At UNC pro day, Tez Walker shows off connection with ‘best QB in the draft’

Speedy receiver Devontez Walker and quarterback Drake Maye only played eight games together at North Carolina, a result of NCAA entanglements that draw thoughts of “what could’ve been” for UNC football fans everywhere.

Their connection was alive and well in those eight games. And five months later, that’s still true.

At UNC’s pro day on Thursday afternoon, the explosive tandem showed off their strengths in front of approximately 70 NFL personnel — from coordinators to scouts to even some front-office personnel — in Chapel Hill. Added to that 70 was the NFL+ crew, with Steve Smith taking a keen liking to Walker’s game, and ESPN’s ACC Network football talent.

Neither Charlotte-area native decided to try to best their numbers from the NFL Scouting Combine last month in Indianapolis. But they were front-and-center for the throwing and receiving portion of Thursday.

Their connection opened eyes several times — including twice on passes that traveled about 60 yards in the air.

“He spun the ball well,” Walker said of Maye on Thursday. “There are a lot of throws I know he wished he had back. I thought he did a great job. He showcased a lot of things probably scouts are worried about.”

Walker added: “In my opinion, he’s the best quarterback in this draft.”

It’s true that every scout has done so much film study on Maye and Walker that Thursday felt a bit ceremonial — a data point (albeit an important one) amid a bunch of evidence on the players they are and might one day become. Maye threw for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns (and had only nine interceptions). Walker caught 41 passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games.

The stats justified Walker’s words Thursday. It also substantiated Maye’s praise for Walker in return.

“Tez is a heck of a player,” Maye said of Walker. “I think y’all saw his speed showcased today. ... Excited I got a year with him. Wish I had longer. But it’s been awesome.”

Maye is expected to be a Top 5 pick in the NFL Draft, going to one of the QB-needy teams that have tough choices to make come April 25. Walker, meanwhile, is considered a Top 20 receiver with draft projections having him as a Day 3 pick (fourth rounder, specifically). His athleticism is unquestioned — he recorded a 4.36 seconds 40-yard dash and a 40.5” vertical leap. Walker said that scouts were impressed with how he can stretch the field but also how he can break down his flaws, which he knows he can improve.

Those areas improvements: There are questions in his draft profile about his route-running and his ability to finish catches through contact.

The latter concern — catching through contact — couldn’t be quelled in this setting on Thursday.

But the former could. And, to this writer, it was.

Walker thought so, too.

“I wanted to showcase my sure hands, that I’m able to catch it comfortably,” Walker said. “I’m a natural catcher, and I wanted to show that Drake can get the ball down field and I can run under it. Things like that.”

UNC pro day quick hits: Cedric Gray, Beau Corrales ... and Sam Howell?

▪ Cedric Gray, another Tar Heel who participated Thursday but didn’t update his drill numbers from the combine (4.64 40-yard dash, 35.5” vertical jump), had a nice showing at UNC Pro Day, too. The Charlotte native and Ardrey Kell graduate discussed that his favorite player growing up was Julio Jones — he was a receiver growing up and even caught passes from Maye in youth 7-on-7 camps — as well as a plethora of other topics, including that his favorite defensive player was Troy Polamalu and that the Charlotte area boasts the “best high school football in the state.” Gray, like Walker, is expected to be a fourth-round selection.

▪ For the nostalgic Tar Heel fans, here’s a name you might not have been expecting to hear on Thursday: Beau Corrales. The wide receiver spent most of 2021 and 2022 on the sideline injured at UNC and transferred to Texas State for his final year in 2023. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound receiver turned heads all day — most notably during his 37” vertical jump and in receiver drills, where he proved his chase-down speed and toe-tapping agility along the sideline. Corrales joined Dae Dae Hollins (of the Charlotte 49ers) and a few other former Tar Heels who finished schooling elsewhere to compete at pro day.

▪ Former UNC quarterback Sam Howell was in the UNC indoor practice facility on Thursday, fresh off a 2023 season that saw him throw for 3,900 yards and 21 interceptions (while getting sacked a league-most 65 times ... three more than Bryce Young during his doomed rookie season in Carolina). Howell, a Charlotte-area native and mentor of Maye, is now with the Seattle Seahawks after being traded from the Washington Commanders — who, too, have their eyes on Maye.

Duke pro day quick hits: Graham Barton ... a Panthers choice?

▪ Graham Barton, the versatile offensive lineman out of Duke, had a nice pro day on Thursday morning in Durham. He’s a projected Top 50 pick could go as early as pick 24 to the Dallas Cowboys. But ... if he falls... could the Panthers pick him up? Carolina has the 33rd and 39th picks in this year’s draft and are in need of a center — something Barton did as a freshman before getting called over to left tackle because of his pass protecting prowess.

He snapped the ball during his pro day on Thursday — and showed remarkable signs of agility in drills and speed (4.84 40 time, unofficially) — as to signal to the pro scouts that that’s what he intends to do with his pro career. The Panthers have upgraded their interior offensive line big-time this offseason — with the expensive additions of Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt — and have stated that they will move veteran OL Austin Corbett to center after releasing Bradley Bozeman. But while Corbett is a short-term plan, could Barton be part of the Panthers’ long term vision?

▪ The Blue Devils hosted another Charlotte-area guy at their pro day, running back Jaylen Coleman from Matthews. The 6-foot, 200-pound running back notched a 4.58 40-yard dash time, as well as a 10’ broad jump and a 33” vertical jump.