Matt Miller: Drake Maye is 'very much' in conversation for top three pick
Matt Miller believes Drake Maye will be selected no worse than No. 3 in the 2024 NFL Draft. While appearing on ESPN’s College GameDay Podcast the ESPN NFL Draft analyst and insider explained why the former North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback will not have a long draft night.
“I like Drake. He’s my No. 9 overall player in this class. He’s my No. 3 quarterback, he has been my No. 3 quarterback since October,” Miller said. “I haven’t seen anything from Halloween until now that says ‘Oh my gosh, let me bail on the player.'”
Miller admitted to not being as high on him compared to some other colleagues at ESPN, but Maye is still a top-10 pick in his eyes. “We’re talking about a player that should very much be in the conversation at No. 2 overall, at No. 3 overall,” he said.
Miller is interested to see where Maye goes in the draft because he wants to see him go to a team where he can have the most success. He said that some of the things Maye can improve on have become “negative aspects to his game” for some experts.
Drake Maye could be involved in big trade
In Miller’s seven-round mock draft, he has Maye going No. 3 overall to the Minnesota Vikings. He believes the Vikings will trade with the New England Patriots to get their quarterback of the future.
“Maye is big-armed and mobile, with the tools to thrive under coach Kevin O’Connell,” Miller wrote in his mock draft. “With a star left tackle in Christian Darrisaw, arguably the league’s best receiver in Justin Jefferson and a very good WR2 in second-year player Jordan Addison, the Vikings’ offensive supporting cast is perfect for a rookie quarterback.”
What’s interesting about Miller’s prediction is the Patriots are reportedly looking to get out of the No. 3 spot. ESPN’s Field Yates recently talked about this and said the Patriots should be careful about trading down.
“The fact that Minnesota has already moved up the board to pick No. 23 on top of pick No. 11 suggests that there will definitely be teams interested in moving all the way up to pick No. 3 with the Patriots,” Yates said. “The calculation they must make in his organization is; ‘alright, is the stockpile of picks to move away from pick No. 3 greater than the opportunity to grab a player in Drake Maye?’ Who I fully believe can be a long-time franchise starting quarterback for the Patriots.”