Joel Klatt ranks Drake Maye, Caleb Williams as two most impressive quarterbacks this season over Bryce Young

After a wild play by Drake Maye during the Holiday Bowl, FOX analyst Joel Klatt claimed he and Caleb Williams were above all quarterbacks. Klatt made the claim that the Heisman-winning Williams and UNC’s star Maye were the most impressive players he’d seen all season — even ahead of Alabama star Bryce Young.

Joel Klatt shares high praise for Drake Maye, Caleb Williams

The discussion came up for Klatt and his fellow broadcaster Gus Johnson after Maye scrambled out of the pocket on a first-and-ten play that saw him crowded by defenders on the sideline. Instead of taking what appeared to be a sure sack by the defense, Maye threw a “shot-put” pass over the defense to his open target to turn a negative play into a first down.

As Johnson joked that he threw a “Dr Pepper” pass in reference to the annual Dr Pepper Challenge for college students around the nation, Klatt ramped up his own praise by directly calling him one of the top-two quarterbacks he would pick this season.

“I’ve seen two guys live this year that just blow me away at this position — Drake Maye and Caleb Williams,” said Klatt.

Johnson was quick to point out how high that praise was by reminding him that he also watched Young play live this season too — which Klatt was quick to admit he was aware of when he made his claim.

“Listen, Bryce is great. Bryce might be, and probably should be the first pick in the draft. These cats though, like Caleb and Drake… they’re a little bit different. Next year’s class is a little different. And again, that’s not a knock… I’m not knocking anybody. These two guys, what they do outside of the pocket, the way they’re dynamic — they are different breeds.”

The Tar Heels certainly saw some of the best of Drake Maye on Wednesday during their bowl game, despite him struggling with completions against a tough Oregon defense. Although he struggled to complete passes by percentage, Maye completed three touchdown passes and took the Tar Heels to a 27-21 lead over the Ducks with minutes remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, Bo Nix delivered an incredible final drive to score a touchdown and take the lead 28-27 late. The drive finished with just 19 seconds on the clock, denying Maye a good chance to respond.