Drake Maye laughs off ex-Packers QB's "Mason Rudolph with less arm talent" comparison
North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye has laughed off being compared to Mason Rudolph. Maye is widely considered the second-ranked quarterback heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, and will likely be the second overall pick.
Yet, former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert took to X and gave his scouting report on Drake Maye and claimed he was similar to Steelers QB Mason Rudolph.
Here's the tweet:
"He’s a more athletic Mason Rudolph with less arm Talent (and a lot less accuracy). He has a lot of backyard football in his game but doesn’t have the athletic upside that I think it requires to live in that world as often as he does.
"He’s super raw with his footwork and pocket presence. His ball placement needs serious improvement. Defensive recognition struggles a bit (but I don’t know what he’s being coached to do so it can’t be all on him). However - dude will stand in there and take a hit while delivering across the middle. He’s a 3rd down threat as a runner which is a checked box in the NFL.
"All in all, I see the potential upside, but he’s got a ways to go to reach it. He also needs to be in a good situation with a good coach & probably a quarterback in front of him to mentor him to get him caught up to speed."
Benkert also believes Maye needs to sit behind a quarterback for a couple of years like Jordan Love did. Following the comparison, Maye took to X and shared his response to the scouting report.
It was an interesting reaction from Maye who believes he is much better than Rudolph.
Drake Maye and Mason Rudolph's stats
In his final season at UNC, Drake Maye went 269-for-425 for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
Mason Rudolph, meanwhile, has been in the NFL since 2018. Last year, he went 3-0 as the starter for the Steelers going 55-for-74 for 719 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
Who is Drake Maye being compared to?
One player that Drake Maye has been compared to is former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer.
NFL.com analyst and former scout, Daniel Jeremiah says Maye is similar to Palmer, as he wrote that both have the desired traits: size, arm strength, mobility and accuracy.
However, Jeremiah thinks Palmer had cleaner/crisper footwork going into the NFL but Maye is the better athlete.
It's likely that Maye would be happy to be compared to Palmer who had a successful NFL career as to begin compared to Mason Rudolph.