Mack Brown on Drake Maye: 'Somebody's going to be really, really lucky to get him'

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown knows Drake Maye is going to do big things in the NFL. On Monday, Brown spoke to reporters following the team’s spring practice, and he was asked about Maye heading to the NFL and potentially being one of the top quarterbacks selected in the draft.

“Drake’s accomplished everything that you could expect him to in two years,” Brown said. “I can’t imagine what would happen if he stayed four. Can’t even imagine, but he’s too good. He can’t stay, and somebody’s going to really, really lucky to get him.

“I wish I could be there. We have our charity in a week which is always the case when it comes up. I’m excited about all these guys, and I’ve told them that,” Brown said when talking about all the Tar Heels players who are heading to the NFL. “The good thing about them (is) they’ve all got their degrees. So if it doesn’t work out for them now or if they don’t make that 90-man roster, they’re going to be good.”

What makes Drake Maye an interesting prospect

Maye does not have to worry about making a roster because he’s projected to be a first-round pick. In his two full seasons at North Carolina, Maye emerged as a top quarterback in the ACC. In 2022, the 21-year-old was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year after throwing for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns. In 2023, Maye was selected to the All-ACC Second Team after throwing for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns.

On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power joined Andy Staples On3 on Tuesday and explained why Maye has been a difficult evaluation for college and NFL teams.

“Drake Maye was a really interesting prospect,” Power said. “He’s probably, of that group of quarterbacks, I saw Drake Maye the most. I actually got to see him at a 7-on-7 tournament right before the shutdown. To this day, it’s probably the best 7-on-7 performance I’ve seen from a quarterback. Like the ball didn’t hit the ground the whole weekend. Multi-sport athlete. Among these quarterbacks, certainly the least trained of any of them. He spent a lot of time playing basketball.”

In ESPN’s latest mock draft, Maye is selected at No. 3 overall by the New England Patriots. If that happens, Maye could sit for a year and develop since the team has a veteran QB in Jacoby Brissett.