The NFL Draft will take place on Thursday, April 25.
For the UNC football program, that means all eyes on where Drake Maye, Cedric Gray and Devontez Walker will be selected.
Gray and Walker will likely be Day Two or Three selections, but their play at North Carolina definitely warrants a couple first-round looks.
Maye, on the other hand, will be a Top-5 pick barring draft-altering news.
He’s thrown for over 8,000 yards and 60 collegiate touchdowns, ran for over 1,000 and was named the 2022 ACC Player and Rookie of the year.
There’s plenty of debate as to where Maye lands, but Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft has him – via a draft day trade – fifth overall to the Minnesota Vikings.
“The Vikings didn’t trade for an extra first-rounder for nothing,” Doug Farrar and Jeff Risdon wrote. “Minnesota needs a quarterback, and Maye’s ties to QB coach Josh McCown and exciting potential make this a predictable selection. For the Chargers, falling back gives the new regime extra choices to rebuild the roster.”
Minnesota would be a perfect scenario for Maye to fall into. He’d be playing with LSU alum Justin Jefferson, arguably the NFL’s best receiver, another former Tar Heel in Ty Chandler, plus a top tight end in TJ Hockenson.
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