NFL Draft Profile: North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye

Should the Denver Broncos trade up to select UNC quarterback Drake Maye?

One prospect the Denver Broncos have shown interest in is former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. He is a 6-4, 223-pound quarterback who is considered one of the top overall players in the draft. The Athletic’s lead draft analyst Dane Brugler has Maye ranked as his second-best quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft and has him ranked as his fourth-best player in the entire draft.

Maye played a total of three seasons at North Carolina and has started the past two seasons. During that span, Maye has become one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and is now expected to be a top-five selection in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. During his three seasons at UNC, he totaled 952 passing attempts for 8,018 yards, 63 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and completed 64.9% of his passes. He also had 302 career rushing attempts for 1,209 yards and an additional 16 rushing touchdowns. This past season, Maye had 425 passing attempts for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions, and completed 63.3% of his passes. He also added 112 rushing attempts for 449 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.

Player Profile

Drake Maye | Quarterback | North Carolina

Height: 6-4

Weight: 223 pounds

Arm Length: 32 1/4th inches

Hand Size: 9 1/8th inches

Film Room

Scouting Report

Strengths

• prototypical size for an NFL QB
• Incredible arm talent
• Cannon for an arm and he throws a pretty ball
• Can make all the throws on the field
• Has quick feet and can make throws on the move, off-platform, and outside the pocket
• Shows okay pocket awareness and is able to move around in the pocket to avoid pass rushers
• Productive as a ball carrier who used his size to find the end zone and pick up key first downs
• A gunslinger who is fearless with the ball
• Team leader with a good personality off the field
• High upside player who has the potential to be an elite NFL QB

Weaknesses

• Wreckless with the ball at times which leads to costly turnovers
• Fumbled the ball 10 times in the past two years
• Inaccurate passer at times who overthrows easy passes or dirts the ball
• Can struggle if the pressure gets him and makes a panic throw or decision that leads to a turnover
• Can struggle if his initial reads are not open
• Can hold on to the ball a little too long
• Boom/big-time bust potential

What other analysts are saying about UNC quarterback Drake Maye

The Athletics lead draft analyst Dane Brugler – Link

A two-year starter at North Carolina, Maye thrived in Phil Longo’s Air Raid offense in 2022 and Chip Lindsey’s more balanced attack in 2023 (head coach Mack Brown also hired Clyde Christensen, who coached Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and several other NFL quarterbacks, as an offensive analyst in 2023). Despite only two years as the Tar Heels’ starter, they were the two most productive seasons by a quarterback in North Carolina history — Maye’s 5,019 yards of total offense in 2022 set the school record and his 4,057 yards of total offense in 2023 wasthe second-most (he was the only FBS quarterback to accumulate over 9,000 yards of total offense over the last two seasons). With his arm strength and pacing, Maye put the full inventory of throws on tape and operates with timing from the pocket to attack the defense’s leverage. He is a quick-reaction athlete to make plays off-schedule as a scrambler and canrip throws from different platforms. His arm can get juiced-up at times, disrupting his ball placement, and his progression reads are still a work in progress, especially when he feels pressed to make a play (39-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the first half compared to 24-to-12 in the second half). Overall, Maye needs to cut down on the reckless decisions, but he is a well-put-together passer with the on-field command, athletic instincts and arm talent to create solutions for the problems that NFL defenses present. With his physical gifts and smarts, he is cut from the same cloth as Justin Herbert and has a similar ceiling as an NFL player

NFL Networks lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah – Link

Maye has prototypical size, athleticism and arm strength. He has quick feet and quick hands, but his delivery can get long at times. He’s a gifted thrower who drives the ball without much foot space in the pocket (including with defenders hanging on him). He can take pace off the ball on swings and shallow crossers. He has a nice touch on bucket throws down the field. He is athletic to escape and create with his legs and he’s tough to tackle in space. He is ultra-competitive as a runner, something he’ll need to dial back a bit at the next level. His pass protection wasn’t good last season at North Carolina and there weren’t always answers in the route to bail him out, which led to some poor decisions and carelessness with the ball. Overall, Maye has some things to clean up, but he has every ingredient to be a top-tier starter at the game’s most important position.

Should the Broncos trade up and select UNC QB Drake Maye in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft?

If Sean Payton believes he is their guy and they have a chance to pull the trigger, you gotta do it.

Maye is your typical boom/bust quarterback prospect. There is a lot to like about him and flashes incredible ability to be an elite quarterback in this league. However, there are red flags to his game that make you pause. He is a flawed prospect who needs some refinement and development, but the upside and talent are there.

This is where you need to trust head coach Sean Payton and his system. If he believes Maye is their guy and he can fit him into his system, then I feel good about this potential addition. He praised their ability to evaluate quarterbacks so if he makes a major trade up for a prospect like Maye, he needs to hit and prove his statement to be true.

Now, a trade-up for Maye is far from a guarantee and realistically unlikely right now. He is projected to go second or third overall in the draft and if he slips out of that range for whatever reason, the Giants and Vikings will be looking to pounce to get him. We’ll need to see how aggressive Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos will be during the draft to go get their guy at quarterback.

If Maye is that guy and they do what it takes to get him, you just have to trust the process. Trust in Payton as an evaluator, coach, and developer, and hope he can turn Maye or whoever into an elite quarterback. If not, a miss and loss of major draft capital would be catastrophic for the Broncos franchise moving forward.