Drake Maye on Pro Day performance: 'I thought I threw well'

On Thursday, Drake Maye didn’t hesitate to fire his cannon in front of a crowd. With NFL scouts drooling on the sideline, Maye threw over 70 passes at North Carolina’s Pro Day. After the event, Maye assessed his performance.

“I thought I threw well. I thought I was spinning it great,” Maye said. “There’s a few [throws] I wish I had back. Always, when you have 70 throws, you’re gonna miss a few. That was the goal, to be perfect.

“At the end of the day, I didn’t accomplish that, but I thought I threw it well. I think the guys did a great job and just tried to show different things. Move on the run, different drops and just throwing on the backfoot.”

Maye didn’t limit his Pro Day showing to one aspect of his game. He showed off his diverse skillset. For reference, most quarterbacks typically only throw 50 to 60 passes at their respective Pro Days. Then again, Maye isn’t your average quarterback.

The 6-foot-4, 223-pound prospect left spectators slack-jawed with his fast-paced passing session. When Maye did make an error, he didn’t allow it to fester. He would repeat the play and perfect any previous mistakes.

“It’s a really good performance,” NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks said afterward on NFL+. “I know it’s not perfect and pro day performances, as much as we want them to be perfect, I actually am more encouraged by the misses and the corrections after the misses than anything. The talent is there. He is the prototype.”

Of course, Maye had little to prove at his Pro Day. Despite lacking sufficient talent around him this past season, Maye was still able to tally 3,608 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and another nine scores in the ground game. His 63 completions on throws at least 15 yards downfield ranked second in the FBS.

For his efforts, he was named an All-ACC Second Team member and a Manning Award finalist. In ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest NFL Big Board, he listed Maye as the No. 3 available quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, trailing only USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Many NFL analysts believe Maye is the second-best QB in the draft.

It won’t be much longer before Drake Maye learns where he stands in NFL teams’ eyes. The 2024 NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Michigan, with the first round on Thursday, April 25, the second and third rounds on Friday, April 26, and the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday, April 27.