Despite Benching Rumors, CJ Stroud Believes Drake Maye Is “Most NFL Ready”

Before this year’s draft, the NFL world was split, deciding who was more NFL-ready between Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels. While Williams seemed to have won the battle by getting snapped first overall, Houston QB CJ Stroud believes that it’s Maye who is the most NFL-ready of the trio. Interestingly, Stroud’s comments surface when there are reports of Maye getting benched by Patriots HC Jared Mayo.

Yesterday, Coach Mayo announced to the press that, as things stand, veteran QB Jacoby Brissett is the starter for the Patriots. However, he did not shoot down Maye’s prospects either, implying that things could change during the training camp. While some see this as a way to push Maye, others are surprised to see a first-round pick benched for a veteran. Their belief was only reinforced by C.J. Stroud’s statements.

CJ Stroud, for many, set the benchmark for a quality rookie season. So when Stroud says that Maye is the best rookie of this year’s class, it’s hard to argue otherwise. In his latest interview with Bleacher Report, the Houston Texans star revealed that he is a big fan of Maye’s arm talent and rollout ability.

The Texans star also compared his NFL start with Maye’s, noting how the Patriots rookie has a very risk-free and composed play style that Stroud admires and didn’t personally possess at the beginning. Thus, when asked if Drake is the most NFL-ready among the trio of Maye, Williams, and Daniels, Stroud agreed without hesitation.

“I feel like Drake Maye is. You watch his tape… The one mistake that I did early on; this first couple games, I moved around too much… I started taking risks that weren’t even downfield or necessarily – scrambling. And when you watch his tape, he scrambles when he needs to. He throws guys open. He has rollout ability, like different arm angles.”

It’s truly impressive how C.J. Stroud has accurately analyzed Maye, despite not yet having played against him in the NFL. Every idiosyncrasy that Stroud noted is evident in the rookie’s recent training camp footage.

Maye’s Training Camp Highlights

Today marked the first day of the New England Patriots’ training camp on the grass fields behind Gillette Stadium. The outdoor training practices have been open to the public and, based on the visuals capturing their rookie QB, it’s evident how accurate CJ Stroud’s assessment was.

As the Texans QB pointed out, one of Maye’s simple yet powerful skills is his ability to assess threats and choose the safest pass. The rookie’s prowess was on full display when he threw an accurate deep pass to WR Jalen Reagor.

Another visual from the training camp saw Maye simulating an evasion and executing a perfect roll of the arms.

Based on the visuals and comments from attendees, it’s clear that Maye had a stellar Day 1 at camp — all hits and no misses. That said, Jacoby Brissett remains QB1, but if Maye continues to perform at this level, it will be hard not to see the rookie earn the starting position.