Prove It: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

While First Round Mock’s William Yanish likes North Carolina quarterback (QB) Drake Maye, the jury is still out.

The driving force behind so many player evaluations and comparisons is behind-the-scenes at colleges, in sports media, and in the NFL. However, the pureness of the process may have been compromised in recent years.

Politics can potentially play a role in setting the tone for so many young players.

In football terms “generational” is a player who will set the standard at their position for the next 10-15 years. This term is being thrown around way too loosely for multiple draft prospects every year.

Those things are unfair to anyone and that makes it hard for prospects to live up to those expectations. Just ask Michael Oher, the player that the movie “The Blind Side” was based on.

Background

Over just one season, our next QB has certainly made a name for himself – – University of North Carolina (UNC) Drake Maye. He’s a 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect who was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year this past season.

Maye took UNC to the ACC Championship Game. However, they were obliterated by the No. 9 ranked Clemson Tigers 39-10.

Even with this loss, that is surely not a bad way to begin your college career as a redshirt freshman. Whether or not his reign continues will be solely on his shoulders.

The Yanish Report

Big, tall, prototypical-built QB. Elite arm talent. Elongated, slower release. Extreme NFL-caliber arm strength. Tight-rope, laser-like passes. Superb accuracy at all levels. Accuracy also does not suffer under duress, or while on the move. Decent ball placement. Drops dimes and hits receivers in stride. Football IQ is apparent. Smooth progressions, but will lock onto targets. Tunnel vision does not see some defenders. Stares hard in the face of pressure. Wicked little jump pass when rushers converge. Emulates NFL QBs from yesteryear, evidenced by some old school, backpedal drops. Footwork could improve. Mobility to escape the rush. The ball needs to come out quicker, though. Takes too many sacks trying to extend plays. Run-pass option (RPO) won’t fool anyone much at the next level. Lacks a sense of urgency. Need to see more drive. Tough player on a soft team. Consistent to the core.

For the win

Maye has the potential to prove that he can be a great QB. He looked like the same player no matter what level of competition he was battling.

This isn’t a make-or-break year for Maye. It is still way early in his career, as he still has two years of college eligibility remaining. However, this hasn’t stopped labels from being thrown around. Not only “generational,” but there has also been that comparison to Los Angeles Chargers’ QB Justin Herbert.

No question, Maye has all of the talent in the world, but putting those pieces together will be an obstacle. As it stands, for now, he has my nod to go on day one.

To be continued…

My BIG three questions

1. Without wide receiver Josh Downs will he hone more weapons to replace him?

2. Will the four-game losing streak to end the season hinder his momentum heading into next season?

3. How much fire does he have inside?

How Maye stacks up and game film reviewed

My 2024 NFL Draft Value: First-Round

Game Film Evidence

No. 10 -2022 season

Appalachian State

Miami (FL)

Florida A&M

University of Pittsburgh

Wake Forest

Notre Dame

Georgia Tech

Clemson ACC Championship Game

William Yanish III is a lifelong football fan. He’s from the little town of Crawford, Colorado. Along the way, he’s lived in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and Brookings, Oregon. Quarterback Joe Montana was his idol growing up. A little bit of CTE from life’s adventures killed his dreams as a football player. Now, he is an aspiring writer and Draft Analyst at FirstRoundMock.com. He’s a fanatic with a dream, which is coming true.