Drake Maye Draft Profile | North Carolina, QB Scouting Report

Can North Carolina’s Drake Maye become QB1 of the 2024 NFL Draft? That’s the question on everyone’s mind, especially with USC’s Caleb Williams at the top of the consensus board early on. Williams has a legitimate claim to the top spot, but Maye is an able contender with his scouting report.

Drake Maye Draft Profile and Measurements

• Height: 6’4″
• Weight: 232 pounds
• Position: Quarterback
• School: North Carolina
• Current Year: Junior

Succeeding current Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell in North Carolina’s offense, Drake Maye has been a superior second act — and it’s something many expected. The Tar Heels’ passer was a five-star recruit out of high school who jumped at the opportunity to play in Phil Longo’s high-production offense.

Fast forward to 2023, and Maye is coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him complete 342 of 517 passes (66.2%) for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. He also toted the rock for almost 700 yards and seven scores. Longo is gone now, but Maye remains, and he has the tools and tape to earn the Round 1 capital Howell could not.

Drake Maye Scouting Report

Strengths

• Tall, prototypical, well-built QB with superb mobility and quantifiably elite arm talent.
• Generates high-level velocity with effortless ease and a crisp, snappy release.
• Can push the ball outside the numbers and past tight coverage with very little strain.
• Has extremely fluid hip torque and arm elasticity off-script, sustaining velocity.
• Possesses extremely underrated quick twitch, lateral burst, and evasive ability.
• Has impressive control and alignment with his shoulders, both in and out of structure.
• Has the corrective mobility and foot quickness to stabilize his base ahead of throws.
• Displays consistent anticipation both when reacting to breaks and reading zones.
• Can work left to right on progressions and consistently leads his eyes with his feet.
• Can quickly recognize optimal leverage and matchups on deep attempts.
• Has a willingness to take calculated risks but can also take what the defense gives him.
• Shows off great spatial feel and outlet awareness when navigating the pocket in phase.
• Has exceptional accuracy and situational placement to all levels to negate contact.
• Can seamlessly layer velocity, loft, touch, and vault passes into tight windows.
• Competitive toughness and poise show up both as a pocket operator and a runner.

Weaknesses

• Still has considerable room for mechanical growth, mainly with footwork and base drive.
• Tends to stand too tall in his stance, inhibiting forward hip drive on release.
• Sometimes crosses his feet, exiting phase when pocket navigating, sourcing instability.
• Footwork pace and spacing can be too segmented, and base width is inconsistent.
• Tall, narrow base sometimes forces him to widen late in reps when time is scarce.
• Narrow base and lack of proper hip drive can tug some passes low and behind receivers.
• Tendency to slide laterally in the pocket can cause him to drift into pressure.
• Occasionally hesitates and misses opportunities with delays on his trigger.
• Field vision, progression speed, and anticipation are not yet elite.

Current Draft Projection and Summary

Maye isn’t often seen as the 2024 NFL Draft’s QB1 by the consensus. But on my board, it’s essentially a coin flip between him and Williams.

Either one is a viable option for the QB1 mantle, and that could remain the case all through the 2023 campaign. Like Williams, Maye grades as a top-10 prospect regardless of position and a potential franchise QB in waiting.

Maye and Williams have some differentiating factors within their archetypes. As athletic as Maye is, there’s simply no matching Williams’ hyper-elite creation capacity and arm elasticity off-script.

But while Williams is the superior creator, Maye is a very capable creator in his own right, with elite arm talent, spry and fluid athleticism, and effortless off-platform ability.

Beyond his natural talent, Maye shows off very promising operational qualities for a young QB. He can still improve his lower-body mechanics and strive for a higher degree of processing consistency.

MORE: FREE Mock Draft Simulator With Trades

But overall, Maye is a measured, precise, and instinctive passer who can test defenses in the intermediate and deep ranges, and he’s arguably better than Williams at staying on rhythm and taking what’s given in the short range.

On the surface, Maye bears some similarity to former Oregon Ducks and current Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert — a QB who doesn’t always rely on his athleticism stylistically but has the high-end overarching tools to be a passer who elevates his squad while also maintaining stability as a field general.

Maye has all of the qualities of a franchise QB. He’s on track to earn top-five capital in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the toughest question might be whether he or Williams goes No. 1 overall.