Drake Maye landing spots: Ranking 5 best NFL fits for QB prospect, with No. 1 suitor currently outside top 10

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye possess all the qualities any NFL team would desire in a pocket passer prospect.

Maye has the stature (6-foot-four, 229 pounds), the arm talent, and the athleticism to make almost any throw, whether that’s a deep ball from the pocket or on the run. His collegiate production is a result of these traits as he was the only player in college football with over 7,000 passing yards (7,929) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,247) across the last two seasons. Maye also takes care of the football at a high level with a turnover-worthy play rate of 1.8%, tied for the seventh-lowest among FBS quarterbacks with a minimum of 200 dropbacks. 

Here are his top five NFL team fits at this point in the NFL draft cycle. 

5. New England Patriots (3rd overall pick)

The New England Patriots offense is a blank slate. They have a new offensive coordinator in Alex Van Pelt, plus the team’s top two tight ends (Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki) and both starting offensive tackles (Trent Brown and Mike Onwenu) are scheduled to be free agents. The Patriots are projected to have $69.3 million in effective cap space, according to OverTheCap.com, which would rank as the second-most in the entire NFL. They can do a complete makeover of their roster in the blink of an eye.

New England’s roster is guaranteed to look dramatically altered between the amount of cap space present and the start of the first year of the 21st century without Bill Belichick running the show. Maye would be a breath of fresh air from the quarterbacks who played for the Patriots in 2023: Mac Jones — who ranked bottom three in NFL in yards per pass attempt (6.1), TD-INT (10-12) and passer rating (77.0) — and Bailey Zappe — his eight turnovers from Weeks 14-18 were tied for the second-most in the NFL. Both of them played huge roles in the Patriots’ anemic offensive attack.

4. Chicago Bears (1st overall pick)

With the Bears likely to trade quarterback Justin Fields, the 11th overall draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Chicago puts itself in the market for a new quarterback with plenty of assets at its disposal. The first overall pick in the upcoming draft was acquired in the trade from a year ago that netted the Panthers Bryce Young with the 2023 first overall pick, so they have two top 10 selections with the Bears own pick being on the board at ninth overall. 

They have a true WR1 in DJ Moore plus $66.2 million in effective cap space, the fifth-most in the NFL this offseason per OverTheCap.com. Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson are a solid one-two punch at running back, and Chicago finished 2023 with wins in five of their final eight games thanks to leading the NFL in that span in scoring defense (17.2 points per game allowed). A full season of edge rusher Montez Sweat plus more defensive additions in the offseason could fill out the bones of a soon-to-be complementary roster for a young quarterback. Maye’s arm talent would provide the Bears with their most gifted passer since Jay Cutler, the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards (23,443) and passing touchdowns (154). 

3. Washington Commanders (2nd overall pick)

The Commanders are hitting the reset button. New ownership (Josh Harris and his ownership group), new head coach (Dan Quinn) and a new general manager (Adam Peters). They are fully equipped to rebuild and rebuild quickly with $67.7 million in effective cap space, according to OverTheCap.com (the fourth-most in the NFL), and Washington has five draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

They have some solid playmakers on the roster already in Pro Bowl wide receiver Terry McLaurin, 2022 first-round pick wideout Jahan Dotson and 2022 third-round pick Brian Robinson Jr. Washington also has a familiar face in their quarterback room in the passer Maye backed up as a freshman at UNC, Sam Howell. He was the incumbent starter in college just like he is now, but with a new regime, the Commanders front office doesn’t have any attachment to him. 

Howell got off to a hot start, leading the league with 3,339 yards passing through the first 12 weeks of the season. He finished the season ranked 12th in yards passing (3,946) while leading the league in interceptions (21), sacks taken (65) and pass attempts (612) in his first go as an NFL starting quarterback. He also compiled 21 passing touchdowns and averaged 6.4 yards per pass attempt for a 78.9 passer rating. The adversity of the season eventually took a toll on Howell (as well as the entire organization) with the Commanders finishing 4-13.   

Washington can add more offensive firepower in free agency and have their roster ready to roll for their new rookie quarterback. 

2. Atlanta Falcons (8th overall pick)

The Falcons are an ideal landing spot for any quarterback, let alone a rookie quarterback, with their offensive talent. Running back Bijan Robinson, their eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, amassed the most scrimmage yards (1,463) by a rookie in team history. Only Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua had more among last season’s rookie class with 1,575 scrimmage yards. 

Atlanta also rosters high-talent pass-catchers in wide receiver Drake London (the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft) and tight end Kyle Pitts (the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft). Along the offensive line, two-time Pro Bowl right guard Chris Lindstrom stands out as Pro Football Focus’ top guard with an 89.7 PFF offensive grade. 

All they need is a quarterback. Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick in 2022, produced the fourth-lowest expected points added per play among 32 qualified quarterbacks in 2023. He’s not that guy. New head coach Raheem Morris acknowledged that fact at his NFL Combine press conference on Tuesday. 

“If we had better quarterback play I may not be standing here at the podium,” Morris said.  

Maye could energize the Falcons’ offensive talent and get Atlanta’s offense flying high again for the first time since the mid 2010s. The Falcons will have to trade up, likely with the Patriots at a minimum, to have the rights to select a new face-of-the-franchise passer. 

1. Minnesota Vikings (11th overall pick)

Kirk Cousins is set to become a free agent and drafting a quarterback makes sense for Minnesota even if Cousins returns in 2024. If he does remain with the Vikings, Maye could learn behind the four-time Pro Bowler. The Green Bay Packers, their NFC North rivals, have a proof of concept that sitting your first-round pick quarterback and letting them marinate can produce fantastic results. Cousins is also coming off of a torn Achilles injury and turns 36 on Aug. 19. 

If Cousins doesn’t return, Maye would walk into one of the best situations for a rookie quarterback. He would have one of the best collections of pass-catchers in the entire NFL immediately: 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year wide receiver Justin Jefferson, two-time Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson and 2023 first-round pick wide receiver Jordan Addison.

The Vikings hired 16-year NFL quarterback Josh McCown as their quarterbacks coach on Tuesday. One of the big reasons he was able to last so long in the league was because of his highly-regarded reputation as a mentor. You know who Maye’s high school quarterbacks coach was at Myers Park in Charlotte, North Carolina? Ding ding, you guessed it: McCown. He got his first taste of coaching in the NFL by working in the same capacity with the Carolina Panthers on Frank Reich’s staff, but like Reich, he was fired midseason without being given much of a chance. 

The long-standing history Maye has with McCown plus having Jefferson, Addison and Hockenson at his disposal makes Minnesota the best fit for Maye whether or not Cousins returns. The one caveat here is that Minnesota is currently slated to pick 11th in the 2024 NFL Draft, so they will have to pay a significant price to move up to the second or third overall pick to select him.