"I wouldn’t touch Maye": Merril Hoge believes Drake Maye is not worthy of a first-round selection despite the hype around him

After giving a controversial take on Caleb Williams, Merril Hoge has dropped another one on Drake Maye ahead of the upcoming draft. Maye is considered one of the top prospects for the 2024 NFL draft and likely the second quarterback pick in the draft after Caleb Williams.

Speaking during his appearance on “The Sports Junkies” podcast on Monday morning, Hoge believes Drake Maye is not worth a first-round pick. The former running back believes that the North Carolina quarterback lacks the consistency and athleticism for the NFL:

“I wouldn’t touch Maye. I wouldn’t grab Maye. I wouldn’t grab him in the first round, and there’s a bunch of things that bother me. He’s extremely inconsistent. His accuracy, his processing are inconsistent. He’s not extremely athletic.

“I think I’m finding [him] more stiff. He’s got a longer throwing motion, which allows more hits in our league…and I’m just bothered by it.”

Merril Hoge criticizes Drake Maye's processing

One of the attributes that didn't excite Merril Hoge about Drake Maye is his processing. He believes the quarterback is unable to process plays faster, citing the game against NC State:

“One of my last games I looked at was the NC State game. And that may be one of his worst games I'd ever seen him play… It validated a couple of things.

“He misses a lot of hots, the team misses hots and he doesn't throw hot. You'd have to get in the room and say, ‘Okay, why don't you throw this, walk me through this.’ But that processing bothers me in our league.”

Notably, Maye threw two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Wolfpack. Nonetheless, the take by Merril Hoge is certainly a controversial one, despite Maye's number regressing this season.

Merril Hoge is a fan of Jayden Daniels

While Merril Hoge had a controversial take on both Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, the former Pittsburgh Steelers player believes the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is ready for the NFL:

“Jayden Daniels probably demonstrates the best evidence of a guy who plays from the pocket. And now they have pro concepts they use too.

“So, I can use some realistic concepts that you're gonna see in the NFL. I think he's very accurate. I think he processes things very well in these categories compared to Maye.”

Notably, most of the mock drafts out there, if not all, have Caleb Williams and Drake Maye ahead of Jayden Daniels. It will be interesting to see how things unfold when the draft kicks off in April in Detroit, Michigan.