Coach shares bold take on top QB prospect

It certainly seems at this point of the process that North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye will become, at worst, the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft this Thursday night. 

League personnel voiced final concerns about what Maye will and won’t be at the highest level for a piece produced by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic that was published on Tuesday.  

“I wouldn’t take him in the top 10,” one unnamed quarterbacks coach told Feldman about Maye. “I just don’t know if he’s ready now to go take over now.” 

Retired player and current NFL analyst Merril Hoge previously said he wouldn’t draft Maye in the first round because the signal-caller “is the kind of player that will get you fired.” Dan Orlovsky and Mel Kiper Jr. are noteworthy ESPN personalities who have made it known they think Maye needs to develop as a backup similar to how Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers learned about life in the NFL across his first few pro seasons. 

“His arm talent is crazy,” a scout told Feldman about Maye. “He has a lot of upside. But he misses layups. He’s just not a naturally accurate passer. I do think he’s wired right. He has to figure out some things. It’s hard to have a shooter and tell him his jump shot is broken and then rebuild it where you have to play him.” 

One reason individuals such as Mark Daniels of MassLive have repeatedly said that Maye is the “obvious choice” for the New England Patriots at overall draft pick No. 3 is that New England has veteran Jacoby Brissett to serve as a mentor and a starting quarterback through this coming fall. At least one offensive assistant coach suggested to Feldman that New England had better be ready to play Brissett until further notice. 

“His feet are all over the place,” that assistant said about Maye. “He’s off-balance. Everything is a run-around play. At least at the pro day, you could see he had fixed a lot of stuff. It’s gonna be a little while for him.” 

The Patriots reportedly won’t trade the third pick for anything short of “a historic” package because they are comfortable drafting their favorite available quarterback out of Maye, Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers and J.J. McCarthy of the Michigan Wolverines. As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Maye as the betting favorite at -300 odds to be the draft’s third selection. 

Many assume the Washington Commanders will take Daniels at pick No. 2 after the Chicago Bears draft USC Trojans star Caleb Williams first overall.