College coach shares shocking Drake Maye, Caleb Williams claim

One coach who "scouted, game-planned for and then faced" Drake Maye told Bruce Feldman of The Athletic that Maye could "be a better quarterback than" Caleb Williams "if you can protect" Maye. 

"He throws the s--- out of it, but the last two years we could tell that he really doesn’t like all that stuff around him," the coach said about Maye. "He gets a little bit scared back there, in my opinion. He is a good athlete, big, really good arm. But I thought (former UNC quarterback and current Seattle Seahawks backup) Sam Howell was a tougher kid."

Williams is viewed by analysts such as Field Yates of ESPN as the top quarterback prospect of this year's draft class, so much so that it's considered a lock that he will go to the Chicago Bears via the No. 1 pick. While one unnamed AFC offensive coach believes Maye "would be the No. 1 pick in like 80% of drafts," many expect the Washington Commanders will grab Jayden Daniels over Maye with pick No. 2.

Maye is routinely linked with the New England Patriots at pick No. 3 despite the fact that J.J. McCarthy has seen his draft stock rise over the past month. 

"He checks all the boxes," a different coach told Feldman about Maye. "Can roll left, can roll right; can be on the wrong foot, can throw off-platform. He’s great laterally. Was very busy with his feet earlier in his career; he got better quieting that down. That seemed to help his decision-making and accuracy, but it looked like he regressed with that and got a little erratic." 

Another coach went so far as to label Maye as "probably the best we’ve seen" since Trevor Lawrence played for Clemson before the Jacksonville Jaguars made him the first pick of the 2021 draft. 

"Really good arm," that coach said about Maye. "Love his pocket presence. His awareness of where all the rushers are — whether it was four, five or six (coming) — was off the charts. It made him hard to pass rush. Any risk you took, whether it was going above and trying to turn the corner, or going inside, he felt it and was able to expose you. He could make you pay on just about anything you do." 

Multiple draft analysts believe Maye should sit as a rookie and "is just not ready" to start against NFL defenses. For what it's worth, the Patriots signed veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, presumably to have Brissett serve as the club's Week 1 starter and as a mentor for a first-year pro such as Maye.