ESPN Has Buccaneers Slated To Pick A QB In The 2024 NFL Draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask has been widely reported. The battle to be the Pewter Pirates’ signal caller in 2023 is still undecided and heading towards training camp. From the reporting available it appears Mayfield may have a leg-up in the competition. But what about 2024 and beyond?

That’s where ESPN comes in with their way to early 2024 mock draft. Analyst Jordan Reid dropped this latest mock and wouldn’t you know it, he has the Buccaneers selecting… a quarterback in the first round. That quarterbacks name is Drake Maye out of the University of North Carolina.

Here’s Reid’s take on the selection:

“The Buccaneers’ top two options under center are Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, so there’s a clear need. Maye (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) showed promise during his first year as a starter, winning ACC Rookie and Offensive Player of the Year honors.

He is an extraordinarily accurate deep passer, completing 63 passes thrown 20-plus air yards last year. Scouts want to see a stronger finish this year — Maye closed his sophomore campaign with 6 total touchdowns, 4 interceptions and 14 sacks in four consecutive losses — but he has clear next-level starter tools. His combination of deep-ball touch and mobility makes him someone the Bucs could build around.”

Reid’s mock has the Buccaneers selecting third overall. This means that neither Mayfield or Trask performed well enough to secure the job.

With Maye you have the potential of a long-term solution at quarterback who is already impressing coaches and scouts alike.

“He would (have been) a No. 1 draft choice (in the 2023 draft), in my opinion,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said back in March. “All of (the scouts) are just amazed. They sat there and watched, and we had all 32 teams represented, we had 45 people there.”

Maye already has an impressive college resume winning ACC Player of the Year in 2022. He did so by posting 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions and another seven touchdowns and 698 yards rushing the football. Yes, over 5,000 yards of offense and 45 touchdowns.

If the Buccaneers are in fact drafting a quarterback high in the first-round of next year’s draft, Maye might not just be AN option, he might be their BEST option.