Schlereth: I’d rather Broncos sign Drew Lock than draft Drake Maye
Feb 27, 2024, 1:00 PM
The Denver Broncos will be quarterback hunting this offseason.
And while many think that’ll come in the form of a Round 1 quarterback in the NFL Draft, there’s at least one prospect 104.3 The Fan’s Mark Schlereth would stay far away from.
On “Schlereth and Evans” on Tuesday morning, Mark and Mike got talking about University of North Carolina QB Drake Maye. Once thought to be going No. 2 overall in the draft, Maye is reportedly slipping.
Now it’s not a major tumble, but perhaps the Broncos could move up only a few spots to draft Maye, rather than make a huge leap from No. 12 to No. 2. Schlereth isn’t buying it, explaining why before reaching an interesting conclusion.
“The things that I saw were an incredibly loopy delivery. If the ball does not come out of your hand quickly, when you have a big looping delivery, that’s time for DBs in the NFL to break on things,” Schlereth said.
Schlereth talked about watching Maye and seeing the ability to throw long, but missing on the simple stuff.
“He made some really good deep ball throws, some posts and stuff. He also missed at least a dozen throws that weren’t close. And I’m not talking about throwing the ball away. I’m talking about dirting a ball to a guy running a little six-yard out route,” Schlereth said.
NFL quarterbacks have to be able to make basic throws. And Schlereth isn’t sure Maye can do that. In fact, he’d rather bring back a familiar name in Broncos Country than draft Maye.
“I honestly would rather sign Drew Lock back this offseason than draft Drake Maye,” Schlereth said.
Lock, of course, was a second-round pick by former Denver GM John Elway in 2019. He played three seasons with the Broncos before getting traded to Seattle in the blockbuster deal for Russell Wilson during the 2022 offseason.
This past year Lock stepped in for Geno Smith in a crucial late season game and beat the Eagles on Monday Night Football. He completed 22-33 passes for 208 yards and a game-winning touchdown in the final moments.
Lock is indeed a free agent this offseason, but few expect him to get anything other than a backup job. Still, for Schlereth, he’d be a better option than Drake Maye.
“I wouldn’t move anywhere close to drafting that guy,” Schlereth concluded.
To listen to full episodes of Schlereth and Evans, click here.
