I finally got to see Drake Maye in person on Tuesday and a lot of what I saw on film for the past two years is still present in his game. Maye is physically talented, there is no doubt about that. The arm talent especially pops in person but he has a lot to work on mechanically. 

For starters, his footwork has improved but he is still heavy footed. Part of the problem is he is too wide with his base at the top of his drop. He needs to narrow his base slightly. I am not sure why Alex Van Pelt, T.C McCartney or Ben McAdoo haven’t worked to correct that. One has to assume they are o.k with it. It has to be a comfort thing for Maye 

The other issue I noticed with Maye is that he leans to his right on his drops. He comes off the midline as a result. He does straighten up at the top of his drop but the slight lean in transition slows down his drop and takes him out of rhythm. A slight adjustment would help him get to the top of his drop quicker and in turn get the ball out quicker. 

Again, the brain trust of Van Pelt, McCartney and McAdoo hasn’t tried coaching that out of him so either they are teaching it or they are letting Maye do what he is comfortable with. For what it is worth, the other quarterbacks do not do it. 

While Maye’s footwork has improved, his pocket presence is still a work in progress. He routinely vacates the pocket too quickly when getting inside pressure. He needs to watch Tom Brady and Drew Brees film. They were the masters at resetting the pocket. Both would power step one gap over, reset the pocket and create a new passing lane. It is easier said than done and it comes with time but Maye has to learn to hang in the pocket. He cannot just scramble at the first sign of pressure. I know it is second nature to do that but he cannot get outside the pocket and start side arming passes. He needs to start playing the within the system instead of improvising. 

Maye has all the physical tools necessary to start in the NFL and succeed. He has to develop however and his fundamentals need to be cleaned up. It is the little things that matter and if they are taken care of now, he will be better for it later. 

Unlike his predecessor Mac Jones, who had a limited ceiling but was more starter ready as a rookie, Maye will require time. He has a higher ceiling but he is nowhere near being ready to start a regular season game right now. We would need to see a lot more from him in the next three weeks in order for that to happen.