MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/8)
Josh Gross
Last Updated: 2/16/2024
As a true freshman, Drake Maye saw almost no action for North Carolina, but he exploded in 2022, leading the ACC in passing yards (4,321), completions (342) and passing touchdowns (38). We saw him take a step back statistically in 2023 after UNC lost multiple pieces of his supporting cast to the NFL. That said, he still led the ACC in passing yards with 3,608 and was second with 24 passing touchdowns.
Maye offers a perfect marriage of size and mobility, standing 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, and has amassed over 1,000 rushing yards in two full seasons. This size is evident in his tape as he stands tall in the pocket and can escape arm tackle attempts with ease. A majority of the time we see him display quality pocket awareness and maneuverability displaying the ability to climb the pocket or escape to the edge. On the flip side, there are times he panics and bails too early or slides into pressure when he has a clean pocket. After breaking free of the pocket, the marriage of a physical running style and speed allows him to eat up chunk yardage. Despite lacking ankle-breaking elusiveness, he possesses enough to force missed tackles from time to time. We often see college rushing not translate to the NFL, but Maye’s athleticism should with no hiccups.
As a decision-maker, Maye leaves us wanting more. Pre-snap, we see him misidentifying impending pressures, which affects the blocking scheme leading to negative plays. Post-snap, we see him display a wreckless style more than you would like, at times attempting to make plays he shouldn’t at poor times of the game. There are multiple instances of him tossing the ball into heavy coverage when he should just eat the play and live to play another down.
His best traits come within his arm, Maye has a true NFL arm and can make any throw asked of him. Most impressively he does this with tremendous ball placement and accuracy allowing his playmakers to create yards after the catch with ease or hold them up to prevent significant hits. His quick release is paired with tremendous velocity allowing him to thread the needle in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. We also see him throw with good anticipation but can also be creative when the play breaks down en route to multiple “wow” type plays. In addition, he can throw on the run without losing accuracy or arm strength. On the flip side, he shows some inconsistencies with his footwork and synchronizing his upper and lower body often leading to errant throws, mostly under pressure.
- Accuracy
- Arm strength
- Mobility
- Inconsistent decision-making
- Poor footwork at times
- Occasional errant throws
- Second-Team All-ACC (2023)
- Second-Team AP All-ACC (2023)
- All-ACC Academic Team (2023)
- PFF Third-Team All-American (2022)
- ACC Player of the Year (2022)
- ACC Offensive Player of the Year (2022)
- First-Team All-ACC (2022)
- ACC Rookie of the Year (2022)
- ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year (2022)
- Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year (2022)
- FWAA Freshman of the Year (2022)
- FWAA Freshman All-American (2022)
- 40-yard dash: TBD
- Vertical: TBD
- Broad Jump: TBD
- Three-cone: TBD
- Shuttle: TBD
- Bench: TBD
- Potential franchise quarterback
Drake Maye is going to offer plenty of upside to us as fantasy managers, he has a tremendous arm and a dual-threat ability. He will not win any rushing titles, but he offers enough to give us a bonus in fantasy. With his arm talent, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him produce top 10 passing production annually. Maye needs some refining to become a true franchise quarterback, but that ceiling is well within reach, if so, we will be drafting a plug-and-play asset for the next 10 years.
