• Elite arm talent: Maye has the kind of arm strength to make any throws that are needed in an NFL offense.
• Poor footwork: At times, Maye doesn't have a good base when making throws, which causes his accuracy to suffer.
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
PFF grades and stats
- 90.6 overall PFF grade
- 7.5% big-time throw percentage
- 1.9 turnover-worthy throw percentage
- 75.1 adjusted completion percentage
- 19.6% pressure-to-sack ratio
- 92.4 PFF clean pocket grade
- 63.5 PFF under pressure grade
Background
Drake Maye is a 21-year-old, 6-foot-4 and 230-pound quarterback from the University of North Carolina. He took over as the starter for UNC in 2022 after former starter, Sam Howell, left for the draft. He led the Tar Heels to a 9-5 record and an ACC Championship game appearance in his first year. In 2023, Maye led them to an 8-4 record in the 2023 season before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Strengths
Maye possesses an elite arm that allows him to get the ball to his desired target despite not being in the best throwing position. Arm strength isn’t all about how far one can throw the ball, as the velocity that they throw with is just as important. Maye has that velocity that allows him to fit the ball into tight windows.
Drake Maye drifts away from pressure and lofts a deep over off his back foot for a TD. pic.twitter.com/L8JkgiZlN7
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 26, 2023
He’s shown an elite ability to operate in the middle of the field. He had a 94.8 PFF passing grade on throws in between the college hashes, which led all FBS quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts. To be a consistent passer over the middle of the field, quarterbacks need to be on time with their progressions, and Maye can do that at a consistently high level. He knows how to hold underneath defenders with his eyes while throwing the ball right behind them with good anticipation.
I am doing my best to try and understand the critiques of Drake Maye, but then I see process plays like this in a collapsing pocket, finished with a perfectly layered throw in a tight zone window and I just don't get it.pic.twitter.com/JvMCJeZyWX
— Nick Martin (@themicknartin) January 24, 2024
Maye is not just a sneaky good athlete, he’s a great athlete. When the play breaks down, he can still succeed, but he doesn’t rely on it. That playmaking ability can be very chaotic at times, leading to plays you don’t normally see on a football field.
2 minutes of Drake Maye being chaotic vs Duke pic.twitter.com/DJABgwt03a
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) January 24, 2024
Weaknesses
There’s a downside to that chaotic playmaking ability that shows up all too often. Maye makes too many poor decisions in those chaotic times that lead to turnover-worthy plays that can easily be avoided. He needs to find that fine line while not getting rid of that playmaking mindset.
Consistent accuracy is also a slight problem. His 75.1% adjusted completion percentage ranked only 25th best in the FBS. Throws can sail on him at times due to poor footwork. While he has shown the ability to be accurate on off-platform throws, his consistency on the easy throws is an issue. There are too many examples of him missing simple throws from the pocket.
A big problem for a lot of young quarterbacks is how they deal with pressure. Maye had a 19.6% pressure-to-sack rate last season, which is on the higher side of where you would like your quarterback to be. For example, the best quarterbacks in the NFL hover right around a 10-15% rate of turning pressure into sacks. It’s an area Maye will need to improve on to be successful. There are still too many moments of him scrambling into pressure that then turn into sacks.
Summary
Overall, there’s a lot to really like about Drake Maye’s game. He’s shown an ability to process plays at a high level from the pocket while also being able to make plays outside of the pocket. He’s a prototypical new-age quarterback who isn’t reliant on one set of skills. He has the toolbox that every NFL franchise is looking for. There’s an obvious maturation process that he needs to go through in terms of understanding what he can and can’t get away with at the NFL level, but that’s where good coaching comes into play. With the right coaching, I could see Maye being talked about as a future top-10 quarterback in the NFL.
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