Maye’s energetic, ‘alpha’ personality gets teams paying attention at NFL Combine originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
INDIANAPOLIS – It was time for Drake Maye’s close-up. And he knew exactly what kind of first impression he wanted to make. Instead of climbing a small flight of stairs to a podium atop a raised platform for his media availability session at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine, he quickly jumped off the floor and landed with a thud.
Some reporters waiting downstairs reacted audibly, apparently taken aback. Maye smiled as he took his place behind the microphone.
“You’re all ready,” he asked? “Are you ready?”
Maye’s approach to his formal meetings with teams was similarly energetic. The 21-year-old was confident and comfortable in his own skin during meetings, according to league sources. While his play in 2023 may have earned negative marks for some teams, his performance in Indianapolis is considered very impressive behind the scenes.
Although joint meetings are relatively short (lasting about 20 minutes), Maye has demonstrated intelligence, strong communication skills and the ability to positively influence the energy in a room, evaluators said this week.
These may seem like small things. And it’s just a first impression, it’s important to keep in mind. But those kinds of qualities matter in a position where leadership and the ability to lift those around you to the next level are of the utmost importance.
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Patriots personnel chief Eliot Wolf has some experience drafting an “alpha” personality at the quarterback position in the first three picks. When he was an assistant general manager in Cleveland in 2018, the Browns made Baker Mayfield the No. 1 overall pick, in part because his personality was seen as a force that helped him stand out from others in a draft that took five passers in the first round. round.
Mayfield has been an unlikely player in New England this season. Despite the team’s need for a quarterback and Mayfield entering the new league year, he proved he remains a viable starter, expected to receive a veteran starting quarterback salary in short order. The Patriots, meanwhile, have an opportunity to land a younger player with untapped potential and what appears to be a magnetic personality if Maye is available to them at No. 3.
Younger. Cheaper. A fresh face of the franchise. If he succeeds.
Maye was widely considered the second-best quarterback in this year’s class before LSU’s Jayden Daniels earned the Heisman Trophy, while Maye struggled with inconsistency at times under new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. Thanks in part to the change in offense for the Tar Heels, multiple evaluators in Indy this week emphasized that Maye’s 2022 tape was a better testament to what he could do as a professional compared to his most recent work.
Even if Maye can showcase his skills more effectively in a new scheme in the NFL, there is an argument that Maye could benefit from starting his professional career. Scouts and coaches who have dug into his tape have found some flaws in his game related to his mechanics and his understanding of protections — the kind of expected flaws for young players at that position that could improve with time on the bench.
Maye was asked Friday how he would respond if his next team wanted him to watch and learn. If the Patriots were to take him and sit him sooner, it would be an approach Wolf saw firsthand play and paid dividends for both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love in Green Bay.
“It’s something that I think would be an advantage. There’s always two sides to it,” Maye said. “I think it can be a huge help. You see guys where it works, like Jordan Love. And you see examples, like CJ (Stroud), where going in right away can be successful.
“Whatever they think. Both ways. I’m ready to go in there and compete to be the starter. Obviously, I’m going to have that mentality no matter what. But at the same time, these guys are getting paid a lot of money to to make those decisions.” .”
The Patriots’ decision makers have been very clear about what they are looking for at the quarterback position. They would naturally appreciate a smart player with a dynamic physical skill set. But they also look for strength. Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo have made that abundantly clear.
Maye tried to make it abundantly clear to teammates at North Carolina that toughness was part of his game, though he acknowledged that can be difficult at a position where less contact is generally preferred.
“That’s one of the hardest things as a quarterback,” he said. “In practice you don’t get touched. People think you’re not lifting as hard because you’re not benching and people call you out for that. I think the running was the most important thing for me.
“Sometimes I’ve jumped hurdles or tried to break tackles. I think I have to avoid some hurdles to stay healthy. But at the same time, I’m just competing. Some of the best impacts I think I had were after I ran down the first time, made someone miss or tried to hinder a guy. Those guys loved that. That was kind of my way.”
The expectation in league circles is that Maye, Daniels and Caleb Williams will all ultimately be taken with the first three picks. And the expectation in league circles that the Patriots will acquire one of the three. If it is Maye they end up with, they will have a high energy and physical talent pool that they can try to mold and develop to get the team back on track for the first time since Tom Brady’s departure.
“Shoot,” Maye said. “That’s a lot to live up to now with Tom. One of the best. One of the GOATs. Coach (Clyde) Christensen helped coach the quarterbacks at North Carolina. He coached Tom in Tampa, so I just have to take an old go see film see how consistent he was, how he handled himself and took care of his body.”