Drake Maye, QB North Carolina: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Maye was a four-star recruit from Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C. in the class of 2021

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye lives up to the hype. His accuracy, ball placement, and physical tools are among the best in the 2024 NFL Draft. Caleb Williams is still the top quarterback in the class, but Maye will make a run at the first overall pick.

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Drake Maye, QB North Carolina: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt sophomore quarterback from Huntersville, N.C.

Background: Maye was a four-star recruit from Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 24 recruit (five-star) according to 247Sports, No. 147 (four-star) for Rivals, and No. 45 (four-star) for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 47th in the nation (four-star) with an 86 grade out of 100. Maye committed to Alabama before flipping to North Carolina. He completed 398 of 581 pass attempts in high school to amass 6,713 yards and 86 touchdowns. As a junior, Maye completed 188 of 291 pass attempts for 3,201 yards, 36 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He led Myers Park to a 13-2 record as a junior and a 12-1 record and league title as a sophomore. That sophomore season, he completed 210 of 290 passes for 3,512 yards, 50 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He earned Second Team All-American honors and was the MaxPreps North Carolina Player of the Year. Maye also earned First Team All-Observer and the Male Athlete of the Year honors from the Charlotte Observer. He was invited to the Under Armour All-America Game. Maye also lettered in basketball. As a junior, he averaged 16.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game on his way to All-Conference and All-District honors. He comes from an athletic family. Maye’s father, Mark, played quarterback at North Carolina from 1983-88. His brother, Luke, played basketball for the Tar Heels from 2015-19, winning an NCAA Championship, earning All-ACC honors twice, and scoring 1,394 points. Maye’s other brother, Cole, won an NCAA baseball title at Florida. Another brother, Beau, is currently on the North Carolina basketball team. Maye’s birthday is Aug. 30.

Injuries & Off-Field: Took some in-game beatings but didn’t miss time

Awards: 2022 First Team All-ACC, 2022 ACC Rookie of the Year, 2022 ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, 2022 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, 2022 ACC Player of the Year, 2022 FWAA Freshman of the Year, 2022 FWAA Freshman All-American, 2022 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year

Pros: Ideal size for an NFL quarterback, equally productive at all levels of the field, when kept clean his body is aligned and transfers energy perfectly during the throw, quick to flip his feet and hips when setting up for throws, varies release angle and speed, pats ball and pump fakes to hold or move defenders, quickly works through his progressions, fires the ball with excellent velocity over the MOF, fits the ball into small windows over the MOF, ball placement and accuracy are phenomenal, puts the ball where only his man can get it, rarely throws low or high on the short and intermediate looks, leads receivers away from defenders, applies touch to feather passes between the defense’s layers, completed a pass that went 51 air yards against Notre Dame (2022), creates after the pocket breaks down, comfortable throwing on the move, mobility to escape the pocket and pick up yards with his legs, willing to scramble for the first down

Cons: Fumbled seven times in 2022, throwing motion includes a deep dip, took 43 sacks in 2022, needs to throw the ball away instead of taking the big sack, clock in his head is a tick slow when facing pressure, decision-making breaks down against pressure, forces throws while fading back or under pressure, feet get skittish in the pocket, gets toesy when he becomes flustered, mentally sprints through progressions when he should take a little longer, would like to see him work outside the numbers more at the short to intermediate level, arm strength to access throws 60+ yards downfield needs to be shown, too quick to abandon progressions, drop his head, and enter scramble mode, doesn’t consistently keep his eyes downfield when scrambling, puts too much faith in his mobility, run down by defenders

Overview: Maye offers ideal size for a quarterback. He’s equally productive at all levels of the field but could work outside the numbers more at the short and intermediate levels. When kept clean, Maye aligns his body and transfers energy correctly during the throw. He’s quick to flip his feet and hips when setting up for throws. Maye varies his release angles and speed to keep defenders guessing and match throwing windows. He pats the ball and pump fakes to hold or move defenders. The redshirt sophomore quickly works through his progressions and reads the whole field. He fires the ball with excellent velocity over the middle of the field and fits throws into tight windows. Maye’s ball placement and accuracy are phenomenal and separate him from other members of the 2024 draft class. He puts the ball where only his man can get it and leads pass catchers away from defenders. Maye rarely throws too low or too high on short and intermediate looks. He applies touch to feather passes between the defense’s layers. His ability to access throws beyond 55 to 60 yards needs to be tested more, but he maintains his accuracy and placement on throws that travel 50 yards downfield. Maye has the mobility to create after the pocket breaks down. He’s comfortable throwing on the move and is willing to escape the pocket and use his legs to pick up yards. However, Maye puts too much faith in his mobility and gets chased down by defenders before he reaches his goal. The Heisman candidate must develop a better feel for pressure and how to handle defenders in his lap. He took more than 40 sacks in 2022. A large part of that falls on North Carolina’s subpar offensive line, but Maye’s internal clock and tendency to hold the ball didn’t help the situation. The North Carolina native must get rid of the ball a second sooner and remain calm under pressure. Taking the checkdown more often will help in these situations. The former four-star recruit’s decision-making breaks down against the pass rush, leading to him forcing throws while fading away or being hit. Maye’s footwork gets skittish in the pocket, and he becomes toesy and flustered. He mentally sprints through his progressions when he is out of rhythm instead of working through them with proper timing. Maye is too quick to abandon his progressions, drop his head, and enter scramble mode. He doesn’t consistently keep his eyes downfield when scrambling. Maye’s throwing motion includes a deep dip when he pulls back to throw, which exposes the football to defenders streaking around the edge.

Overall, Maye must master the mental aspects of football, especially when it comes to dealing with in-game pressure, but his accuracy, ball placement, and physical tools easily make him worth a top ten selection. Maye could challenge Caleb Williams for the top spot in the 2024 NFL Draft if he and new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey gel quickly. The gap between the two quarterbacks isn’t very large.

Role & Scheme Fit: Semi-mobile quarterback in a spread offense

Round Projection: Top Ten Pick

Size: 6'4", 225 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 06-22-23