Would Giants Consider QB Drake Maye If Falls Down Draft Board?
The New York Giants have kept their intentions regarding the quarterback position close to the vest, but if they plan on ensuring they'll have a chance at landing a top prospect, UNC's Drake Maye is someone to keep an eye on.
The 21-year-old Maye is widely regarded as one of the safest picks among the 2024 quarterback class. While some early mock draft reports had May in the top three at his position, along with USC's Caleb Williams and LSU's Jayden Daniels, Maye, according to NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein during an episode of the Move the Sticks podcast with fellow NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, could be sliding down draft boards.
“I talked to an NFL guy who thinks that Maye could be a guy who falls in this draft,” Zierlein said. “He compared him to Levis. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, but this is a guy who I think is a pretty good evaluator.”
Maye has had an impressive college stint. After seeing nearly zero action in his first year, the Huntersville native tallied consecutive 3,600+ yard seasons with 62 total passing touchdowns and under ten interceptions to lead the Tar Heels to eight and nine-win campaigns as the starter.
In his redshirt freshman stint in 2022, Maye developed his reputation as a force with which to be reckoned by throwing over 4,300 passing yards and 38 touchdowns and adding another 698 yards and seven scores with his legs, the former stats-breaking and tying single-season school records.
At the core, he carries the big bruiser persona and a competitive flare that makes Locked On Tar Heels podcast host Isaac Schade believe Maye is the NFL’s “prototypical” gunslinger.
“That's just the biggest thing right out of the gate. Drake Maye is a guy that you want on your team and in your locker room,” Schade said during an appearance on the Locked On Giants podcast.
“Zero off-field problems, lots of on-field problems for opponents. You know, there are no questions about, 'Oh man, is he going to be able to see over the line? No, he's 6’4”. Is he going to be hefty enough to hold up to NFL hits? No, he's 230. He's got all the prototypical stuff that I'm looking for. The arm, he can move like the modern NFL quarterback needs to do.”
Schade mentioned that the kudos for Maye’s impressive arm strength, mobility, and overarching confidence inside and outside the pocket comes from the up-tempo, “air it out” offensive system run by Mac Brown at Chapel Hill and his innate desire to make a winning play at all costs. He also pointed to the young man’s family of athletes for teaching him what it means to be a great quarterback and how to process the entire field pre- and post-snap.
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