Raiders 2024 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: North Carolina QB Drake Maye

Raiders Draft Prospect Profile on UNC QB Drake Maye: Strengths

As soon as you see Drake Maye on the field you know what position the young man is playing. The perfect quarterback build at 6’4” and 230 pounds, he looks the part of a franchise guy that general managers around the league are going to be fawning over. 

A physically gifted passer with a hose for an arm, Maye’s pure arm talent will never be questioned as he can drive the ball with exceptional velocity and routinely takes big shots down the field by simply flicking his wrist. 

With these big downfield shots comes an innate ability to layer the ball through coverage. While he certainly displays the ability to throw with touch or fire a line drive, it is the in-between throws where he gives you just enough velocity to put it over a linebacker but also keeps enough off to put it under the defensive back that will really fire teams up. 

Maye is not a statue in the pocket either. Quite the opposite in fact as he is a factor in the designed run game and had 449 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season. He is a more than functional athlete and at his size will not be fun to tackle.

My favorite part of Maye’s game is the way he approaches every play. Ben Solak of The Ringer coined him a “Big Game Hunter” and the adage fits perfectly. This is a quarterback who does not care for check-downs in the slightest and is always looking for the big play. While quarterbacks are often told to read a play from “high to low” Maye seems to be working high-to-high and is an incredibly creative player in doing so.