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Drake Maye is experiencing some rough prospect fatigue right now. After spending two full seasons as a very good starter in college and a top piece of the deep 2024 QB class, he is suddenly seeing people come out to slander him and drive his stock way down.
Several analysts are now taking the opportunity to say that Maye will be a bust or that he's not worth where he might get drafted. A lot of prospects get this treatment every draft cycle, and it's all being focused on Maye right now.
An assistant coach who didn't want to attach their own name to the quote said via The Athletic:
"Maye is Herbert light. Take everything Herbert does and make it less. They’ll be compared (because of the prototype size), but there’s no comparison. I like Maye, but when I see the amount of work it will take to have him reach his potential, we’ll be fired first."
This coach doesn't believe they'd be around long enough for Maye to reach his potential, thus making him a poor pick. However, players are picked all the time as project picks, and they're also picked for the future and not the present pretty often as well.
For example, Patrick Mahomes was considered a project. Jordan Love waited three years to be a starter. The list goes on, as picking the right quarterback isn't always a year one thing.
Will Drake Maye be a bust?
If most of the top analysts and evidently some anonymous coaches are asked, Drake Maye is the most dangerous first-round selection of all. So many people are firmly convinced that he won't be good.
That may or may not be the case. He's been a top prospect for two seasons at a university with a pretty mediocre coaching staff and far from top NFL-level talent. Josh Downs was a mid-round pick, and Devontez Walker may or may not be.
The debate between him and Jayden Daniels often conveniently ignores that Daniels was a bad starter for four seasons before breaking out at an elite program with potentially two top 15 wide receivers to catch passes from him.
Prospect fatigue is real, and it's part of what's driving this recent anti-Maye narrative, but he's been compared to both Josh Allen and Justin Herbert for a reason. He's a good prospect, but no prospect is a sure thing. The Washington Commanders or New England Patriots are very likely to pick him even still.
