The class of 2024 is an interesting one in the upcoming NFL Draft. It is one of the more stacked classes when it comes to quarterback talent. With plenty of options across the board, each prospect at the position has his own special skill set, strong suits, and weaknesses. While Caleb Williams is deemed the most complete QB in the draft, the other top QBs, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye are the most pro-ready players.

Jayden Daniels of LSU is one of the more talented quarterbacks the league has seen in recent history. He has the right ratio of arm strength, football IQ, physical strength, and resilience that makes him a complete quarterback who can over time establish himself as a consistent quarterback capable of leading a franchise. It comes as no surprise that Daniels is expected to be the second pick in the draft behind Caleb Williams.

However, this draft class has a dark horse candidate. It is Drake Maye. The quarterback from North Carolina is being overlooked to an extent over Daniels because of how his team has fared this season. LSU ended with a better record than North Carolina and Maye’s last two games as a college player ended up being his worst showings as his team played against two of the best defenses in all of college football.

What’s special about Drake Maye?

Despite the negative speculation around Maye, he has what it takes to be better than Jayden Daniels as a quarterback in the NFL. Here’s why.

Firstly, with a 6’4″, 223-pound frame, Maye’s build puts him in the category of taller quarterbacks in the league. His arm strength is impressive because Maye’s talent is well-rounded. He can throw a deep ball just as well as a short-distance bullet passes. In 2022, he had 4,321 passing yards and 700 rushing yards, making him the first FBS player with 4,000+ yards passing and 500 yards rushing since Kyler Murray in 2018.
Drake Maye (via IMAGO)
So, would it be fair to categorize Drake Maye as a taller version of Kyler Murray? Not exactly. Maye is what you get when you mix Lamar Jackson’s running ability and athleticism with Matthew Stafford’s throwing ability. He has the potential to be a better version of Andrew Luck. The numbers speak for themselves.

In 12 games where he played last season, Maye completed 63.3% of his passes for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. 2022 was a better year for him in terms of numbers as he threw 38 touchdowns over seven interceptions throughout 14 games.

However, one has to note that his team did change and Maye’s performance declined mostly because of that. The narrative that Drake Maye had a fluke year in 2022 has to be stopped. He is not the perfect prospect; he receives criticisms over his footwork, but that can be fixed within no time. Another concern was his interception numbers going up this season. However, when you take into account the fact that many of those turnovers were a result of inconsistent wideouts and a subpar defensive line, Maye clears all the boxes a top QB prospect should.

Another factor is that Drake Maye is held to a different standard when compared to the other quarterbacks in his class. In fact, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler believes Maye is the second-best quarterback in this draft behind Caleb Williams. Ted Nguyen, a renowned film expert, also concurs and is of the opinion that Drake Maye is a better quarterback than Jayden Daniels.

The primary reason why Maye has more skepticism revolving around him is owing to the decline in his performance, but in all fairness, he cannot be judged on this year’s stats alone. You have to grade him on the totality of his performances in his college career. As per Pro Football Focus, Maye ranked second to Caleb Williams in terms of the percentage of pressures created by the QB with 25.9%, and showed exceptional skills when he had to evade pressure to buy time to throw or make a run for it.

So, if Drake Maye can run, has the desirable build to be the modern NFL quarterback, can throw deep passes, is creative, and can adapt on the go, why is he being overlooked to an extent? Well, as of today, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels have identical odds of going second overall in the draft.

So the tide is shifting in Maye’s favor But teams remain doubtful about him because of his performance last season and scouts think that Jayden Daniels has a higher ceiling ultimately than Maye. That may not be the case. Maye is a quarterback that you can expect to remain consistent for a long time. Does that mean he will end up being average and fail to stand out in the NFL? Absolutely not.

Drake Maye will not have an immediate impact in the NFL, but he will be a quarterback that will get better every year and if he is in a franchise surrounded with the right weapons and plays in a system that fits him, he will thrive. As of now, the New England Patriots should take Maye in an ideal situation. It cannot be said how he will fare in that system right now because there is no clarity on how Jerod Mayo fares as a head coach. Presuming that opts to retain the culture established by Bill Belichick and customizes his offensive playbook around Maye. That would be the best-case scenario for the quarterback.

Alternatively, if the Patriots pass on him, the next team in the draft that is likely to take a quarterback is the New York Giants. Considering Daniel Jones is coming off of an ACL injury after a disappointing outing in the first few games of the 2023-24 season, the Giants are on red alert. Despite signing Drew Lock and having Tommy DeVito in the QB room, the team may not be opposed to the idea of signing Maye if they do not have total faith in Jones.

Assuming Maye falls further along in the draft, the Minnesota Vikings will pick him up, no questions asked. But that seems very unlikely that he will fall that far along. As long as Drake Maye lands up on a team with a good system and a good culture, he will thrive.

Why does Jayden Daniels have the edge over Drake Maye?

Jayden Daniels ranks higher than Drake Maye because he has shown consistency in his time at LSU. Besides, scouts view his ceiling to be higher than Drake Maye’s. After all, he did win a Heisman Trophy. Another key factor is Daniels was not considered to be a first-round draft pick before entering last season, but within one year he proved that he is special.

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Jayden Daniels (via IMAGO)
Daniels has shown more patience in remaining in the pocket and has exponentially developed as a passer while showing that he can run when he needs to. The LSU Tigers were ranked the number 1 scoring offense owing to his scrambling skills.

The reason Jayden Daniels is ranked higher than Drake Maye is because he is more pro-ready than him at this moment. His arm strength, ability to read the defense, and scrambling skills give him an edge over Maye, who does possess all of these skills. But in the long-term, Drake Maye will end up eclipsing him because he will have a more consistent career than Daniels.

The reason for this is Daniels does not shy away from taking risks to rush the ball, which leaves him susceptible to being injured. In addition to this, his skinny frame does not help. While throwing, Daniels has at times proven to be inconsistent while throwing short passes and intermediate passes.

Both the quarterbacks are special but from what they have shown, Drake Maye has the potential to be a long-term franchise quarterback who will ultimately have a better career. Jayden Daniels deserves his flowers as well, but the question is will he be able to prove his longevity in the league? The answer to these questions will be delivered after seeing the two QBs play in their rookie season!