Battle: Drake Maye gives me Zach Wilson vibes
Cerrone Battle joined the Felger and Mazz program on Thursday and while on he hit on the New England Patriots and the upcoming NFL Draft. In talking about the possible QB’s that the Patriots could draft, Cerrone talks about how he gets “Zach Wilson vibes” from current draft prospect Drake Maye.
Is Drake Maye the next Zach Wilson?
Felger: Dan Orlovsky says if you draft Drake Maye, you better be willing to sell him for a year or two because he’s not close. He’s Not the guy. Do you agree or disagree with that?
Cerrone Battle: 100% agree. I don’t think you draft him at all. And not just this coaching staff, I don’t think there’s a coaching staff in the NFL, not in 2024, that can afford to sit anybody for two years. Coaches now get fired too quickly. Carolina just said “We’re good. We’ll sit him for a couple years. We’ll let them get the kinks out”. Yeah they fired everybody before you even got a chance. That’s the way the game goes. If C.J. Stroud didn’t have the year he did, DeMeco Ryans would have been on the hot seat. Nobody can afford to wait three years in sports anymore, it just doesn’t happen. That being said, he’s right. Drake Maye in a bad ACC the last couple of years when the schedule got tough, the second half seasons hits October, he’s terrible. His best game last year was against Campbell. It’s a small school, it’s like playing Holy Cross.
Felger: I’ve never heard of it.
Jim Murray: I thought that’d be a person.
Cerrone Battle: And he struggles in second halfs of games. If he’s playing for the Patriots next year, the way Zo was getting upset in the booth, he’d be punching the air by week 3. Like Mac Jones had the play in Germany where he tried to just throw it out there, that’s what Maye does. He does a lot of that. “I’m running around, running around let me throw it left handed over the middle of the field”.
![Sep 16, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2023/10/USATSI_21434903-1.jpg)
Sep 16, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jim Murray: You made a comparison to a recent bust that you think Drake Maye could be…
Cerrone Battle: Zach Wilson.
Jim Murray: Yeah, I about grabbed my chest when you put it in an email chain this morning.
Cerrone Battle: He’s just giving me a lot of Zach Wilson vibes where it’s, are you saying he’s an NFL prospect because he’s shown that he’s an NFL prospect? Or is it like traits? “Oh, he’s 6′ 3″, he’s got a strong arm, he’s got wide shoulders, he fits the mold of an NFL quarterback”, and you just said that’s the guy. Like they did it last year with Will Levis. Out of nowhere it was like, “Look at him. That’s an NFL quarterback!” It’s like but Jayden Daniels has double the touchdowns in the SEC and we watched this kid put 900 total yards on Alabama and Florida back to back weeks. And this dude through 300 and three touchdowns against Campbell and you’re like….”he just has it”. It’s like, no it’s not it.