By: Michael Higgins

School: North Carolina

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

Position: QB

HT: 6’4

WT: 230 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #15

Background: Drake Maye comes from a deep lineage of North Carolina Tar Heels. Both of Drake’s parents attended North Carolina. Drake’s brother, Luke, is an all-time great for North Carolina basketball, while his other brother, Beau, is currently on the basketball team. Drake was born and raised in Hunterville, North Carolina and attended Myers Park High School. Maye was a consensus 4-star recruit and earned a 4-star rating. Maye earned a plethora of All-American honors in high school as he impressed in all four years. On top of being one of the best high school football players in the country, Maye also followed in his brothers’ footsteps and lettered in basketball for three seasons.

College: As a true freshman in 2021, Maye was Sam Howell’s backup, but made a few appearances throughout the season. As a redshirt freshman in 2022, the reins of the offense were handed to him and he shattered expectations. Maye was named ACC Player of the Year and proved to be a top quarterback in the country despite being so young. Maye became the 3rd quarterback to average over 300 passing yards per game.

Strengths: Drake Maye is one of the most accurate passers in the class at all levels of the field. He can fit balls in on a rope through extremely tight windows. While his arm, stature, and play style largely imitate a traditional pocket passer, Maye has an elite ability to slip through gaps and pick up chunks of yardage with his legs. He is fast with long strides, making him hard for any defender to tackle in the open field. Drake is a natural athlete who is fluid in every move he makes. He is just as dangerous when a play breaks down and he is outside of structure as he is in structure, dancing within the pocket. The defense struggles to break plays down because when Drake is truly managing the offense to the best of his abilities, he gets the ball out quick. Maye has solid throwing mechanics, and his throwing motion needs little work when talking about the upper half of his frame.

Weaknesses: Drake Maye struggles to progress through his reads efficiently and if he isn’t throwing the checkdown or to the first route on his progression, chances are the play will break down and Maye will have to work out of structure. This puts stress on the entire offense, especially the offensive line. Maye’s pure talent allows him to win at the college level, but that will not get him by in the pros, he will need to learn how to win within the structure of an offense.

Conclusion: Drake Maye has the ceiling of a top quarterback in the NFL. His frame and arm talent are comparable to many of the NFL’s superstars. Maye will not be a superstar right away, but if he is given time to develop in the right environment, his team will reap the rewards.

Scheme Fit: West Coast

Ideal Role: Day 1 Starting QB

Best Team Fits: LVR, WSH, MIN

Player Comparison: Josh Allen

Player Grade: 89.6