Can anyone surpass Drake Maye as QB2 on 2024 NFL Draft boards

Caleb Williams is the surefire No. 1, but behind him, is Drake Maye beginning to lose his grip on the No. 2 spot among NFL quarterback prospects this season? ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller provided the latest on that very question.

He joined Field Yates for an episode of ESPN’s First Draft — an NFL-Draft-centered podcast — to discuss the start of Maye’s season and if he’s still got a stranglehold on that QB2 spot for next spring. Per Miller, the race has opened up since Williams and Maye were penciled in as the obvious top selections.

“I will say this: we are five weeks in. We have just started our evaluations on these players. I do think the door is open for another quarterback to become that QB2,” stated Miller. “Whether it is Shedeur Sanders, whether it is Quinn Ewers, who knows, maybe JJ McCarthy. Like, there’s a list of great quarterbacks we’re going to get through.”

Miller suggested there’s up to 20 guys that could be worth drafting this year. But when it comes to Drake Maye, the Tar Heel quarterback just hasn’t produced the pizzazz that some of the other top playmakers have under center across the sport.

“Yeah, you know, I told you guys before we started recording: every time I watch Drake Maye, I want a little bit more. And maybe I’m spoiled because I watch Caleb Williams make these crazy plays, and I watch Shedeur Sanders just surgically carving up these Pac-12 defenses. Now, I watch Drake Maye, and it’s like, man, I want the big plays, I want the excitement, and it’s a little more methodical from him.”

Don’t take those comments as a diss of Maye, though. Just because 2023 hasn’t featured many splashy moments doesn’t mean the UNC QB is playing poorly. As Miller notes, he also doesn’t have a ton to work with.

“I like Drake. I don’t want it to sound like I’m trying to downplay Drake Maye. Physically, he’s incredibly gifted. He is carrying a team that does not have the weapons that USC has, or even that Colorado has at wide receiver and running back. He is carrying this team, which is why I go back to the Justin Herbert comparisons at Oregon, where Justin was asked to do so much at times. I do want to see Drake, over the course of the season, unlock that a little bit.”

Miller then compared Maye’s 2023 season to CJ Stroud’s performance last fall, where he said “things looked too easy” for the Ohio State quarterback… until he really showed off vs. Georgia in the College Football Playoff.

“There might still be that moment for Drake Maye where all my questions are answered. I’m still waiting for it right now,” added Miller.