Drake Maye | North Carolina 6’4″ 223 lbs. 08/30/2002 (Age 21)
Drake Maye was drafted by the New England Patriots, becoming the 3rd quarterback and 3rd overall player in the 2024 NFL Draft.
COLLEGE PRODUCTION
Maye was a 2-year starter at UNC after a redshirt freshman season. He broke out as a 20-year-old sophomore throwing for 4,321 passing yards and 38 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. Maye followed this with 3,608 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to go with nine interceptions as a junior, which was a disappointing output in the eyes of many from the projected #2 overall pick. However, there’s still plenty of optimism for Maye, as he posted an impressive career passer rating at UNC.
Additionally, it’s important to factor in the context that Maye was carrying two bad teams as a sophomore as a junior, with his junior season featuring an especially terrible supporting cast. This should provide some justification, especially for his year 2→3 regression.
FILM
Here’s an excerpt of my breakdown of Drake Maye from the DFF Declassified Rookie Draft Survival Guide:
“As far as pure traits go, Drake Maye is the least flawed quarterback prospect in this entire class. His superpower is his pocket presence and awareness. This, combined with his athleticism and frame, gives him something like Anthony Richardson’s superpower of being extremely difficult to sack (admittedly, Maye is not quite fully un-sackable in the way Richardson nearly is). He bails at the perfect time on almost every play under pressure, and it can’t be understated how valuable this is to an offense, preventing his team from falling behind schedule and stalling out drives.
Maye is an excellent athlete and excels as a threat in the open field when needed, able to create big chunk plays both with his agility and with his power. He has shown on tape a good aptitude for playing in rhythm and progressing through his reads quickly and with timing. He’s excellent out of structure as well, and I actually think his accuracy on the run is relatively more impressive than his standstill accuracy. In general, he’s a very effective passer at all levels of depth and makes high-level throws look easy on a regular basis.
The biggest glaring concern with Maye is the occasional chaotic hero-ball moments not all that dissimilar to guys like Josh Allen, where these Uber-talented throwers with below average supporting casts make themselves look bad trying to squeeze throws in windows that really aren’t there. I feel that Maye is still early on enough in his development to iron out these errors to a degree, but also that a certain level of “bozo gene” isn’t the worst thing for a franchise QB to have.
Overall, a very well rounded pro-ready prospect with a ton of high level traits. Could easily develop into an elite processor to pair with raw athletic ability for the position, a la Jordan Love.”
ATHLETIC TESTING
At the Combine, Drake Maye measured 6’4” and 223 lbs. He did not participate in drills or athletic testing at the combine.
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Drake Maye was taken with the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This is excellent draft capital for a quarterback and indicates that Maye will likely provide two years of stable value insulation at minimum.
Unfortunately, I’m simply not optimistic about the New England offense. Their line is subpar and their skill positions are just as mediocre. They have a long way to go before I would consider this a positive environment for Maye to develop in. I anticipate Maye will likely have to deal with considerable strife, but I do trust him enough as a prospect that he could eventually persevere and help to turn the situation around.
FANTASY INSIGHTS
I have Drake Maye ranked as the number 4 quarterback in this class. While his prospect grade earned a #2 ranking pre-draft, I’m far more optimistic about the landing spots for J.J. McCarthy and Jayden Daniels, and the rushing upside of the latter also tantalizes me far more. Maye will flip around in the 5-8 range for me in rookie drafts, and I could totally see him exceeding expectations. However, I’m trying to temper my hopes for him given how bad that situation is.
Drake Maye should go off the board in rookie drafts in the mid 1st (1.05-1.08). I’d be thrilled to be picking him in this range, especially if I’m in need of a quarterback.
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