North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye said he enjoyed the Washington Commanders’ unique approach to hosting NFL Draft prospects, which involved taking a large group — including Maye and a few of his quarterback peers — to Topgolf.
“It was one of the cooler visits I’ve been on,” Maye told the “This Is Football” podcast. “(We went to) a steak dinner spot and you’re surrounded with the head coach, GM and quarterback coaches. The Commanders took the approach of all of us being together and seeing how we interacted. I got the chance to swing the golf club a little bit.
“I enjoyed it. … I got to meet a lot of different guys throughout the process.”
Maye was among a group that included Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. Around 20 prospects were invited to the pre-draft event.
Afterward, ESPN reported that Daniels’ agent wasn’t too fond of the group event and thought Daniels would meet with the Commanders alone. Washington holds the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft and is projected to select Daniels with the pick.
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Maye clarified that each player got individual time with Washington’s coaches.
“It was a really cool experience for me. We all got our separate time with coaches that we needed to. It’s not like we didn’t do any of that,” Maye said. “But Topgolf was just a way for us to get out the evening before. … They changed it up. I thought it was pretty sweet.”
On Wednesday, football conversations were held at the team facility, and The Athletic reported that players had ample individual time to meet with their respective position coaches and the primary decision-makers.
Commanders general manager Adam Peters learned the importance of time management with draft prospects when he worked as the assistant GM with the San Francisco 49ers, sparking the idea to bring the group together for Topgolf.
“It’s very beneficial to see everybody in a more relaxed environment,” Peters said at a pre-draft news conference last week.
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Curious QB visit approach
I will never look at Topgolf the same after this past month. Why Peters and Commanders chose this group outing approach with players at the most important position is curious, which isn’t to say it’s wrong. To those who think that, tell me what’s proven to work: sitting down for steak dinner in a stuffy restaurant where it’s a 22-year-old trying chew with his mouth closed around adults who may or may not pay him lots of money?
As for this specific situation, four agents with players at this specific event — the Commanders held a similar outing with prospects the week prior — shared with The Athletic that their clients “loved” the event. Lots of gushing, though a fifth agent had reservations about the format. I’m sure Washington is happy with the mostly positive feedback, but this is about finding a quarterback. Whether seeing a QB smack a driver with aplomb or watching others laugh while flailing with a 5-iron matters, who knows. The Commanders must turn in their scorecard on Thursday night either way. — Ben Standig, Commanders beat writer
Required reading
(Photo: Bob Donnan / USA Today)
