NFL DRAFT: THE BEST AND WORST LANDING SPOTS FOR DRAKE MAYE

After nearly two years of hype, Drake Maye is about to find out which team he will call home for the next few seasons. With all of the deep dives that have been made about Maye and his ability to play in the pros, there’s been one thing that has been missing in the discussion — that his success will very much depend on the team that takes him.

Would Patrick Mahomes had turned out as well as he did if he didn’t have Alex Smith to study behind for a year and Andy Reid as his coach? Would Mitch Trubisky had been as bad if Chicago had already committed to a new coach instead of having a lame duck John Fox for one season? How much has Trevor Lawrence’s development been stuck because of the disastrous Urban Meyer year, while Josh Allen got a coach who focused on the defense and found an offense the worked well for him?

Certainly a lot of it is the player, but it does feel like certain teams are ones that could spell doom for a quarterback, no matter what his talents. So let’s talk about a couple of the best and worst teams that could take Drake Maye, and we’ll do it with teams that are realistically in the fight.

Best

Minnesota Vikings

Bar none, the best team that could make a move and grab Maye.

Let’s start with the fact that the offense isn’t that different from the Kirk Cousins led one last year, even with Cousins hurt a significant part of the year. They have a great WR1 in Justin Jefferson, who would likely love being the focal point of a top pick like Maye. They had a solid running game, and added Aaron Jones while still having Ty Chandler in the backfield. It’s a diverse offense that would allow Maye to play from down one, and the cherry on top is that the Vikings recently hired Josh McCown as their quarterbacks coach, who just so happened to coach Maye in high school.

The moves in place seemed to signal that the Vikings really wanted Maye, and he’s been off to visit Minnesota so there is interest. The problem is that Minnesota doesn’t pick until eleventh, and there’s no way Maye will fall that far. So can they use their extra pick at 23 along with other capital to entice a team ahead of them to fall back? Indications right now don’t seem very likely, but it’s also possible we won’t know till Thursday itself depending on how the draft falls together.

New York Giants

The offensive coordinator Mike Kafka took an offense with questionable quarterbacking and still managed to average nearly 150 rushing yards a game. That rushing attack would be huge for Maye to take pressure off him, and it speaks to just how well the offensive line can block at a pro level. The offense still managed to pass for over 3000 yards despite their leading passer being Tyrod Taylor.

There’s also something about being a star quarterback of the New York Giants that could elevate Maye to a superstar level quickly should he succeed. The biggest team in the biggest market has been starving for a star quarterback to cheer for, and there’s no doubt should he succeed in New York he will ascend to stratospheric levels. The problem? It’s basically the same as the Vikings. Without extra picks and drafting sixth, they basically have to hope that the top three pass on Maye and then the next two are fine at quarterback — which based on rumors is possible. It’s unlikely they have the capital to move up.

Worst

New England Patriots

This has nothing to do with an anti-Pats bias. The fact is that the franchise as a whole is a mess. They had a plan for a year to replace Bill Belichick with Jerod Mayo, meaning he was a lame duck all of last year. The owner seems fascinated more with crafting a narrative that he was the reason they succeeded there, and one of the worst offenses in the NFL didn’t add anyone of note at any of the skill positions.

In short Maye would be looked on by the team as a savior from a first-year defensively-minded head coach, and without any real help in his first year. The offensive coordinator hired was Alex Van Pelt, who doesn’t exactly have a sterling resume from his time in Cleveland. There’s a real feel that the team is so broken that no one of any real talent wanted to go.

There’s also the discourse in the area over the quarterback. All you have to do is listen to either of the two sports talk radio stations in the Boston area and you hear how the J.J. McCarthy talk has been stirred up. The fan base that calls in would rather trade down, and one prominent host is already of the mind set that “all rookie quarterbacks suck.” All of this creates a cauldron of pressure that sets up any quarterback drafted for failure, and it’s tough to see how that team could set up good habits for him from day 1.

Chicago Bears

This seems unlikely because they have gotten their eyes locked into Caleb Williams, but it’s at least worth mentioning here just how horrid the Bears franchise has historically been with quarterbacks. The fact they are once again jettisoning a top quarterback picked to start over for the third time in recent years speaks to a disfunction at the root of the franchise.

It was mentioned before, but while Mitch Trubisky is never going to be confused as star quarterback, you can’t help but to wonder just how much he was broken because of how the Bears handled his first few years. He had different offensive coordinators each year, there wasn’t agreement in the building over his drafting, and he basically lost a year when John Fox was ousted. The Bears were quick to allow the media to blame him for his play, even though a few years later it’s become clear there is a systemic rot that played a role.

There’s a chance that they may finally hit pay dirt after so many tries, but you still wouldn’t feel good at all if they decide to take Maye.

Neutral

Washington Commanders

There’s a really strong chance that Maye is picked second, and the question is whether or not the Commanders’ situation would be good for Maye. In the negative you have that the Commanders just got rid of another UNC quarterback who had some really good moments. He also would be playing for a franchise that also does not have a great history with quarterbacks. Finally, he would be playing in one of the worst stadiums in the NFL, and the passionate fan base could very quickly enter “oh no, not again” territory.

However, how much of that history can be taken into account when you have a brand new owner and a brand new coaching staff? Dan Quinn is in his next go around as a head coach, but he seems to be of the defensive mold that will let new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury take full control of the reins, and the could make Maye’s development better. Kingsbury does have a good history with quarterbacks, even if it isn’t the best as a head coach.

The moves in Washington seem to point more to a Jaden Daniels pick, but it’s possible that now, after all of the workouts and the combine that they feel Maye is the better option. There’s no doubt that if Maye succeeds he would be a hero to one of the most passionate fanbases in the NFL, and the league as a whole would be happy to see the team succeed with Dan Snyder now out.

This one would be a wait and see. It’s not obvious either way.

Do you have any preferences? Use the comments below to tell us!

2024-04-22T13:12:06Z dg43tfdfdgfd