Drake Maye Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

UNC QB Drake Maye falls in Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest 2024 draft rankings

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 3/23/24

It happens seemingly every year.

From the time the college football season ends right up until the NFL Draft begins, there’s typically a player who starts slipping down draft boards based purely on numbers scribbled on clipboards after doing trivial drills on a practice field.

This time, that unfortunate player is North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, who fell to No. 7 in Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest draft rankings despite not playing a single snap since Nov. 25.

USC’s Caleb Williams remains the No. 1-ranked player and top quarterback on Kiper Jr.’s big board, followed by Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at No 2 and LSU QB Jayden Daniels at No. 3, who Kiper Jr. said could be drafted as high as No. 2 overall.

Jayden Daniels over Drake Maye just seems like classic prospect fatigue.

I think Maye is closer to Caleb Williams than Jayden is to Maye, if I’m being honest. He’d be a firm No. 1 pick most years.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) March 22, 2024

The 21-year-old QB was ranked as high as No. 4 last month on Kiper Jr.’s rankings but he’s dropped in recent weeks because of several concerns including accuracy issues and a long delivery that may not translate to the NFL Kiper Jr. disclosed during a recent appearance on the “Eye on Foxborough” podcast.

“[Maye] was missing open receivers,” Kiper Jr. said. “There’s no excuse for some of the things you saw on tape. He’d throw a swing pass to a back off target. He didn’t hit them in stride. … He has a longer delivery than people prefer because that gives NFL corners a chance to break on the ball. Remember Aaron Rodgers changed his delivery when he went from Cal to the Green Bay Packers.”

Drake Maye reminds me a lot of the Anthony Richardson talk last year.

Lots of talk of them being high upside “projects” but when you actually watch them and see them make high level plays you realize the only reason their projects is because they’re young and inexperienced
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) March 22, 2024

Maye did have a down year in 2023 compared to the season before. He threw for 713 fewer yards and 14 fewer touchdowns with two more interceptions and his completion percentage dipped slightly from 66.2% to 63.3%. However, it should be noted he lost his two leading receivers from 2022 — Josh Downs and Antoine Green — to last year’s NFL Draft.

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