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This series will be your guide to the 2024 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.
We are getting a head start this year by looking at the talent projected to be available in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft. Why start in the summer? It’s a good way to see how the players grow from year-to-year and we will be looking at players from a Vikings perspective.
Right now, the Vikings will have seven draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft.
- 1st round
- 2nd round
- 4th round
- 4th round (via Lions)
- 5th round (via Chiefs)
- 5th round (via Browns)
- 6th round
Background
Drake Maye
- North Carolina
- Junior
- Height: 6040
- Weight: 225 lbs
- Five-star recruit per 247 Sports
- Stats: 66.2% completion, 4,410 yards, 39 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 190 rushes, 760 yards, 4.0 YPC, 7 touchdowns
- Games watched: Florida A&M 2022, Notre Dame 2022, NC State 2022, Oregon 2022
What does he do well?
Maye is a true dual-threat quarterback. He can do a little bit of everything for you. One of the things that stands out for me is his mechanics. Maye gets his upper and lower halves synced with a compact throwing motion. Doing so allows him to maximize his ability to drop it in the bucket and maximize his great placement.
The next three plays are just him creating and making things happen on the move when things go awry. This is a great example of Maye’s brilliance. He bails a murky pocket at the right time, rolls out to the left and throws a beautifully placed football across his body for a big gain.
This one is more of a designed rollout, but he executes the play-action perfectly and throws a perfect pass on the run to Josh Downs with the shallow cross.
The running game is something that Maye can also do really well. He has legit dual-threat ability and glides with his size. One thing that stands out is how Maye avoids getting hit in the open field. He slithers through defenders and uses his quickness to avoid getting hit.
Lastly, Maye doesn’t just create when pressure hits, but he also creates when there is nothing there. This red zone play doesn’t have anything available to him, so he escapes the pocket to give his receivers time to get open and fires a perfect pass to Downs in the end zone.
Overall, Maye is a very fluid player who can make all the plays you want within and outside of structure.
Where does he need improvement?
There isn’t a lot about Maye’s game that brings a lot of worry. He only has one season of production under his belt and that lack of experience is the main reason why he showed some struggles.
Maye doesn’t see coverage super well and can get fooled with disguises and late shifts. More reps at the position will help that quite a bit.
Maye also ran a very gimmicky offense this past season under Phil Longo, who has a reported 26 plays in his playbook. He has flashed the ability to work through progressions, but a lot of what he does is reading the coverage pre-snap and not working through a full field.
How does he fit with the Vikings?
The Vikings need a quarterback and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made it known that “unless you have a Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers, you are searching for him.”
Maye’s ability to be a dual-threat along with his big arm and ability to throw with touch and good placement would give Kevin O’Connell everything he would need in his future star quarterback.
Where does he project to go?
Maye is an incredibly talented football player. If he has another good season after a great 2022, he certainly will be one of the first players taken in the 2024 NFL draft. The hype of him going in the top five is warranted, and he should be in the discussion for the top quarterback in the NFL draft next season.
Projection: Top five pick
