Drake Maye going up East? Where UNC standout QB lands in latest CSW Mock Draft
The UNC football team is going to look significantly different next season.
That’s primarily due to star quarterback Drake Maye declaring for the NFL Draft. You can’t blame him – despite Carolina’s disappointing collapse, Maye led one of the country’s best offenses.
Maye threw for an ACC-leading 3,608 yards, adding on 24 touchdowns. He was aided by star wide receiver Devontez Walker, a fellow NFL Draft entrant, plus a deep tight end room and a group of additional wide receivers who stepped up.
2024 NFL mock drafts have Maye going early in the first round, anywhere from first overall to further back in the Top 10. There’s a debate if he or 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams will be the top quarterback selected.
According to the latest College Sports Wire mock draft, Maye is going third overall to the New England Patriots.
“The Patriots tried to initiate the post-Brady era with Mac Jones, and it didn’t work out,” CSW’s Ryan Haley wrote. “Now, they’re in the lottery, and they’ll be rewarded with an aggressive, accurate passer who doesn’t mind lowering his shoulder on a scramble.”
It’s tough losing a franchise quarterback, particularly when that quarterback is a future Hall-of-Famer in Tom Brady. Those franchises can find their next guy immediately, or go through a carousel like the Carolina Panthers.
Maye would be an immediate upgrade from the quarterback mess in New England, which has gone back-and-forth between Jones and Bailey Zappe.
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