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It’s been a busy and important week for the Chicago Bears at the NFL Scouting Combine as they near a franchise-altering decision at quarterback.
While the expectation is the Bears will trade Justin Fields and draft USC’s Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, one player flying under the radar is North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who’s certainly in consideration.
Of course, there’s plenty of hesitation on Bears fans’ part given Maye is a UNC product like Mitchell Trubisky, the former No. 2 pick by Chicago in 2017, who’s considered one of the bigger busts in team history.
But Maye had a message for Bears fans concerned about the team drafting another UNC quarterback — and it somehow being indicative of a mistake.
“I think people analyze the helmet more than the player,” Maye told reporters Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Drake Maye asked about Bears fans being worried about drafting another North Carolina QB after Mitch Trubisky: “I think people analyze the helmet more than the player.”
— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) March 1, 2024
Maye went on to say that he’s a “big fan” of Trubisky and has been in contact with him this last year, but he added “we’re different players, different people.”
Maye confirmed that he had a formal meeting with the Bears at the combine, where he said he tried to let them know who he is as a person. He felt they didn’t know much about him — pretty much because they haven’t gotten the chance to spend time with him yet. But that should change as this pre-draft process progresses.
“Great sports town,” Maye said, via Chris Emma. “Chicago is as good as it gets. I just went in there and let them know who I was.”