Drake Maye holding football (left). Maye standing awaiting snap (right).
Football fans are ripping on North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye after a video of one errant throw at his Pro Day went viral.

Drake Maye is widely regarded as a top three quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, along with USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. The Chicago Bears are presumably going to use the No. 1 pick on Williams, with the Washington Commanders likely to choose between Maye, Daniels and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at second overall.

You don’t want to read too much into one bad throw during a practice session, but the 21-year-old Maye wound up sending social media into a frenzy with this awful throw during Thursday’s Pro Day:

And as you would have guessed, social media had a lot to say on this errant throw:

It’s awfully easy to nitpick one bad throw, but Drake Maye’s performance overall performance on Thursday stood out to analysts and scouts, including NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks.

Remember, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (the No. 2 pick of 2021) had a jaw-dropping performance at his Pro Day. Fast forward three years later, and he’s already among the greatest quarterback busts in recent NFL memory.

In his final season of college football, Maye completed 63.3 percent of pass attempts for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns against nine interceptions.

Drake Maye Should Be A Top-Three Pick

Drake Maye isn’t a polished prospect like Caleb Williams, and he doesn’t have the dazzling dual-threat abilities of Jayden Daniels. But he’s a strong-armed QB and pocket passer who will be a franchise-changer if he lands with the right team.

Even if the Commanders take Daniels or McCarthy over Drake Maye, the latter should still be a top-three selection. If the New England Patriots don’t want Maye at No. 3, they’ll likely trade down to another team wanting a promising QB of Maye’s caliber.