UNC Football: Jeremiah compares Maye to former No. 1 overall pick

Which former NFL quarterback and top draft pick does Daniel Jeremiah compare current UNC football star quarterback Drake Maye to?

Drake Maye continues to draw a ton of attention heading into the 2023 season, and rightly so.

The UNC football star burst onto the scene last season, as many view him as one of (if not the) top quarterbacks in the potential 2024 NFL Draft class.

NFL Media Analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently did a full-on scouting report on Maye and had some high praise for the Tar Heels signal-caller:

"What I liked: Maye is the definition of a prototype. He has everything you would want in a franchise quarterback. He’s big, athletic and instinctive. He can deliver the ball accurately to all three levels of the field and he has the feel/touch to change trajectory and velocity depending on what each throw requires. He has an innate feel to sense pressure, drift away from it and get the ball where it needs to go. When needed, he can really drive and power the ball into small windows.Maye is also used quite often in the quarterback run game. He’s a good decision-maker on zone reads. He is both fast and elusive in space. The soon-to-be 21-year-old will take some unnecessary hits at times, but overall, he protects himself well. His skill set maximizes the playbook. He can function in any style of offense."

In terms of what he needs to improve on, Jeremiah notes ball protection while carrying the football as well as avoiding falling off throws while operating in a clean pocket.

Jeremiah also goes on to say that in most years, Maye would be the top quarterback on the draft board, but he fully expects the UNC football star to challenge Caleb Williams of USC for that spot this upcoming season.

Although he believes there isn’t a perfect comparison for Maye in terms of NFL quarterbacks, Jeremiah identified former No. 1 overall pick Carson Palmer as the closest comparison.

Considering the career that Palmer put together over 14 seasons, the comparison is one of high praise from Jeremiah, who worked with the Baltimore Ravens organization during most of Palmer’s career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

There will be plenty of comparisons and scouting reports surrounding Drake Maye this season. Although opinions will differ, there’s no question that Maye is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and should be one of the top players selected in next year’s NFL Draft class.

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