With the Super Bowl finishing up the 2023 NFL season this weekend, one of the biggest events in the offseason that everyone will be looking forward to is the NFL draft. This draft is very heavy with quarterbacks, and we could see several taken within the first 10 picks. Caleb Williams is the runaway favorite for the first overall pick, but we aren’t focused on him today. Today, we are taking a look at the scouting report for former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. Let’s get right into it.
Drake Maye’s Strengths
Maye is an exciting prospect, for a variety of reasons. He has good mobility in the pocket, and is able to scramble to get away from pass rushers pretty effectively. At his large stature of 6’4″ 230, his combination of speed and agility is impressive. It reminds me of Josh Allen a little bit. He’s a pretty underrated runner and, unlike most quarterbacks at the NFL level, Maye actually seems to have great instincts when it comes to noticing running lanes and setting up lead blocks when he does scramble.
As a passer, Maye is impressive as well. He’s got great touch off his back foot, and can throw pretty deep — even when stepping back into the pocket as he throws. This is due to his very strong arm, as he’s able to throw the ball well in the short, intermediate, and deep levels in the passing game. Not only is his arm strong, but he’s able to put the right amount of touch on his deep balls, with back-shoulder fades being his most impressive throws — especially in 1-on-1 man coverage.
Maye could stand to make better decisions as a passer overall, but one of his best areas is reading crossing routes over the middle. While he looked impressive there, he didn’t seem to throw over the middle enough in college.
Maye’s Weaknesses
While Maye does make impressive throws over the middle, his timing and accuracy did seem to struggle slightly on throws breaking towards the sideline. This is most noticeable on short routes to the flat, where Maye struggled a little bit with accuracy. Maye also had some problems when it came to locking his eyes on one receiver, which led to safeties over the top being able to read that and impact plays they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. This will hurt him at the next level.
While it was mentioned earlier that Maye is good at scrambling, when the pocket folds around him, he sometimes started to panic. Maye can hold onto the ball in the pocket a bit too long sometimes, and as it closes around him he will repeatedly reset his throwing motion while holding the ball carelessly. At the NFL level, this will result in fumbles.
Interestingly, he also has times where he panics and gets rid of the ball too quickly, resulting in passes that sail a bit. However, all of these things are typical growing pains with young quarterbacks, and they can be fixed.
NFL Draft Grade and Player Comparison
As for a round grade in the scouting report, Drake Maye looks like the second best quarterback in this class behind Williams. I would be shocked if he even makes it to the fifth pick. Maye has all the tools be be an excellent quarterback, and if he gets quality coaching in the NFL, most of his weaknesses can be fixed.
Player comparison: Floor: Trey Lance, Ceiling: Justin Herbert
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