Drake Maye admitted that he lost a throwing competition to former Chargers and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers - despite the retired signal-caller not playing for four years.
Maye has spent several weeks training with Rivers, who has acted as a mentor to him as he prepares to transition from North Carolina to the NFL.
Expected to be a top-three draft pick, Maye has spent numerous sessions with Rivers. So too have fellow NFL Draft prospects Bo Nix and Carter Bradley, with the entire group holding a throwing competition.
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Recalling what happened when speaking to ESPN's Kevin Clark , Maye said: "We had a throwing competition on the field. ... I'm throwing out-routes into a net, and I hate to say it but Philip won that. Philip can still throw it."
Maye was then asked if it was a close competition, before responding: "Yeah it was obviously close! I think he threw three, and me, Nix and Carter Bradley all hit two. He was still talking trash, you know how he is!"
In February, Maye first told ESPN that he would work with Rivers, looking to pick the legendary quarterback's brain throughout his pre-draft process.
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In a chat with ESPN's Adam Schefter, Maye said: "He's one of the best, he reminds me of my brothers. He loves to compete. We're out there, we're throwing six step-outs, a 10-yard drill throwing into the net, and he retired two or three years ago but he still won the competition.
"So he's just a competitor. Not only that, he's just one of the guys. Gets along with people so well and knows the game. I think the biggest thing about Phil is he stayed healthy for so long in his career.
"Such a long career - so I just pick his brain on how he stayed healthy. He's a big dude like me so just trying to kind of find ways to relate to him."
Seen as one of the top quarterback prospects in the class, Maye cannot yet be sure of where he will land in the draft while being linked to both the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots who hold the second and third pick.
But in a quarterback-heavy class, Maye is battling several prospects to be taken highly in the class, with Jayden Daniels , JJ McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr all meeting with Washington this week and projected to be picked early in the first round.
Should Maye not be taken by the Patriots with the third spot, he has already been warned he could suffer a Will Levis-esque fall down the boards.
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