North Carolina Professional Athletes

Drake Maye's Week 2 Crucible

The national spotlight on Drake Maye has turned into a blowtorch.

After a rough Week 1 opening night, the 23-year-old Patriots quarterback entered the week as one of the league's most scrutinized players — with Bleacher Report raising the question of whether Maye is "at risk" of an unexpected Year 3 regression. CBS Sports put him on notice before the Steelers matchup, and fantasy analysts flagged him as a Week 2 bust given the Pittsburgh defensive matchup. The pile-on was swift and loud.

The stakes got sharper when T.J. Watt sent a public message to Maye ahead of New England's Week 2 trip to Pittsburgh, a moment that crystallized just how much pressure the former UNC star faces in what amounts to an early-season referendum on his development. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pushed back on the "defenses have solved Maye" narrative during a Sept. 17 press conference, calling for discipline rather than panic — though "patience sounds like a passive word to me," McDaniels noted pointedly.

Maye himself has responded with accountability, publicly stating he feels obligated to elevate the Patriots offense this week and every week. That resolve was tested by a separate revelation: ESPN reported that New England had turned down a three-first-round-pick package from the Vikings for Maye at the 2024 draft. Whatever scrutiny Maye faces now, the Patriots' organizational bet on him couldn't be clearer.

Adding a subplot at the receiver spot: fellow Tar Heel Mack Hollins is suddenly in the mix. With A.J. Brown sidelined by injury, coach Mike Vrabel offered a strong endorsement of Hollins heading into Pittsburgh — notable given that Hollins had to restructure his contract earlier in the week just to stay on the roster, later signaling the rework was what kept him from being cut.

Javonte Williams Apologizes — and Pays Up

In Dallas, Javonte Williams had a Week 1 to forget on the discipline front despite a solid stat line. The Cowboys running back posted 41 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, five catches for 31 yards, and a receiving score in a 28-20 loss to the Giants — but a taunting penalty late in the game overshadowed the production. The NFL fined Williams for the infraction, and the former Tar Heel didn't dodge accountability: he told teammates he apologized for the costly lapse, acknowledging the penalty hurt the team at a critical moment.

Cedric Gray Returns, Omarion Hampton Eyeing Bigger Role

In Tennessee, LB Cedric Gray navigated an uncertain week before getting cleared to play in Week 2 against the Eagles — good news for a Titans defense that, per Sports Illustrated, genuinely needs him to have a shot at pulling the upset against Philadelphia.

Out in Los Angeles, Omarion Hampton is generating buzz for different reasons. After rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown in the Chargers' Week 1 loss to Arizona, Hampton is being discussed as a potential beneficiary of the Ladd McConkey injury heading into the Raiders game. With the Chargers' offense searching for playmakers, beat writers and fans are asking how much the rookie RB can handle — a sign that his role may be expanding faster than anticipated.

Four Tar Heels, four distinct storylines. The NFL doesn't ease in gently, and neither do its UNC alumni.

Drake Maye and the Patriots Open With a Super Bowl Rematch

The 2026 NFL season begins with North Carolina's most prominent alumni front and center — and none more so than Drake Maye, who enters his third season in New England as one of the league's marquee quarterbacks.

The Patriots open on the road against the Seattle Seahawks — the same team that handed them a Super Bowl LX defeat — and Maye is projecting cool-headedness about the rematch. He told reporters he isn't approaching it as a revenge game, even as the rest of New England's fanbase surely is. Head coach Mike Vrabel has been effusive in his praise, publicly describing Maye's growth in a three-part assessment that went beyond mechanics to highlight command of the offense. That tracks with what Sports Illustrated observed this preseason: Maye's comfort level within New England's offensive structure "continues to impress," with the quarterback showing a deeper understanding of its nuances heading into the year.

The résumé backs the hype. Maye finished as the NFL MVP runner-up in 2025, led the Patriots to the Super Bowl, and enters 2026 as a named team captain. NFL executives surveyed by The Athletic's Mike Sando hold divided opinions on whether he can get the team back to the Super Bowl — which is to say, he's now squarely in the tier of quarterbacks worth debating. New England also added A.J. Brown in the offseason, and Brown has made clear he's eager to get on the field alongside Maye. The reunion with the Seahawks, who know Maye well enough to be afraid, is as loaded a Week 1 opener as the schedule could have produced.

Sam Howell Locks Down Dallas Backup Role

If Maye is the Tar Heel who made it, Sam Howell is the one who keeps surviving. The journeyman quarterback — who has now suited up for three NFC East teams — beat out Joe Milton III for the Cowboys' QB2 job this preseason, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer spelling out exactly why: Howell's 4,139-yard passing history gave Dallas confidence he could manage the offense if called upon behind Dak Prescott. Dallas made it official by waiving Milton, leaving Howell as Prescott's only backup entering the regular season. It's a quiet but meaningful win for the Chapel Hill product, who keeps finding ways to stick in the league on the strength of his arm.

Fellow UNC alum Javonte Williams also lands with the Cowboys as a running back, giving Dallas a pair of Tar Heels on the roster to start the year.

Josh Downs Primed for a Featured Role in Indianapolis

Down in Indianapolis, Josh Downs heads into 2026 as one of the Colts' top two receivers — a status that carries real opportunity and real pressure. ESPN issued a bold prediction for Downs that, per Heavy Sports, is "worrisome for Alec Pierce," the veteran receiver who currently sits atop the depth chart. The Colts' wide receiver room got more complicated when Keenan Allen — signed less than two weeks ago to bolster the group alongside Pierce and Downs — was arrested Sunday morning in Indianapolis on DWI charges. The situation is developing, but it's the kind of off-field turbulence that could shift targets Downs' way early in the season. If he takes advantage, this could be the breakout year that's been building since he entered the league.

Other Tar Heels Around the League

UNC's footprint extends further across the league. Mitchell Trubisky officially enters 2026 as Cam Ward's backup in Tennessee after the Titans cut Will Levis. Joshua Ezeudu landed with the Chiefs via trade. And Mack Hollins — a Patriots teammate of Maye's — is on the roster as New England heads to Seattle. It's a wide-ranging Tar Heel presence, with Maye at the very tip of the spear.

UNC alumni are generating more NFL noise than most Power Four schools this preseason week, with four distinct storylines ranging from a franchise QB being bubble-wrapped to a promising back going down before the season even starts.

Drake Maye: Handle With Care

Mike Vrabel isn't taking any chances with his centerpiece. The Patriots head coach has kept Drake Maye out of both of New England's first two preseason games, citing concerns about offensive line depth — a cautious call that underscores just how much the franchise's future runs through the former Tar Heel signal-caller. The protection extends beyond the field, too: New England traded with Houston to bring in receiver Kayshon Boutte, a move that counts fellow UNC alum and Patriots wideout Mack Hollins among its ripple-effect winners. More offensive weapons around Maye heading into Year 2 is exactly the kind of preseason development Patriots fans needed to see.

Joshua Ezeudu Lands in Kansas City

In one of the more quietly significant roster moves of the week, the Giants shipped guard Joshua Ezeudu to the Chiefs in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft. The trade adds interior offensive line depth to an already formidable Kansas City operation ahead of final roster cuts. For Ezeudu, it's a fresh start with a perennial contender — not a bad place to resurrect a career after failing to fully crack New York's starting lineup.

Ty Chandler's Season Is Over Before It Started

The roughest news out of Chapel Hill's NFL alumni circle: Saints coach Kellen Moore confirmed that running back Ty Chandler suffered a season-ending knee injury. The fear of a serious knee injury was first reported after New Orleans moved quickly to trade for Zamir White — a move that, in hindsight, telegraphed the severity of what Chandler was dealing with. It's a brutal blow for the former Tar Heel, who now faces a lengthy road back before he suits up again at the NFL level.

Omarion Hampton Is Turning Heads in Los Angeles

On the brighter end of the spectrum, Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton is drawing the kind of preseason praise that makes fantasy managers and film-room analysts alike take notice. The LA Times reports that Hampton is central to coach Mike McDaniel's planned revival of the Chargers' ground game, with teammates and coaches already raving about his physicality. One opposing defender's scouting report may have said it best: "Nobody wants to tackle that guy." If McDaniel's scheme unlocks Hampton the way it once did with Raheem Mostert in Miami, the former Tar Heel could be one of the AFC's most impactful rookie backs by midseason.

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Elsewhere in the alumni ledger, linebacker Tomon Fox was among the first wave of Rams cuts as Los Angeles trimmed toward its initial 53-man roster — a tough exit for a veteran who had carved out a role in the league. Mitchell Trubisky, meanwhile, saw action in the Titans' 19-16 preseason win over the Seahawks, sharing reps with Cam Ward and Will Levis as Tennessee sorts out its quarterback depth chart.

It's a wide-ranging week for the Tar Heel football family — and with Maye's regular season on the horizon and Hampton's buzz building by the day, the biggest chapters may still be ahead.