Draft insider was told 1 first-round QB could slide down the board

Feb 1, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; The NFL shield logo is seen at midfield at SoFi Stadium. Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will be played on Feb. 13, 2022. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Caleb Williams is a virtual lock to be the first player off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft, but there is plenty of disagreement about the order in which other quarterbacks will be taken after him. At least one NFL talent evaluator reportedly believes Drake Maye could wind up experiencing the dreaded draft-day tumble.

In a recent episode of the “Move the Sticks” podcast that was recorded from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein spoke about where Maye and Jayden Daniels might end up. Host Daniel Jeremiah said he spoke with several high-ranking NFL executives in Mobile who are high on Daniels. That prompted Zierlein to share an interesting tidbit he gathered from a talent evaluator he respects.

While Zierlein noted that he does not agree, the former scout said an evaluator for an NFL team told him that Maye could slide down the board. The evaluator compared Maye to Will Levis, who was a consensus top-10 pick last year but fell all the way out of the first round.

“I talked to an NFL guy today who thinks that Maye could be a guy who falls in this draft,” Zierlein said. “He compared him to Levis. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, but this is a guy who I think is a pretty good evaluator.”

For what it’s worth, Zierlein has Maye going No. 5 to the Atlanta Falcons (via a projected trade with the Los Angeles Chargers) in his latest mock draft.

A lot can change in two months, but it is hard to find an analyst who has Maye slipping out of the top 5. The worst-case scenario for the former North Carolina quarterback is probably that he slides to No. 6, where the New York Giants would likely take him.

Maye completed 63.3% of his passes last season for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He passed for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 2022. Maybe also rushed for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns with North Carolina.

There are some concerns about Maye not having faced elite competition in the ACC, but the 6-foot-4 prospect is still projected to be an early pick.