NFL Coach Shades Drake Maye: Staff Will 'Be Fired' Before QB Reaches Potential in NFL

One experienced offensive assistant believes selecting North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL draft represents a significant undertaking.

"I like Maye, but when I see the amount of work it will take to have him reach his potential, we'll be fired first," the quarterbacks coach told Ben Standig of The Athletic.

Maye is the No. 3 overall player on Bleacher Report's 2024 big board, one spot ahead of USC's Caleb Williams, but B/R NFL scout Derrik Klassen laid out why he's far from a sure thing.

Klassen pointed to how Maye "does have moments where he doesn't see or react to post-snap movement" and "also has a little bit of Superman Syndrome." The Tar Heels star was prone to making matters worse by extending plays and either turning the ball over or losing yards.

Maye could have silenced a lot of skeptics by having a big sophomore year at North Carolina but instead saw his completion percentage (63.3) and passer rating (149.0) fall in 2023.

Still, there's no question the 21-year-old has the size (6'4" and 223 pounds) and skill set to become an elite quarterback in the NFL.

The comment by the anonymous NFL coach also elides the level of risk to the coaching staff that picks him when considering his likely landing spot.

The Washington Commanders (Dan Quinn) and New England Patriots (Jerod Mayo) both hired new head coaches as part of wider organizational overhauls.

If Maye is judged to be a flop after two or three years, it seems more likely that Washington or New England would simply bring in a new quarterback rather than fire the head coach.

And were a coaching change to happen by that point, there would probably be much bigger factors at play than Maye's performance.