interesting intel on QB sacks

[rkarp1]

The OLine was good last year, Drake looks to have improved this preseason and needs to… even if his line is better this year.

I expect to see a better Drake this year, he’s a smart kid.

some one on this forum (not you) was taking this discussion to the point of a smarter Maye is a less aggressive Maye, and he was against that.
the OL is better
the targets are better
the offensive staff can expand the playbook with more experienced players
Maye might not have another level to climb physically. he was extremely accurate. made every throw.
he still have additional levels mentally to improve.
I agree with you. I believe he will, and have seen it so far in the limited amount of time I have seen him so far (only 3 times)

 

[Diffs4]

Alot of good thoughts here and I agree many diferent factors impact this. Another issue with Drake, at least in the first part of the year, was running out of bounds one yard behind the line of scrimmage instead of throwing the ball away. Those go down as sacks. Not all sacks are equal, this one yard loss is equivalent to a run stuff. Curius as to where he ranks as far as yards lost on sacks. He rarely tries to escape the pocket by leaving the back of the pocket and out the sides. He always steps us which keeps the yards lost down. But I think he has gotten too predictable by almost always stepping up in the pocket. Occasionally he needs to break it up and go out the back of the pocket and out the sides so defenses do not just wait for him to step up in the pocket. Yes he risks larger losses but this will stop defenses from half rushing and just wait for him to step up. But at the end of the day, you do not want to change Maye to a dink and dunk passer. He is great at throwing the ball down the field and with that, will come more sacks. I think Drake will be even better this year than last year when he was great and part of that will be taking less sacks and having receivers that can get off man to man coverage quickly will help with that.

 

[rkarp1]

pre snap recognition at it's best

 

[Wozzy]

some one on this forum (not you) was taking this discussion to the point of a smarter Maye is a less aggressive Maye, and he was against that.
the OL is better
the targets are better
the offensive staff can expand the playbook with more experienced players
Maye might not have another level to climb physically. he was extremely accurate. made every throw.
he still have additional levels mentally to improve.
I agree with you. I believe he will, and have seen it so far in the limited amount of time I have seen him so far (only 3 times)

Reports suggest in the face of pressure or getting sacked Drake is checking down this preseason. I’m sure it’s a work in progress but it looks good so far.

 

[KCSVEN]

The one slight negative on Drake as a prospect was the borderline sack rate. He's continued that at the pro level as that stat tends to translate.

A couple caveats within that and comparing to Allen who is most like Drake:
-HIs yards per sack in 2026 was 4.27. Josh Allen was 7.45. League average is around 6.5
-Allen has 483 attempts in 2024 and 14 sacks (2.82%), 2025 he had 40 sacks (8% sack rate).
-Allen was 8.05 and 7.62% his first 2 years and then averaged 3.42% the next 5 years

-So Drake CAN improve as Allen did, but also, like Allen, the talent will matter. Allen had worse talent in 2025 and reverted to rookie level Allen with sacks. Despite 8 years of experience. Another reason I think Bills are overrated, Allen covered up for so much last year, but he can only do so much. His line is worse this year.

-When Drake does take sacks the yards lost are much less than average

-More evidence Burrow is overrated, and he causes sacks way more than the line despite having Chase and Higgins.

Can Drake do like Allen when he had better talent? Probably, can he become among the best in the NFL like Allen was for a stretch? Less likely, Allen is an outlier. However, I think he can get to league average and still be better than league average in yards lost. Frankly, that, and not fumbling are the main 2 things he needs to improve on. Just a little improvement there makes him the MVP favorite for a long time to come.