Thursday, Logan Paulsen said he strongly feels the Commanders should draft North Carolina QB Drake Maye if they keep the second overall selection in April’s NFL draft.
Should the Commanders start Maye at quarterback in 2024?
If not, would they start Sam Howell? Or might they start another veteran?
Friday, on the “Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky offered his thoughts on Drake Maye starting in 2024.
“I think Drake Maye has to get the Jordan Love treatment. You have to sit Drake Maye for at least a year or two. Orlovsky recalled Tar Heel coach Mack Brown telling him, “Mechanically, Maye is so raw.”
Orlovsky continued, “If you sit him for at least a year, you have a chance to have a really good player. But you can’t play him early.”
Both Orlovsky and The Team 980 show host Craig Hoffman voiced on Friday that Maye really needs work on his feet. Hoffman went as far as to say that the UNC offensive line was not very good, and thus, Maye, unlike Jayden Daniels, couldn’t be as smooth due to the pass rush he was facing often last season.
Hoffman also feels that Love learned and improved his footwork, sitting, and learning from watching Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
Hoffman suggested that Maye needs a veteran (other than Sam Howell) from whom Maye can learn footwork. He suggested Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett, and Tyrod Taylor.
If the Commanders hope to get the most out of Maye in 2025, perhaps the most effective method will be to spend the 2024 offseason and regular season being prepped daily, on reading defenses, mastering his footwork, while avoiding the fire of NFL pass rushes and blitz packages.
Rodgers, Love, and Patrick Mahomes are very good examples of current quarterbacks who have sat for at least a season and reaped the benefits.