Drake Maye landing spots: Best fits for top QB prospect, including how various NFL connections could factor in

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye possess all the qualities any NFL team would desire in a pocket passer prospect.

Maye has the stature (6-foot-four, 229 pounds), the arm talent, and the athleticism to make almost any throw, whether that’s a deep ball from the pocket or on the run. His collegiate production is a result of these traits as he was the only player in college football with over 7,000 passing yards (7,929) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,247) across the last two seasons. Maye also takes care of the football at a high level with a turnover-worthy play rate of 1.8%, tied for the seventh-lowest among FBS quarterbacks with a minimum of 200 dropbacks. 

Here are his top-five NFL team fits at this post-free agency stage of the NFL draft cycle. 

The Denver Broncos currently have a void at quarterback after releasing Russell Wilson and opting to eat $85 million in dead money against their salary cap after he and head coach Sean Payton clearly didn’t mesh. They only have two quarterbacks on their roster, and both are career backups: Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci. 

Denver’s supporting cast is decent with receivers like Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Tim Patrick and the newly signed Josh Reynolds. Also, he Broncos’ young top running back Javonte Williams (turns 24 on April 25) is a fellow North Carolina Tar Heel like Maye. 

The only issue here is the Broncos would need to convince their ownership group to part with a number of early-round picks to trade up into the top five and take Maye, and Denver doesn’t have its 2024 second-round pick. That belongs to the New Orleans Saints since that was part of the compensation package required to attain the rights to hire Payton as their head coach. However, they do have the rights to their top picks in 2025 and 2026, which they would likely need to include in any move up the draft board.

“It was awesome meeting with Coach Payton,” Maye…


Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/drake-maye-landing-spots-best-fits-for-top-qb-prospect-including-how-various-nfl-connections-could-factor-in/

Author : Garrett Podell

Publish date : 2024-03-28 10:23:17

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