22d ago football Edit

Maye Goes 3rd Overall to New England Patriots

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

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Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

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Former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye was selected by the New England Patriots with the third pick overall on Thursday night.

Maye is the first UNC quarterback taken in the first round since Mitch Trubisky was selected by the Chicago Bears with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, Maye completed over 63 percent of his passes for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He also ran for 449 yards and nine more scores and ended the season with a quarterback rating of 149.00. Maye was a finalist for the Manning Award in 2023 after being the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year in '22.

For his Carolina career, Maye completed 618 of 952 pass attempts for 8,018 yards, 63 touchdowns, and just 16 interceptions. He also ran the ball for 1,209 yards and 16 scores.

Maye is also UNC’s first player drafted in the first round sine Trubisky in 2017, and he is the program’s 25th first-round pick ever.