Drake Maye critic Merril Hoge doubles down before 2024 NFL Draft

The Drake Maye sizzling takes simply hold coming from former NFL operating again Merril Hoge.

Weeks after labeling the North Carolina quarterback as “the form of participant that may get you fired,” Hoge doubled down on his criticism Wednesday, dubbing Maye “marginal at greatest” on the eve of the 2024 NFL Draft.

“Inconsistency alone, the inconsistency in throwing the soccer and processing, that’s simply among the issues. There’s a complete litany of issues you need to right,” Hoge stated to WEEI’s Andy Gresh and Christian Fauria, based on NESN.

Maye, who accomplished 63.3 % of his passes in his ultimate yr at North Carolina, is broadly considered one of many top-three quarterbacks of this yr’s draft class, together with USC’s Caleb Williams — the presumptive No. 1 choose to the Bears on Thursday — and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

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Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, has been closely linked to the Commanders at No. 2, doubtlessly leaving Maye, 21, on the board with the rebuilding Patriots at No. 3 — for now, anyway.

Hoge, who performed eight NFL seasons for the Steelers and Bears, then careworn some issues can’t develop as the educational course of continues — accuracy, particularly.

“There might be lots of people that go, ‘Oh you possibly can educate that, you possibly can repair that, you possibly can work on that.’ Effectively, you possibly can educate and repair something you need, however can it in the end be realized and utilized? And there are some issues you possibly can’t change and there are some stuff you can’t repair and accuracy is a kind of issues,” Hoge stated.

“You possibly can dial it in just a little bit, however if you happen to’re not an correct passer, you’re an inconsistent passer, that’s going to be magnified within the Nationwide Soccer League.”

Hoge later warned of the potential years-long ramifications for quarterback-needy organizations, such because the Patriots, if Maye is picked.

“What are you guys attempting to do there? You’re attempting to construct a crew. You’re attempting to construct a championship, a championship crew. Groups win championships, no quarterback is gonna win you a Tremendous Bowl on a regular basis,” he stated.

“… However that man can set you again 5 years within the group primarily based on all the problems that he had in faculty, and that might be magnified within the Nationwide Soccer League.”

The Patriots are coming off a dismal 4-13 marketing campaign that noticed the group half methods with longtime coach Invoice Belichick after 24 seasons.

Former linebacker-turned-coach Jerod Mayo was named Belichick’s successor, with the brand new regime buying and selling quarterback Mac Jones — the Patriots’ fifteenth total choose in 2021 — to the Jaguars in March.

The Put up’s Steve Serby predicts the Patriots will choose Maye at No. 3 on Thursday in his newest mock draft.