Drake Maye Dynasty Rookie Profile

The University of North Carolina has put some talented quarterbacks into the league over the last 10 years, with players like Mitchell Trubisky and Sam Howell both seeing significant time under center in the NFL.

However, Drake Maye very well could be the best prospect of the bunch heading into the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. How should dynasty fantasy football managers value the UNC QB heading into rookie drafts later this offseason?

Should You Draft Drake Maye in Dynasty Fantasy Football?

The 2024 NFL Draft QB class certainly has plenty of talent with the likes of USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. all making strong cases to be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft.

Maye is consistently brought up in the same conversation with the top signal-callers coming into the league this year. His value in dynasty leagues is probably going to depend in large part on your roster and scoring format.

Maye will undoubtedly have far more value in Superflex leagues than your standard 1QB format.

For example, Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. feels like the consensus top player on the rookie rankings board in 1QB leagues, but cases can certainly be made for slightly pushing him down the board in Superflex formats.

Maye isn’t exactly an elite dual-threat QB prospect heading into the NFL, but his contributions in the running game certainly shouldn’t be overlooked, either.

He’s a bonafide first-round rookie dynasty pick in any league type where you can start more than one QB a week but could find himself being selected in the late first or early second round in 1QB formats.

Who Is Maye?

Background

Maye is the prototypical build of an NFL quarterback, standing 6’4” and weighing in at 230 pounds. He spent his prep-playing days at Myers Park High School where he was touted as a four-star prospect after generating 6,713 yards and 86 touchdowns over his two high school seasons.

Maye was also a standout basketball player during his prep days, averaging a double-double on the hardwood during his junior year.

College Production

The heir-apparent to Sam Howell in Chapel Hill proved he was every bit the prospect of his predecessor, and possibly even better.

Maye earned ACC Player of the Year honors in his first full season under center with 4,321 passing yards and 38 passing touchdowns while adding 698 yards and seven scores on the ground in his redshirt freshman campaign.

MORE: Dynasty Rookie Rankings 2024

Maye’s production dropped off a bit in his sophomore season without WR Josh Downs to throw to, but he still managed to compile 3,608 passing yards and 33 total TDs to finish out his collegiate career.

Injury History

Maye suffered an ankle injury during his final collegiate game against North Carolina State, which played a part in him not appearing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Maye’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• High-level arm strength; tape is littered with shots deep down the field with the ball shooting out of his hand with high-end velocity effortlessly; can make any throw at the NFL level.
• When his mechanics are intact, he can operate with great ball placement and accuracy on all three levels of the football field.
• Plus-level hip torque and arm strength are on display when he breaks the pocket and throws darts on the move whether rolling to his right or left.
• Quality processor of information; ability to identify alerts and progressions pre-snap to help formulate a post-snap plan to go through progressions.
• Good athlete who can extend passing plays and punish undisciplined defenders who don’t stay in their pass-rushing lanes; good play strength and surprising wiggle and twitchiness as a ball carrier.

Weaknesses

• Footwork mechanics need to be cleaned up; way too many reps where he’s bouncing around on his toes, which occasionally led to accuracy issues and effecting the timing of route concepts.
• Tends to drift towards his intended target, which leads to running himself into trouble instead of operating out of a clean pocket.
• Too many reps where Maye unnecessarily bails from a clean pocket; fails to consistently climb the pocket, slides to buy more time, or resets to continue going through progression.
• Some hesitation and questionable decisions on his tape led to negative plays; lending questions to him being a tick late going through his reads or thrown off because of his footwork being a bit inconsistent.
• Maye’s offensive line definitely had some issues, but pressure did seem to impact him more than you would like a top-tier QB prospect to at the college level.

With the fantasy football season behind us, why not start preparing for your rookie drafts with our dynasty rookie rankings? Additionally, as you look to improve your team heading into 2024, our dynasty trade calculator can help you find the perfect deal to boost your championship chances.