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How is Drake Maye among the top NFL draft picks, but not in the Heisman race?
Nationally, Maye is No. 4 in passing yards with 3,145 and third in total offense with 3,421 yards. He is also in an apparent dogfight with Southern Cal’s Caleb Williams as the first quarterback picked in the NFL draft next April.
The New England Patriots are currently 2-8 and, if the draft were today, would have the third pick. The Patriots, with or without beleaguered head coach Bill Belichick, are ready to move on from third-year quarterback Mac Jones. Williams has been at the top of their draft board for most of this season, but with the Trojans falling to an overall 7-4 record that seems in jeopardy.
The struggling Carolina Panthers are 1-8 behind rookie quarterback Bryce Young, who is No. 27 in passing in the NFL. The Maye family would love to see Drake play in Charlotte, where the Cats are seventh in attendance with an average of 72,000-plus per game but trending downward as they will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year.
The Panthers traded away their first draft pick to get Young and would have to deal half the team to land a generational quarterback like Maye playing in his hometown. Perhaps they don’t have enough assets and owner David Tepper will try to sign better receivers to help Young and his offense.
Maye is likely turning pro after this season and, with former Tar Heel Sam Howell leading the NFL in passing as a fifth-round pick, is a hot commodity from a school that is about to produce another starter in the league.
Almost incredibly, Maye is not mentioned on Heisman Trophy watch lists, with LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Washington’s Michael Penix and Oregon’s Bo Nix getting most of the mentions along with Williams, last year’s winner and once considered a slam dunk to become the first back-to-back recipient since Archie Griffin in 1974 and ’75. But he has fallen due to USC’s late-season collapse.
“I can’t believe Drake’s name isn’t being mentioned,” Mack Brown said Monday. “His drives against Duke the other night were Heisman drives. It may be because we’ve lost two games.”
Brown pointed out the Tar Heels are one of 16 Power 5 teams in the country with 8 wins. Southern Cal and LSU have seven, Oregon nine and Washington is undefeated and in contention for the College Football Playoff.
Perhaps pundits not considering UNC to be a “football school” have left Maye out of the Heisman debate. But what might be more important to the sensational sophomore: that or being the first QB drafted in April?
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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Drake will not win the Heisman, and with his humble “putting others first” mentality and personality, he probably doesn’t care. But he has bailed out Mack numerous times this (and last) year, as Sam bailed him out of several games during his 3-year tenure. This coming Saturday, I pray Drake bails us out again. But Dabo has only lost 9 home games at Clemson, so it will be tough. Mack has lost the same amount of home games since returning to UNC. So one would think these coaches, one of which is a “Hall of Fame” coach, are comparable. But Dabo has won 96 home games while only losing 9, while Mack has won less than 25 home games, while losing 9. And one of the two coaches has won eight conference championships and two National Championships in 15 years, while the other (in 35 years as head coach) has won two conference championships and one National Championship! Think about it! Only 2 conference championships in 35 years!!! So who has the best coach? Hmmmm…. But Maye the team with the best quarterback win!!!!!