The Carolina Panthers selected Tennessee offensive lineman Cade Mays in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Carolina selected Mays with the 199th overall pick in the draft (21st in the round) after selecting OT Ikem Ekwonu, QB Matt Corral, ILB Brandon Smith, and OLB Amare Barno with its first four selections.
+1 for the line @cade_mays pic.twitter.com/8GQPzbVToq
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 30, 2022
Mays was a two-year starter for the Vols after transferring from Georgia to Tennessee following his sophomore season.
The Knoxville native had an interesting path to UT, committing to his father’s — former Tennessee lineman Kevin Mays — as a junior in high school. However, Mays de-committed from his local school after the Vols fired Butch Jones and bungled the search to find his predecessor.
Jeremy Pruitt attempted to reel Mays back in after landing the Tennessee job, but had little success with the five-star opting to play at Georgia.
Mays path took him back to Knoxville after his brother signed with the Vols in the 2020 recruiting class.
The versatile lineman started 17 of 23 games in his two seasons at Knoxville playing a number of positions. Mays earned time both at offensive tackle and offensive guard in his junior season, struggling when earning the bulk of his snaps at offensive tackle.
However, Mays made the permanent switch to offensive tackle after Josh Heupel’s arrival and the senior made major jumps forward in his final collegiate season.
Mays earned Second Team All-SEC honors while allowing just one sack all season. The right tackle graded out as Tennessee’s best offensive lineman according to PFF while starting 10 games.
Mays is the fourth Vol drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, joining Alontae Taylor, Velus Jones Jr, and Matthew Butler.
Stay tuned at RockyTopInsider.com all weekend for complete Tennessee NFL Draft coverage.
Let’s Gooooo!!!!!! Congratulations @cade_mays #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/Z4GIh06ZTy
— Josh Heupel (@coachjoshheupel) April 30, 2022
