The draft profiles roll on as we move to my second favourite quarterback in this year’s NFL Entry Draft, and one people are probably talking the least about heading into draft day in Drake Maye.
Drake Maye – Quarterback North Carolina
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 223 lbs
Year: Sophomore
Age: 21.6
Arm Length: 32 ¼”
Hand Size: 9 ⅛”
NFL Player Comparison: Slightly Less Accurate Justin Herbert
If you were to design the ideal quarterback on Madden to take over your franchise, Drake Maye would be the archetype. He has all the traits that you want in a pocket passer. His height is ideal, he has a solid frame, a strong arm and his athleticism is underrated. He’s also the second youngest quarterback prospect out of all the top quarterbacks in this draft, and comes from an extremely athletic family. His dad was a quarterback at UNC, while his brothers Luke and Cole won college basketball (UNC) and baseball (Florida) championships respectively, while Beau was on the 2022-2023 UNC team.
Maye has also impressed in his team interviews. He’s an instinctual and charismatic leader on and off the field – he may not be the ra-ra guy that pumps everyone up pre game, but he has a steady demeanor and knows how to rally the team around him in crucial moments.
On top of his pro ready frame Maye has great arm strength and infinite upside. He isn’t as good as Caleb Williams in creating outside of the pocket, but he has shown a legit ability to create on his own (including this impressive left handed throw). His body type allows him to create plays with defenders on him and shake off tacklers with ease. His comfort in working from a muddied pocket will carry over to the NFL, which will likely be key in his first few seasons as he’s in line to join a team in either the Commanders or Patriots that are clearly in a transition phase. He always keeps his eyes downfield as he senses pressure and has an innate ability to know when to step up in the pocket and when to escape laterally.
His arm strength might be his top quality. He has a classic pocket quarterback’s throwing motion that allows him to really put velocity on the ball allowing him to attack deep on a consistent basis. His strength also allows him to throw the ball on the move without having to reset his feet with accuracy as his ability to twist his torso gives him enough torque to get the ball out. His low turnover-worthy play rate was at just 1.9% (per PFF) last season, which was good for the 7th best in the FBS.
His overall accuracy is above average – it isn’t his top trait by any means, but it is a strong asset. He’s definitely a big game hunter on a regular basis – he has 34 big time throws according to PFF, which was second only to Michael Penix last season. Basically, Maye checks every single box that teams should be looking for in a franchise quarterback, including the pre-snap process. Maye is already able to diagnose defenses and call out protection changes while pointing out where the pressure is coming from.
His ceiling is Justin Herbert, and the comparables are real. Herbert was the third quarterback taken in his draft year, and people thought that might have been a little early. While Herbert has yet to have postseason success, there are few that would argue against him being a top 5-7 quarterback in the league. It feels like Maye is also dealing with this lack of hype leading up to the draft as teams are starting to over criticize Maye.
There are some negatives with Maye’s game to be sure. Big game hunting is a fun way to play quarterback, but it isn’t always the right decision. He’ll turn down a checkdown or inside slant to help move the sticks to go for the deep downfield threat, and his deep ball accuracy occasionally tends to waver. His pressure to sack rate was 18.8% which is a direct result of him trying to take the big shot too often. He also has an elongated throwing motion, and those split seconds are the difference between getting an accurate ball off under pressure or not. Maye might rely on his arm strength a little too much and ignore the fundamentals of throwing the football which probably accounts for the lack of elite level accuracy.
All that to be said – Maye is 21 years old. Everything that he needs to develop can be coached, if he lands somewhere that he won’t be wasted. We’re currently comparing him to QBs like Jayden Daniels, who has played almost twice as much college football as Drake Maye has. Age isn’t a determining factor, but having a younger player that is still maturing leads me to believe that Maye can be coached out of some of his knucklehead tendencies. But you can’t teach the physical attributes that Maye possesses.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Hector Alejandro. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.