When it comes to quarterbacks, Merril Hoge has a different view of this year’s class. Despite it appearing to be one of the strongest in years — USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are poised to come off the board within the top three picks — Hoge thinks two on that list are being overstated. He’s already offered his critique of Williams but criticized Maye even harder, saying he’s not someone worth picking in the top 32. Appearing on The Sports Junkies podcast Monday morning, he explained why.
“I wouldn’t touch Maye,” Hoge said. “I wouldn’t grab Maye, I wouldn’t draft him in the first round. And there’s a bunch of things that bother me. He’s extremely inconsistent, his accuracy. His processing, inconsistent. He’s not extremely athletic. I think I find him more stiff. He’s got a longer throwing motion, which allows more hits in our league than he gets in college. And I’m just bothered by it.”
Maye is viewed in that top tier of quarterbacks this year, potentially the second overall pick assuming Williams is taken first by the Chicago Bears. His numbers regressed from 2022, his completion percentage falling by three points, his touchdowns dropping from 38 to 24 while his interceptions ticked up from seven to nine. Throughout the pre-draft process, he’s been compared to Ben Roethlisberger for his size and strength.
Hoge highlighted one particular game that really turned him off about Maye.
“One of my last games, I looked at was the NC State game. And that may be one of his worst games I’d ever seen him play…it validated a couple things,” he said. “He misses a lot of hots, the team misses hots, he sees hots and he doesn’t throw hot. You’d have to get in the room and say,’ Okay, why don’t you throw this, walk me through this.’ But that processing bothers me in our league.”
“Hots” being plays against the blitz where the ball must come out quickly, the offense not having enough blockers to defend the rush. The Tar Heels lost 39-20 to NC State, Maye throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. One of Maye’s scores came late in the fourth quarter with the outcome already determined.
In a conference call last week, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah made a similar comment, noting interviews and meetings with teams will be key for Maye. Getting him on the whiteboard and explaining the offense, his reads, and what he was taught, that could explain away those perceived miscues. Williams is the clear-cut top quarterback but there’s debate over who will get taken next.
While Hoge has downplayed Williams and clearly isn’t a fan of Maye, he said Daniels impressed on tape.
“Jayden Daniels probably demonstrates the best evidence that a guy who plays from the pocket. And now they have pro concepts they use too. So I can use some realistic concepts that you’re gonna see in the NFL. I think he’s very accurate. I think he processes things very well in these categories compared to Maye.”
Daniels burst onto scene in 2023. In a similar storyline to Joe Burrow, Daniels transferred from Arizona State to LSU in 2022 and had a fine but nondescript first year starting, throwing 17 touchdowns as the Tigers finished 10-4. He broke out this past year, tossing 40 touchdowns to just four picks, though 14 of those passing scores came against Grambling State, Army, and Georgia State. Making plays with his legs, Daniels also rushed for over 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Of course, the Steelers aren’t in the running for any of these names and the ones they could theoretically target, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix, Hoge didn’t offer much information beyond watching their tape. The Bears, Washington Commanders, and New England Patriots are the three teams sitting in position to draft these names. That means the Steelers won’t often see these quarterbacks much either, though Pittsburgh will play the Commanders in 2024.
But hearing from Hoge, a former Steelers scout, is always interesting. While his takes are against the grain, he called Johnny Manziel becoming an NFL bust. We’ll see if he’s right again. The NFL Scouting Combine ramps up this week, though many of these top names won’t throw, while the NFL draft kicks off in late April.
