Washington has the second-overall pick for the second time in five years. With less than one full year of NFL ownership under his belt, Josh Harris hopes to do better for his last place Commanders
Sam Howell, the quarterback, performed better than anticipated in his debut season, but Washington will have an opportunity to select a top-tier player at the position thanks to the second overall pick. Caleb Williams of USC is seen as the unanimous number one pick, therefore Maye is a good choice for Adam Peters, the new general manager.
Ian Cumming of Pro Football Network ranks Maye as one of the top prospects to emerge in the last several cycles, comparing his abilities to those of young quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud, Joe Burrow, and Trevor Lawrence.
Maye fell off a bit last season after losing his offensive coordinator but completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns with another 698 yards rushing and seven scores in 2022.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Maye is bigger than Williams and draws comparisons to Buffalo’s Josh Allen. North Carolina’s all-time leading passer didn’t participate in drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he’s put enough on tape to become Washington’s next starting quarterback.
Jayden Daniels of LSU did as well. The Heisman Trophy winner for this year did not participate in combine drills, but his performance in 2023—when he finished with 3,812 passing yards and 40 touchdowns and another 1,134 yards and 10 scores—left little room for doubt.
It’s not difficult to picture new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury pushing for Daniels given his extensive experience with athletic, dual-threat quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray.
Of course, the team’s new defensive coordinator, Joe Whitt Jr., should be pounding the table for an edge-rusher. Washington allowed a league-high 30.5 points per game last year and after trading Montez Sweat and Chase Young at the deadline and finished with 39 sacks, seventh-fewest in the NFL.
