BMitch & Finlay caught up with The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who puts out what JP calls ‘by far the most comprehensive draft preview that exists,’ on Friday, and Brugler’s take on where Washington should go with the No. 2 pick?
“In my opinion, Drake Maye is the second best quarterback in this draft, so that is the direction I personally would go. He’s 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, and a really good athlete, and one of the best third down scramblers I've evaluated the last 10 years,” Brugler said. “What he can do with his arm…there are times when things are a little juiced up and he'll miss some throws here and there, but he makes some throws that are blow you away, Intangible-wise he’s off the charts smart – I’m a big believer in the older brother theory where if you grew up with older brothers, you are just a little more competitive and tough because you tried to keep up with those guys, and Maye had three older brothers that were high-level college athletes, and the family says that Drake is the most competitive in the entire family. So to me, Drake Maye is that guy.”
That said, Brugler can understand how a team could be sold on Jayden Daniels.
“When you’re drafting a quarterback, especially this early, you’re making a bet on what are the odds that this quarterback is gonna hit compared to this quarterback?” Brugler said. “With Daniels, especially with a defensive-minded head coach, you're thinking through the lens of who don't I want to defend. There’s just so many different ways he could beat you, and you want a guy that can create explosive plays. Daniels this year was responsible for 90 plays of 20-plus yards, and we don’t have a lot of data, but I have to imagine that is an all-time record, and he has the ability to win with both his legs and his arm. He needs to dial back some of the runs to preserve his body, and the biggest concern with me is when the walls start to close in, he will drop his eyes and look just to run and take off – I wanna see more of the second reaction throws that we see from Caleb Williams or Maye in terms of seeing sustained success in these NFL.”
It all comes down to personal preference in the end, as ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it's never more true than with quarterbacks,’ so interviews will play into the decision as much as the tape.
“We can study these guys endlessly, but a big puzzle piece in this whole thing is the interviews and how they come off as people. When you draft a quarterback, you're drafting a CEO, someone that's the face of the franchise and the community, and that can play a big part in how you feel about him subconsciously or consciously,” Brugler said. “The interview process is a big part of the equation, but that's something that all of us on the outside just don't know. If the Commanders did not get the answers they were looking for from a certain player, but they did from another, that can help sway the conversation as well. I have no doubt that in that room, as they're stacking these quarterbacks, they had a healthy discussion; I doubt there was any consensus, and that's good. You want that in your room, and this is a good problem to have if you're the Commanders, picking second in a draft where there are probably four quarterbacks that will go in the Top 6 picks, and it’s fair to say they’re high-level guys that have bright futures.”