Drake Maye scouting report: Exploring the North Carolina quarterback's strengths and weaknesses

A top-10 quarterback recruit in 2021, Drake Maye was an instant sensation for the Tarheels ever since taking over for Sam Howell under center as a true sophomore, and he was named the ACC’s Player of the Year, completing 66.2% of his passes for over 4,300 yards and 38 touchdowns versus seven interceptions, along with another 700 yards and seven TDs on the ground.

This past season, the numbers were down a little bit across the board (63.3% completion rate, 3600 passing yards, 450 rushing yards and 33 total TDs vs. nine INTs), which dropped Drake Maye down to second-team all-conference.

Profile: 6-foot-4, 225 pounds; JR.

Breaking down Drake Maye's scouting report

Drake Maye: Duke v North Carolina

Physical make-up & arm talent:

• Brings excellent size and mobility for the position, along with the incredible arm talent
• Has all the clubs in his bag as a thrower, being able to deliver with touch, different arcs and arm angles
• Can absolutely rifle in dig-routes between the safety and defender on the hash
• You see balls be placed perfectly away from trailing defenders and to where his guys can make plays on it 40+ yards down the field
• Understands when to take heat off the ball as he’s just flipping it to somebody on the run
• Has the requisite arm talent to deliver the ball without any platform to step into throws as defenses bring pressure and he’s fading away
• You see some highly impressive touch throws fading and/or falling away with a defender coming free, as he lofts the ball in stride for one of his guys on longer-developing crossing routes
• Drives balls to the sideline whilst rolling out as well as any QB in this class – the way he can flick the ball off the wrong foot whilst moving sideways, to either laser it to the sideline or deliver it over the top 40+ yards down the field seems way too easy

Processing & decision-making:

• It feels like Drake Maye has that poise and maturity already in his game, where things are just happening slower for him than the other 21 guys on the field
• Had 10 more big-time throws (45) than any other QB in the NCAA in ’22 (vs. 16 turnover-worthy plays), along with the highest PFF grade on deep passes (97.5), before finishing second in BTTs (35) and top 10 in and TWP rate (1.9%), along with the third-highest deep passing grade in 2023 (96.8)
• Playing static zone coverages, where you give Drake Maye some soft spots to fire balls into is a death sentence
• Isn’t afraid at all to attack tight windows and will go for those deeper throws instead of deferring to somebody with a leverage advantage underneath
• Drake Maye's ability to feast on double-post concepts and heavy play-action with receiver crossing deep down the field was as good as any QB in the country, being able to make the right read on deep middle safeties and delivering optimal layered passes horizontally and/or vertically
• Typically doesn’t panic and drop his eyes when he has to pat the ball an extra time
• His pump-fake is a tool that can affect defenders on the back-end as well as guys trying to track him down, to make them look silly
• The Tar Heel coaches didn’t present him many answers vs. the blitz and he took sacks that he might not have if there was something built in – when the defense did declare on dummy-counts, he typically punished them for it
• Watching the UNC tape, as good as Maye’s counting numbers were, they could’ve been significantly better if receivers were able to break away from their guys, were more friendly in terms of adjusting their routes or passes didn’t just go off their hands a couple of times every game, which he was charged for interceptions that weren’t actually on him at all

Playmaking in & out of the pocket:

So light on the balls of his feet bouncing around and consistently maintains a throw-ready posture, even as plays enter the secondary phase

Can bob and weave around the pocket, to create secondary plays, along with having the innate feel for how the picture is going to develop

Even as he’s got somebody wrapped his legs, there are times where Maye is able to still put throws on the money

Capable of creating a lot of torque and delivering the ball on the money across his body and against the direction he’s moving

More elusive than you might think, dipping away from bodies and slipping through creases – made some insane plays extending and finding escape paths before taking off as a runner himself, altering directions suddenly

Decisive when he does decide to take off himself and has some shocking wiggle to him, to make the first man miss

Bounces off some glancing shots and shrugs off guys trying to twist him down from the side, while being really tough to get a shot on QB sneaks in short-yardage and goal-line situations

Accounted for 42 conversions on third and fourth downs with his legs over the last two seasons combined

Weaknesses:

• Can be a little bit robotic with his mechanics with an error in the system, where he locks out his front-foot and doesn’t always get himself aligned to the target, which see his ball-placement suffer as a result of that
• Clicks his heels and drifts inside the pocket quite a bit, which creates more favorable angles for opposing pass-rushers, and he’s a little too early to take off when he has a chance to take an extra hitch and allow receivers to clear the coverage
• Regularly is a beat late on throws to guys who are tightly covered, but would create a small opening for the ball at the break-point and the separates that second hand from it, as he double-clutches at times (even if it’s understandable that he didn’t trust those guys a whole lot)
• Would benefit from getting to his checkdown a little bit quicker if nothing is available down the field and he just needs to keep the offense moving – let coverage dictate taking the free yardage
• Definitely has some hero ball tendencies that he needs to calibrate heading into the pros, where he still trusts his arm to whistle in balls with the window already closing or is still looking down the field with a defender wrapped around his legs, instead of throwing it away

Drake Maye's 2024 NFL Draft prospect

Drake Maye has officially become the most overthought prospect in this draft. Yes, there are certainly things that need to be cleaned up in terms of his footwork and some of the subsequent (odd) misses, having to recreate that trust in his new teammates to not always put on the superman cape and some of the uber-aggressive decisions.

However, I would rather have a guy who is willing to push the envelope and create big plays for my team than trying to instill that confidence to it rip. And something that isn’t brought up enough – only one of the interceptions he threw last season came on third or fourth down.

So Drake Maye wasn’t just throwing balls up there, but rather was trying to move the sticks and put points on the board, whilst being pressured on 33.5% of dropbacks over the past two seasons and dealing with a receiving corp with only one guy (Josh Downs) that I would’ve selected earlier than the fifth round – and even that guy he only had for 11 total games.

What Drake Maye offers in terms of size, arm talent, composure and mobility is exactly what the NFL is constantly looking for, even if he may be a little rough around the edges. That’s why I’d still be surprised if he isn’t the second player off the board and think it would be a mistake to take any of the other names on this list, who I believe are clearly a tier down from him.

Grade: Top 5