Drake Maye breaks down his thoughts on UNC's offensive weapons

Drake Maye is back in the saddle for at least one more season as the North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback before he likely hears his own name called in next spring’s NFL Draft. However, this time around, his top target in 2022, Josh Downs, got his one shining moment over this past weekend when the Indianapolis Colts scooped him up with the 79th overall pick in the third round as a playmaker to pair with newly-drafted QB Anthony Richardson.

Good on Downs, but it means the Heels have to find his replacement, which will not be an easy task. Fear not UNC, the Heisman contender under center sees plenty of talented pass catchers waiting in the wings to prove they can step up and into Downs’ shoes.

When asked about some wideouts he’s seen take a leap over spring practice, here is who UNC’s QB1 pointed out:

“Yes sir. Yeah, it was fun out there, you know. I think Nate (McCollum) and Tez (Devontez Walker) both, you know, great players, first off, and I think they’re great additions to the room. I think we got a couple guys coming back, (Gavin Blackwell) and Kobe (Paysour), that made some plays last year. And I think we got kind of got four with Andre Greene coming along, got five good ones and some of the young boys are coming along. So I think we got five goals right now. Obviously, with the tight ends, they make plays too. So I think I got a good group around me. Just got to do my job and give them the ball.”

As for who can replace the big play ability of a guy like Downs, Maye sees a few potential options who can stretch the field.

“Oh for sure. Yeah, I think, you know, Tez is gonna take the top off defense, but I think people often just talk about speed, but he’s a good route runner. I think people probably won’t don’t give him credit, because you probably won’t see him run by a lot by a lot of people. But no, he goes up and gets it too. He’s a big receiver — y’all probably just saw him in here — he’s tall, he got a big catch right here. So it’s easy to throw to a guy like him.

“And then, Nate, you know, he should see some of the Josh snaps. You know, same type of player that Josh (Downs) is. Twitchy as it gets. (Downs) is probably the best at it I’ve ever seen. But Nate’s right there and he’s doing his thing, you know. He’s got that wiggle, so it’s fun throwing the guys like that.”

That’s a solid five different receivers Drake Maye just listed as guys he’s excited to throw then football to this coming fall. Even with the loss of Downs, Carolina should be a lethal passing attack next fall, judging by Maye’s excitement in the new WR group plus the talent we all know the UNC QB possesses.