University of North Carolina standout Drake Maye is considered by some to be the second-best quarterback prospect in this year’s NFL Draft class, but not everyone is sold on him.
Take former NFL quarterback and current Pro Football Talk analyst Chris Simms, for example.
During a recent on the Pro Football Focus NFL Podcast, Simms explained why he is not very high on Maye heading into the draft later this month.
Simms actually has Maye ranked as his sixth-best signal-caller in the class, questioning his mechanics and saying that he misses lots of wide-open throws.
Maye is coming off of a rather pedestrian final season at North Carolina in which he threw for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 63.3 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 449 yards while and punched in nine rushing scores.
The 21-year-old actually took a considerable step back from 2022, when he totaled 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven picks while completing 66.2 percent of his throws. In addition, he registered 698 yards on the ground, scoring seven touchdowns.
While Maye definitely wasn’t bad this past year, he certainly wasn’t as impressive as other top quarterback prospects like Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or even Bo Nix.
Maye has typically been labeled as one of the top three signal-callers in this draft. Williams is the consensus No. 1, and most have either Daniels or Maye at No. 2.
At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds with solid athleticism and a strong arm, Maye certainly has the physical tools one would want out of a rookie quarterback. The question is, can he consistently make the throws?
The Washington Commanders and New England Patriots own picks 2 and 3 in the NFL Draft in less than two weeks, and Maye is expected to land with one of those two ballclubs.
We’ll see if Drake Maye lives up to expectations or if Simms ends up being right about him.
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