UNC Football: Early 2024 NFL Mock Draft features two familiar names

Drake Maye isn’t the only player with UNC football connections that were included in this way-too-early 2024 NFL Mock Draft.

From now until the actual 2024 NFL Draft, we’re going to see plenty of mock drafts, most of which will feature UNC football star quarterback Drake Maye being selected near the top of the first round.

However, Maye isn’t the only player with UNC football connections to make Reuben Frank of NBC Sports’ initial mock draft.

Let’s start with Maye, who Frank projects to land with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the fourth overall pick. As the second quarterback off the board (behind Caleb Williams of USC), here’s what Frank had to say about the Tar Heels signal caller:

"In his first year as a starter, Maye put himself in top-5 range by completing 66 percent of his passes with 38 touchdowns, just seven INTs and nearly 700 rushing yards and seven more TDs. He’s got size, he’s got accuracy, he’s got a strong arm, he’s got dual-threat ability, and he’s got all the tools to join Mitch Trubisky as UNC’s second top-5 quarterback in seven years."

The other player with North Carolina connections to make the cut is cornerback Tony Grimes, who transferred to Texas A&M. Frank, an Eagles insider, has the organization taking a chance on Grimes with the No. 30 overall pick.

"The Eagles did add a promising corner this year in the fourth round, Georgia’s Kelee Ringo, but by the end of next season, James Bradberry will be 31 and Darius Slay will be 34, and the Eagles will have to start thinking about more than one heir apparent at corner, and there’s also no lock a rookie 4th-round pick will grow into a starter, although Ringo is impressive. Either way, the Eagles really need to start thinking about cornerback, and Grimes is a big-time talent and we project him as the Eagles’ first 1st-round corner since Lito Sheppard in 2002. He has some work to do in terms of technique, but one more year in college and a red-shirt year in 2024 should have him prepared to be a starter. He just turned 21 two weeks ago, so he’ll be a young 22 when he arrives in the NFL. But Grimes is a smart, tough, instinctive cover corner who excels in zone coverage and loves coming up and supporting the run. After three years at North Carolina, Grimes will play this fall at Texas A&M. This is the kind of cornerback Eagles fans will love to watch."

After three seasons with the UNC football program, Grimes will look to prove that he’s one of the top cornerbacks available during his senior season with the Aggies.

We’ll all be on “Drake Maye watch” over the next year, but it would be really nice to see some current (and potentially former) Tar Heels make their case to be in the first-round conversation as well.

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