Patriots: QB Drake Maye Scouting Report

Tanner James

Feb 24, 20245 min read

The New England Patriots have a QB problem, and with the number three overall pick in the upcoming draft class, the Patriots have a chance to land a premier talent. I will post a player profile for most of my top-10 QBs, but Maye is a good place to start.

QB Drake Maye(#10), UNC.

Date of Birth: August 30th, 2002

Age at draft: 21 years old

Strengths:

Arm talent is real. Maye can throw the ball with drive to all three levels.
Rare drive on deep passes that few QBs in the NFL possess.
Maye flashes the ability to anticipate windows forming and throwing to receivers before they enter their break.
Adequate processor. He can be inconsistent on a down-to-down basis but showed good recognition of favorable opportunities in the short areas of the field.
Quickly recognizes zone vacancies.
Recognizes when a receiver quickly beats man coverage or when a vacancy is created from a blitzer, throws in-breaking with nice ball placement, and does a great job keeping his receivers safe on passes over the middle of the field.
Accuracy is a net positive. He isn’t the most accurate passer on a down-to-down basis in this class though.
His ability to throw off platform is unreal. He will be one of the best off-platform throwers in the NFL on day-one.
Aggressive downfield, routinely creating explosive plays.
Pocket presence, despise the occasional drifting, is a net positive. He routinely avoided pass rushers, climbed the pocket, moved and reset, etc.
Gameplan against Duke was better than Clemson. UNC’s play-calling is suspect and loves the deep ball. He flashed more of his quick game and his ability to efficiently get through his reads. Looked far more NFL-ready as a processor against Duke.
Can regulate the speed of his throws. He is not a one-speed thrower. He shows the ability to feather it over a linebacker or rip it into a quickly closing window.
Despite his aggressive nature and ability to throw anywhere on the field, he is safe with the ball. Turnover-worthy plays are not a glaring issue for him.
UNC had one of the worst offensive lines in the country. Maye was consistently under pressure and had to carry the team on his back.
Outside of Tez Walker, there were no real receiving threats; poor to mediocre weapons.

Weaknesses:

Can unnecessarily drift in the pocket. Makes the process of getting to a throwing base longer and will increase the pressure he faces in the NFL.
Screens/swing will occasionally be a bit off the mark and not be the best pass to lead the runner-up field.
His footwork occasionally gets erratic, his base can narrow and further the distance his feet need to travel to strike the ground to set his feet to pass; his top half can be out of sync with his bottom half.
His eyes can get stuck on his first read, showed up a few times, especially against Clemson.
He doesn't have the same volume of processing concerns other QBs in this class do but Clemson was able to confuse him a bit pre and post-snap, not something that showed up all over his film but a noteworthy takeaway from one of his worst games in college.
Despite flashing the ability to throw with anticipation, he needs to majorly improve in that regard. He showed far too much hesitation to grip and rip the ball in the Clemson game. It was very clear he knew where the ball had to go, but instead of throwing with anticipation before the receiver entered his break, he would double clutch or hesitate and leave plays on the field. It showed up multiple times.
Hesitation to trust his eyes and throw with anticipation especially shows up with hitches, curls, and comebacks.
He didn’t get a full season's worth of reps with his best playmaker Tez Walker due to NCAA eligibility issues. Walker missed the first four games, I do think that hurt the offense that lasted beyond the first four games.
Needs to get through his progression a bit quicker and on time; a greater sense of urgency.
He did not play in an NFL offense. He is going to need to learn how to play under center(common).

Bottom Line:

Drake Maye is a top-tier QB prospect, possessing rare tools that make him a limitless prospect. His ability to create and make plays outside of structure is elite and will translate immediately to the NFL. Maye can throw with elite drive to all three levels of the field while also showing the ability to control the speed on passes, flashing touch when needed. While not on the same level as Josh Allen, Maye is a plus athlete who embraces contact when necessary. He handles pressure like a professional, showing plus pocket maneuverability and the ability to stand tall and make tough passes in condensed spaces. Maye is the best passer attacking the middle of the field in this class, which is extremely important at the NFL level. He is not a precision passer but his ball placement, while not the best in his class, is adequate and not a net negative. However, there are areas for growth. He has shown flashes of playing with rhythm and timing, but it is an area he needs to develop. Maye needs to trust his eyes more consistently and be quicker to trigger on anticipatory throws. He does not have the same level of processing concerns as other QB prospects in this class, but it is still an area he will need to leap. Ideally, he would become more consistent with his footwork as it would have a beneficial effect on accuracy.

Additionally, adapting to NFL concepts and playing under center will require adjustment. Despite potential growing pains, Maye has the tools to become one of the league's best QBs. Whichever team drafts Drake Maye will need to be patient with him as it should be expected there will be growing pains associated with the jump from a juvenile college offense to the faster-paced environment of the NFL. The bottom line is that his arm talent and ability to improvise when plays break down are highly sought-after traits in the modern NFL. With increased consistency, Maye possesses all the qualities to be a top signal caller for the next decade.