North Carolina has spent the last two offseasons tearing down and rebuilding its roster, and this year was no different. More than 120 new players have arrived in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels try to sell themselves as a place where talent can be developed into NFL-caliber production.
The transfer portal has brought some wins, including defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude, but it has also left room for second-guessing. With that in mind, here are three additions UNC could be regretting by 2026.
The biggest swing in the portal came at quarterback after Gio Lopez left the program. North Carolina could have pushed harder for a bigger name, with Darian Mensah eventually landing at Miami after leaving Duke and CJ Bailey staying at NC State. Instead, the Tar Heels brought in Billy Edwards Jr., a quarterback with experience and production from Maryland, though he also missed most of the season at Wisconsin because of an injury.
Edwards is not a bad pickup, but he also does not exactly jump off the screen. He had stretches at Maryland that fell short of expectations, and that leaves UNC with real uncertainty at the most important spot on the field. If Edwards does not deliver, this could end up looking like one of the offseason’s most costly moves.
The linebackers are another area where the Tar Heels are taking on risk. After losing starter Khmori House to the portal, UNC added Derek McDonald, a veteran SAM linebacker who brings physicality and the kind of traits that could make him a productive starter. Even so, the room around him is still unsettled.
McDonald has experience, but he has not been a full-time starter, including during his time at Syracuse. That makes this a shaky bet, especially because he may need time to get comfortable in the system. In a year that matters for Bill Belichick, North Carolina may not have the luxury of waiting.
Jaylen Harvey is the kind of player who can make people want to believe. The talent is there, and the case for him is easy to make. But there are also legitimate concerns about how he fits and what his ceiling looks like right away.
At 6-foot-2 and 244 pounds, Harvey may be smaller than his listed size suggests. He does not bring overwhelming play strength, and his pass-rush arsenal is not especially polished against offensive tackles.
That leaves him with a wide range of outcomes, and the downside is real. If things do not click, Harvey could be a 2026 disappointment for the Tar Heels.
In Other News...
National Take On Michael Malones First UNC Offseason Will Frustrate Tar Heels
Michael Malones first offseason in Chapel Hill is already drawing a national read, and the early verdict from The Athletic lands somewhere between cautious optimism and real skepticism. CJ Moore pointed to the Tar Heels new-look roster as one with some intriguing pieces, highlighting transfers Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able along with recruit Maximo Adams, but he also made clear that the frontcourt remains the area most likely to shape how far this group can go.
For UNC, that is the part that will linger into the season because the concern is not just talent, but whether the roster has enough proven size and depth to match the standard the program expects. Moores evaluation leaves the Tar Heels with a familiar kind of pressure: enough promise to keep hope alive, but enough uncertainty to make the next roster move or development stretch feel especially important. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Already Getting Underrated After Michael Malone's Portal Overhaul
North Carolinas offseason has already been one of the most aggressive in the country, with Michael Malone bringing an NBA championship pedigree to Chapel Hill and the roster getting a real overhaul through the portal. There is enough talent and upside in the mix to make the Tar Heels look like a legitimate national factor, especially with additions such as Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able giving the group a different ceiling than it had a few months ago, while Maximo Adams remains an important piece of the overall picture.
Still, the early skepticism has centered on the frontcourt, where the Tar Heels have a clear question to answer after Henri Veesaar moved on and no obvious proven replacement arrived to settle things down. Sayon Keita is the kind of swing that can change the conversation if he develops quickly, but for now UNC is in that familiar spot of being talked about as a team with top-25, even top-15, potential while some national evaluators remain slow to buy in. [Read more 🡒]