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