Everyone is hoping he can work it out over time like Josh Allen – but put me down as skeptical.
Mitch Trubisky all over again