Drake Maye Scouting Report
- Watched: Notre Dame (2022), Clemson (2022), Duke, Clemson
- Pros:
- Prototypical size, arm, and athleticism.
- Throws with anticipation on intermediate and deep passes.
- Able to get through full field progressions.
- Countless examples of successfully throwing into tight windows.
- Isn’t as shifty with his legs as some of his peers, but athletic enough to outrun some pass rushers and pick up chunks with his legs; think Daniel Jones athleticism.
- Throws a beautiful deep ball, showing the ability to throw it on a rope or with touch, place it over the correct shoulder, tilt 50-50 balls into an advantage for the WR, etc.
- Delivered some breathtaking throws on the run and was generally very good in this area.
- Keeps his eyes up when on the run, looking for passing opportunities.
- Utilizes pump fakes and eye manipulation to move the defense around and open up passing windows.
- Calls protections at the line (though he does look to the sideline for help sometimes).
- Cons:
- Costs himself time with various issues; relatively slow dropbacks, patting the ball before he throws, just an adequately quick release, and being a little hesitant in the quick passing game.
- Not a precise passer on passes behind the line of scrimmage; forced RBs and WRs to adjust regularly on screens, flats, etc.
- Tendency to miss inside on out breaking routes.
- Footwork is inconsistent, particularly when there’s pressure around him.
- Will buy a little extra time when pressured but not super escapable and results throwing under pressure were not great.
- Definitely some hero ball tendencies in there; will make some dangerous throws when pressure gets home/in big moments.
- Doesn’t sell play-action particularly well.
- General:
- A lot of designed QB draws, particularly in 2022.
- The whole offense was a mess in 2023; you could really feel the loss of his top WRs and offensive coordinator.
- Overall Take:
- Pro-readiness: 1st (out of 9)
- Potential: 2nd
- Overall: 1st
- Number Grade (out of 100): 91
- Drake Maye is the first and maybe only QB in the 2024 class to crack the 90+ club for me. He’s certainly not a flawless prospect, but he checks most of the boxes you’re looking for in a potential franchise QB. Physically, he’s the prototype for ideal QBs; tall, strong, and athletic. He has experience going through full field progressions. He uses his eyes and pump fakes to deceive the defense and open up better passing opportunities. He makes big plays down the field with great touch on his deep ball. And when he gets out of the pocket and starts running, he keeps his eyes downfield for passing opportunities. He does not come without downside though. He has a number of bad habits that can sometimes cost him precious time getting rid of the ball; the good news here is that there’s a lot of little things he can clean up to improve here. None of these things are particularly worrisome on their own, and should be pretty fixable, but add it all up and it can be an issue. His footwork can be pretty inconsistent and particularly appears to impact his passing in the quick game. And while he has plenty of arm to throw out breaking routes deep down the field, his misses on these tend to be missing inside where he gives DBs a chance to recover and create turnovers. Lastly, he can get caught trying to do too much when pressure gets home or his team really needs to make a play. There is certainly a chance that he busts in the NFL; I think there’s some overlap between he and Sam Darnold. But most likely, I expect him to settle in as an above average starting QB with a real chance to get into the top 10 if he cleans up some relatively correctable issues.
- NFL Comparisons:
- Most Likely Comp: Jay Cutler
- Peak Comp: Trevor Lawrence
Draft QBs 