1 - Drake Maye, North Carolina
And finally, we got Drake Maye. Standing at 6’5, 220lb, Maye played at another level last season at the University of North Carolina, completing 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions, with 8.4 yards per pass attempt.
Maye doesn’t have a lot of experience, having played in just 16 career games. But it matters little. If he has a year in 2023 identical to the one he had last season, there is no contest-Drake Maye will go first overall to whichever quarterback-needy team is there for the taking.
Maybe the Arizona Cardinals are absolutely abysmal in 2023, before and after Murray’s return. And if that’s the case, perhaps they can remedy that with a player like Maye, who could ultimately receive a higher draft grade than the likes of Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. Regardless of whether it's the Cardinals or someone else, whoever selects Maye just set themselves up for the next 15 seasons. At least those are my current vibes.
(Statistics provided by Sports-Reference/CFB)