2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: UNC QB Drake Maye

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on UNC quarterback Drake Maye.

#10 DRAKE MAYE, QB, UNC – (R-SOPHOMORE) 6040, 223 POUNDS

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

— Possesses great height, size, and length for the position
— Has the athleticism to maneuver in the pocket and escape pressure
— Sneaky open-field speed to scramble or extend plays with his legs
— Can make off-platform throws and complete passes from various arm angles
— Powerful arm that can drive the football 50+ yards down the field with relative ease
— Has the arm strength to throw balls off his back foot with good ball placement
— Possesses good velocity on his throws to fit passes into tight windows
— Displays moments of pinpoint accuracy down the field, dropping the ball into the bucket
— Does a good job layering his throws, using arc or firing fastballs when necessary
— Will climb the pocket and step into his throws to drive the football down the field
— Does a good job keeping his eyes down the field when working the pocket
— Broke out in his first year as a starter in 2022

THE BAD

— Could stand to fill out his frame a little more
— Good athlete but doesn’t possess that rare speed or explosiveness
— Footwork in the pocket can wane when feeling pressure
— Needs to do a better job of sensing pressure in the pocket
— Tends to overthrow receivers on downfield passes
— Will place ball behind receivers on underneath or over-the-middle throws
— Has a slower release on his throws
— Will stare down intended receivers, leading to throws into traffic
— Could utilize his check-down game more

BIO

— Redshirt sophomore prospect from Huntersville, N.C.
— Born Aug. 30, 2002 (age 21)
— Father, Mark, played quarterback at North Carolina from 1983 to 1987
— Brother Luke was a Tar Heel basketball great from 2015-19 and part of 2017 national championship team; brother Cole won an NCAA national championship in baseball at Florida; brother Beau is a member of the UNC basketball team
—  Four-star prospect by Rivals; Under Armour All-America Game invite
— Tallied 6,713 yards and 86 TDs on 398-of-581 (68.5%) passing over his two prep seasons
— Three-year basketball standout who earned all-conference honors
— Signed with North Carolina after verbally committing to Alabama
— Appeared in four games in 2021, completing 7-of-10 pass attempts for 89 yards and a touchdown while backing up Sam Howell
— Started all 14 games in 2022 and completed 342-of-517 passes (66.2%) for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns while rushing for 698 yards and seven touchdowns
— Started all 12 games in 2023 and completed 269-of-425 passes (63.3%) for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns with nine interceptions while rushing for 449 yards on 112 attempts with nine touchdowns
— ACC Player of the Year (2022), ACC Offensive Player of the Year (2022), ACC Rookie of the Year (2022), First-team All-ACC (2022), Second-team All-ACC (2023)

TAPE BREAKDOWN

When you pop in the tape on Maye, you see a big, strong passer with the arm talent that NFL teams salivate over. He can rip passes over the middle with impressive velocity and zip while uncorking rainbow passes 50-plus yards with relative ease. Watch this rep against Miami where Maye drops back to pass from the shotgun. He rips it from his own 37-yard line to nearly the opposing 10-yard line, dropping the ball into the bucket of his intended target over the outstretched arm of the defender for the long touchdown.

Maye possesses good touch and ball placement on his deep passes, doing a good job of stepping into his throws from the pocket and driving the football to his intended target with enough loft to keep the ball out of harm’s way. Check out this pass against Clemson. Maye takes the snap and places the football perfectly to his intended target between the cornerback in coverage and the safety flying in from centerfield, executing the coverage-hole shot perfectly as the receiver takes the ball inside the opponent’s 5-yard line.

Maye possesses that easy arm strength where he can make all the off-platform throws with his feet off the ground and the sidearm passes to work around defenders in coverage. Here’s an example against the Tigers where Maye takes the snap and starts to work to his right, scanning the field. He feels the pressure from the backside pass rush and lofts a deep pass off his back foot, ripping it nearly 40 yards to the receiver running the deep over route across the field. After getting a step on the coverage, the receiver reels in the pass in the end zone.

As mentioned earlier, Maye throws the ball with impressive velocity, putting enough zip on the ball to fire it into tight windows in coverage. His tape is filled with examples of impressive placement to his intended target while covered like in the clips below. In the first clip, Maye fires a pass over the middle between two defenders to his intended target in the end zone, ripping it to his receiver’s outstretched hands for the score on the tight-window throw. In the second clip, you see Maye make several tight-window throws against Oregon from a year ago. He shows his ability to step up in the pocket on the second play of the sequence while placing the other two passes perfectly to his intended target in tight coverage for touchdowns.

While Maye does not have that rare athleticism at the quarterback position, he is pretty mobile for being considered a pocket passer. He ran for over 1,110 yards and 16 touchdowns in the last two seasons, having the athleticism to scramble from the pocket when pressured or take off when the defense gives him plenty of green grass. Here’s an example against Clemson where Maye sees an open running lane with the box vacated. He decides to take off, easily picking up the first down before sliding to avoid taking a hit.

Still, there are several issues in Maye’s tape that pop up when you watch multiple games. His footwork can be inconsistent in the pocket, and he tends to have an elongated release compared to most quarterbacks. His footwork in the pocket can lead to missed throws, as you see in the clips below. Attempting to shoulder balls to his intended target when he needs to do a better job stepping into his throws consistently, he sails both passes over his intended targets’ heads.

Maye also can tend to lock onto one receiver occasionally rather than going through his progressions, especially on designed quick throws. That can lead to defenders taking chances to play the ball and jumping the route. We see this in the clip below as Maye takes one step back after getting the snap and fires the ball to his intended target along the sideline. Clemson CB Nate Wiggins, in off coverage, reads Maye’s eyes, and he breaks downhill to jump the route and make the interception to seal the victory for the Tigers.

CONCLUSION

Drake Maye is a young, gifted passer with all the measurables you are looking for in a prototypical quarterback in today’s game. He has the size, athleticism, and arm talent to make nearly every throw as well as operate outside of structure, creating on the move both with his arm as well as his legs. He needs to continue to work on the intricacies of his game when it comes to his footwork and consistently going through his progressions. But the tools are there for Maye to become a quality starting quarterback early in his career if he goes to a system that can maximize his strengths while helping him refine the raw parts of his game.

When coming up with a pro comparison for Maye, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers comes to mind as a player with similar size, athleticism, and arm talent to Maye coming out of Oregon. Having his own inconsistencies as a passer regarding his eyes as well as sailing passes downfield, Herbert has since developed into quite the NFL starter in the league today, having a beautiful arm that can stretch defenses vertically as well as on the move, just like Maye.

The Steelers aren’t in a position to draft Maye, who will likely go in the top five picks. It would take an aggressive trade up to land him, which would mean that Pittsburgh would be fully punting on Kenny Pickett having a chance to reclaim his status as a starter in 2024. It’s highly unlikely, but free agency will give us a better view of how Pittsburgh views its quarterback position heading into next season.

Projection: Top 5
Depot Draft Grade: 8.8 – Year 1 Quality Starter (First Round)
Games Watched: at Clemson (2023), vs Miami (2023), vs. Oregon (2022)