NFL Draft Rumors: Meet Falcons 'Apple of The Eye' Drake Maye?

North Carolina's Drake Maye could be the Atlanta Falcons answer at quarterback.

Jeremy Brener | Feb 24, 2024

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There's a lot of noise surrounding a number of quarterbacks in this year's draft class, and fans are wondering who could be the next signal caller for the Atlanta Falcons.

With the No. 8 pick, nothing is guaranteed for the Falcons other than they will likely have to make a trade of some sort to get the guy that they want.

While attention has surrounded Justin Fields for weeks and betting odds are leaning towards him coming to the Falcons, there may be a curveball coming.

According to NFL Draft analyst Cam Marino, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is the Falcons' "apple of their eye."

Maye is expected to be either the second or third quarterback off the board in April's draft after USC's Caleb Williams and potentially LSU's Jayden Daniels.

However, if the Falcons want Maye, they are going to have to trade up as he likely won't be available when Atlanta is on the clock. This means the Falcons are going to have to negotiate with one of the top three teams (Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots) to get in position to select Maye. However, if any of those teams want Maye for themselves, the Falcons will get the short end of the stick.

Mock Draft: Falcons Trade Up for LSU's Daniels

If they aren't able to trade into the top three or four picks, the Falcons could settle for a veteran quarterback as their bridge, like Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins.

Published Feb 24, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.