Should The Vikings Make a Move to Get Drake Maye?

For many football fans, their sights are set on April 25th and the NFL Draft. Which means there will be a lot of speculation about what the teams near the top of the first round should do.  

The Minnesota Vikings have two picks in the first round, at slot number eleven and number twenty-three. Everyone seems to have an opinion on how the Vikings should get the most out of their first-round pick or picks.  

Since Kirk Cousins traded in his purple and gold for the black and red in Atlanta, getting a Quarterback is a top priority. Having two picks in the first round could be leveraged to move up to the second or third spots to get one of the highly sought after signal callers. 

One of those QB’s is Drake Maye from North Carolina. I’ve been a Tar Heel fan all my life and even after moving to Minnesota in September of last year, I was still able to watch most of the Carolina games this past season.  

Here’s what I saw from watching most of the 6’4, 230 fan favorite in Chapel Hill. Maye features some mobility and can be elusive. He tended to take more risks on the run than I’d prefer, but that means he’s willing to compete for that extra yard that might be needed.  

Tar Heel Coach Mack Brown spoke several times about Drake avoiding extra hits and keeping himself as healthy as possible. That will sure be a lesson he’ll need to learn sooner rather than later in the pros.  

Drake Mayes passing numbers weren’t bad, 24 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. 3,608 yards and averaged 300 yards per game. But to be honest, those could’ve been so much better.  

The receiving corps at UNC this past year didn’t help their quarterback at times. They dropped several passes that were right where they needed to be, which I feel caused Maye to force some throws that weren’t the most advisable pass.  

Also, his Offensive Line wasn’t as stout as it needed to be, especially later in the year. So, this caused Drake Maye to make some decisions I’m sure he’d like to have back.  

Making the adjustment to the NFL level will be one that is a bit of a challenge for Maye, but excelling is his blood. His dad Mark was a two-sport athlete at Carolina, and his brother Luke helped the Tar Heels win a national basketball championship in the 2016-17 season.  

Some experts say that Drake Maye doesn’t make good pre-snap reads, but to that I say he has shown time and time again he’s got the intelligence to grow into what he needs to learn.  

And I spoke to the competitive drive Drake Maye has, he wants to win. That’s obvious when you watch him play. No matter where Drake Maye lands in the NFL, there will be growing pains. There were times he frustrated me as a fan.  

But the frustrations that I experienced and what a pro fan base will likely go through as well, are minor in comparison to the upside of his talent, football IQ and desire to win.  

Part of the frustrations I experienced was because Drake has supreme confidence in his abilities to be able to make a play. It seemed later in the last couple of seasons, teams figured out the moves he’d try to make.  

There’s no doubt that professional players will be able to react to Drake Maye quicker than the college players he has faced the last few years. But there’s also no doubt that Maye’s confidence will grow as he gets bigger and stronger himself and the game slows down for him.  

If the Vikings can get Drake Maye without giving away the farm to do it, I like the move. And I think Vikings fans would soon be drawn to a player that is going to leave it all on the field each game. I could see him being a fan favorite in Minnesota just like he is in Chapel Hill.