Former North Carolina QB Drake Maye discusses visits with Giants, Commanders

Drake Maye will find his new home Thursday, when he’s expected to be one of the top selections in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Recently, Maye has been traveling all over the country to visit prospective teams, and his visits with two teams in particular have been making headlines. The New York Giants reportedly showed Maye tape of Tom Brady during his visit, as head coach Brian Daboll was on the New England Patriots‘ staff for a few seasons when Brady was in Foxborough.

Maye confirmed that watching film of Brady was a part of his visit with the Giants in an appearance on Wednesday’s edition of “The Carton Show,” as well as watching film on the team’s current starter, Daniel Jones.

“Watching the film, watching the installs — Daniel’s all over the clips, making, as they say, ‘Danny Dimes,'” Maye said. “They showed a lot of clips of Daniel.”

“I know Daniel from Charlotte,” Maye added, noting that they’re both North Carolina natives. “He’s a baller. I saw Daniel hit a big post against the Titans. I remember them showing me. They showed some Daniel, Tom, about all of them.”

The other notable visit Maye had was with the Washington Commanders. Unlike his visits with other teams, Maye wasn’t the only QB on his visit to Washington’s facilities in Virginia, as there were reportedly over 20 prospects across multiple positions meeting with the team last week simultaneously.

Maye acknowledged that the meeting with the Commanders was unusual compared to his other visits. However, he didn’t have any complaints about it.

“I think it was just a different way to approach it,” Maye said. “They had us all come in on the same day, and I went to Topgolf, swung it around a little bit. Me and J.J. [McCarthy] had a pretty solid swing. … I remember big Amarius Mims was taking a hack at it. It was just a fun time to interact. We still had our one-on-one time and met with the coaches.”

Drake Maye on the draft process and starting Week 1

Maye said no team has told him yet if they’ll draft him. The Commanders are heavily expected to take former LSU QB Jayden Daniels at No. 2, so it seems that the likely first possibility for Maye to come off the board will be at No. 3. The Patriots hold the third pick and are in need of a quarterback, but they’re reportedly OK with starting Jacoby Brissett to open the season.

Maye said that while he’d like to start, he’s willing to accept a backup role if need be, as he doesn’t want to come into his new home and be a “hotshot rookie.”

“That’s obviously my goal,” Maye said of being named a starter. “I’m going to go in there and compete, try to prove to them that I’m ready for that. But ultimately, it’s up to them. They get paid a lot of money, these front offices, head coaches and offensive coaches, to make these decisions. So, I’m trying to show to them and prove to them [that] I’m ready to.

“But if I’m not, I’m not going to be making media headlines that I’m pissed off about it. Just gotta continue to work, learn from it and know that my time’s going to come one day.”

Wherever Maye lands, he indicated that he’d still like to wear No. 10. That might not be doable at all his potential landing spots, especially if the Giants draft him. New York already has No. 10 retired for Eli Manning.

Maye is willing to negotiate, though he has a price.

“No more than $100,000,” Maye said with a laugh about how much he’s willing to give up to get his preferred jersey number. “I think people say maybe a car, but that’s probably the max. Anything over that, I think, is stretching it for me.”