The Junkies mentioned Tuesday that former NFL scout John Middlekauff had Drake Maye pegged as the right fit for the Commanders at No. 2, which makes him one of many in Camp Maye.
And as Middlekauff told Grant & Danny when he came on The Fan Wednesday, there are two distinct groups of QBs in the conversation, but the top tier is bigger than most think.
“We have the top guys led by Caleb Williams, who's been the top guy now for a couple of years and would have been the No. 1 pick last year, and then the group of trying to decipher Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, I think it's pretty clear the way NFL teams view it – and if he ends up going four, it's pretty clear J.J. McCarthy is really highly thought of,” Middlekauff said. “Then there's kind of that next tier of guys like Penix, who just his from this play should be on that level but you factor in injuries and some age concerns, and then I would put Bo Nix in his category.”
Of course, that doesn’t always mean it shakes out that way, so even if we know Caleb Williams is almost certainly going No. 1, mileage past that can vary.
“Sometimes you know the No. 1 pick, but after that, we get curveballs all the time. So it's one thing for everyone to go quarterbacks one through four, and I think now we all just kind of agree with that; it's usually not the way it works, but it does feel like that's pretty loud,” Middlekauff said. “The one thing you gotta be careful of around this time of year is hearing teams love players, because it doesn't behoove them to tell everyone that. Adam Peters is not Mr. Media, so I wouldn't say it's cloak and dagger, but by no means do people feel like they have a great idea one way or the other which way he's gonna go, and usually that's the healthiest way to do it.”
But if Middlekauff had to guess, yes, it’s Maye to DC at No. 2.
“Texting around to my buddies that go to these pro days, it's like an incredible gossip session with all these scouts and pro directors and GMs, and a lot of people have been telling me for about a month straight that it's gonna be Drake Maye,” he said. “I saw yesterday that's what the betting market reflects, and I've known Adam Peters since I was a graduate assistant at Fresno State – look back at his history and the success he’s had in the NFL has been very similar with quarterbacks. The one time that things got a little haywire is when they took more of the flyer on the ‘dual-threat guy,’ and it's not fair to compare Jayden Daniels to Trey Lance, but it makes sense for them. You don’t draft a quarterback at No. 2 overall just because of who your coordinator is, either, so if I was taking an educated guess right now, no inside information, I would say Drake Maye.”
Danny agrees because ‘that’s who we've heard the least connection to,’ but again, if Williams is No. 1, does it matter who knows what – even if it’s Daniels?
“They don't really have anything to hide and they're not trading the pick, and I think think the thing with Jayden is the game,” Middlekauff said. “He was much more accurate in college than Lamar, and I'm not saying he's quite the runner as Lamar, but, we've seen a guy very recently change the league, and even Kyler Murray when healthy was pretty spectacular for Kliff Kingsbury. What he did in the SEC against that level of defense, the deep ball accuracy, obviously has athleticism. The one dock is the frame, but the work ethic, all the stuff you can't quantify, people love him.”
So who would Middlekauff take if he was Adam Peters and Dan Quinn?
“I would bet on the bigger, faster, higher upside. Part of the draft is not about today, it's really about 2028 if you're in Washington,” Middlekauff said. “Two years ago, Drake Maye, I don't wanna say he was right there with Caleb, but he was the clear No. 2 guy, and it came out that he was offered $5 million to leave UNC. I think that came from Alabama, and he said no, but after last season, like, SEC teams were willing to pay whatever it took, but luckily his connections in North Carolina kept him there. Obviously he didn't quite have the same season, and the hard part about the draft is you never comp a guy – you’d never be like, this guy is the next Taylor Heinicke, right? – but you have to kind of look at it the best case scenario, and I do think the best case scenario for Drake Maye is probably better than Jayden Daniels. It’s a risk either way, but if their character and all that stuff checks out, I think you just lean with the bigger, stronger guy.”
