“They changed it up; I thought it was pretty sweet.”
That was how quarterback Drake May summed up the Commanders group activity visit, which some have severely criticized.
Maye, who will most likely be selected among the top five picks in Thursday night’s 2024 NFL draft, was a guest on the “This is Football” podcast on Monday.
Going through the NFL draft process, Maye said he was surprised by how “they know a lot about you. They do a lot of research. They do a lot of “recon” (reconnaissance). They know all about you in high school.”
The young 21-year-old who quarterbacked at North Carolina said he was determined to “just be truthful. I think it’s the biggest thing. They try to catch you in the got-you questions. So just be truthful because at the end of the day, just being honest, you never go wrong doing that.”
What did Maye think of the recent Commanders’ visit where several players were present?
“I actually thought it was one of the cool visits I’ve seen…The Commanders took an approach of all of us being together and seeing how we interact and getting a chance to swing the golf club a little bit. I enjoyed it, being around the other guys. I got to meet a lot of different guys throughout the process…We all got our separate time with the coaches when we needed to. It’s not like we didn’t do any of that. The Top Golf was just a way for us to get and do something fun the evening before.”
He was asked if the NFL teams interviewing him bring up a certain play(s). Maye didn’t hesitate, replying, “They’ve brought up a lot of good plays, and sometimes the bad plays are harder to talk about. I say, ‘I should have done this instead of that.’ They bring up some interceptions, like the beginning of the year against South Carolina. They love bringing up that one.”
Describing the play, Maye conveyed, “I scrambled up, scrambled right late and on a back-side dig late across the middle, I shouldn’t have thrown. They just want to hear what you say. If you make an excuse or admit to it, that’s the biggest thing.”
Maye was asked about one of his more memorable plays at North Carolina. The Tar Heels were at the Pitt 7-yard line. Maye took the snap, rolled left, was under heavy pressure, and stuck out his right arm, attempting to stiff-arm his tackler. Maye had just quickly switched the ball to his left hand as the tackler made contact right at the 10-yard line.
“The biggest thing that came to my mind was, ‘Hey, I don’t want to take a TFL (tackle for a loss) here in the red zone. I’ve got to get something out.’ I was stiff-arming the guy with my right hand and just tried to make a play with my left hand. It was just improv.” Indeed it was, as Maye completed the pass into the end zone for a touchdown.
Wanting to make wise use of his time, Maye has been working out some with former San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.