Ever since the Minnesota Vikings made the decision to hire Josh McCown as their new quarterbacks coach, the team has been strongly linked to former North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye.
McCown spent time as Maye's coach during his high school career, and the two have kept in contact since their time together. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that people believe Maye is the quarterback prospect Minnesota has had their eye on heading into the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
And after what ESPN's Adam Schefter said on Monday, the speculation about the Vikings' interest in the former North Carolina quarterback is only going to continue to grow.
Adam Schefter says Drake Maye is the "preference" for the Minnesota Vikings
During "Mel & Field's Three-Round Mock Draft" that aired on ESPN on Monday, Schefter had the following to say about how Minnesota feels about Maye heading into this year's NFL Draft.
"I think Minnesota would love to come up and entertain the idea of going to get a guy like Drake Maye, who their quarterbacks coach, Josh McCown, coached in high school. Can they make that happen?
...If Minnesota were to find a way to get up to , my sense is, and we don't know fully, but my sense is that Drake Maye would be the preference."
Schefter is arguably the top NFL insider, so if a piece of information is coming from him, it's more than likely true. With this being said, it seems safe to assume that any speculation about the Vikings having a significant amount of interest in drafting Maye is valid.
It's also important to note that Schefter mentions how Minnesota likely has to find a way to trade up in the first round of this year's draft to acquire the No. 3 pick from the New England Patriots in order to get the best opportunity to select Maye. This is obviously an important step in the Vikings' efforts to land the former North Carolina quarterback next week.
Following the info that Schefter shared on Monday, we can likely expect Minnesota to try and do everything they can to trade up in the opening round of this year's draft to select Maye. The Vikings probably have other backup plans, but finding a way to land the former North Carolina passer seems to be at the top of their list.
When Day 1 of this year's NFL Draft comes to a close next Thursday night, will Maye be the newest member of Minnesota's roster, or will he wind up somewhere else?