The New England Patriots held their ground Thursday night, selecting their next franchise quarterback despite fielding multiple major offers for the No. 3 pick.
The Patriots selected UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, according to a new report, New England rejected trade offers from a pair of NFC teams who desperately wanted to move up the board in Round 1.
Patriots NFL Draft Trade Rumors: Pats Reject Offers From Giants and Vikings
We knew the New York Giants (No. 6) and Minnesota Vikings (Nos. 11 and 23) wanted to acquire the No. 3 pick. Numerous pre-draft trade rumors indicated both franchises were pursuing trades with the Patriots.
But New England’s new regime, led by de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, rejected offers from both teams, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. In the end, the Patriots stayed at No. 3 and selected Maye, a flawed but undeniably talented prospect.
Here’s the full excerpt from Breer’s column published Friday:
“The Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants did make offers to the New England Patriots for the No. 3 pick to take Drake Maye. Earlier this week, Minnesota offered the Nos. 11 and 23 picks, and its 2025 first-rounder, with pick swaps favoring the Vikings as part of the proposal; and that offer ticked up with New England on the clock. The Giants, meanwhile, did wind up putting their 2025 first-round pick in their offer to move from No. 6 to No. 3.
“Ultimately, nothing came close to moving the Patriots off their choice. In fact, that Kevin O’Connell and Brian Daboll were the head coaches interested, only emboldened New England to stay put.”
Did the Patriots make the right choice? Only time will tell. Maye has the talent to be a star quarterback in the NFL, but he also has a low ceiling and might not be ready to start until 2025.
As for the Giants and Vikings, they still made headlines on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
Who Did the Giants and Vikings Draft in Round 1?
Many expected the Giants to be aggressive in their pursuit of a quarterback in Round 1 — and they were. However, New York clearly wasn’t that desperate for a man under center, as six quarterbacks went in the first 12 picks, and the Giants didn’t land any of them.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was available when the Giants were on the clock at No. 6, but New York decided to draft LSU receiver Malik Nabers. A dynamic receiver in college, Nabers is considered by some evaluators to be even better than Marvin Harrison Jr., who went third overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
Of course, the Giants still could take a quarterback later in the draft. But at this juncture, it appears Daniel Jones and Drew Lock will compete for the starting job.
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The Vikings, meanwhile, swung a trade with the New York Jets to move from No. 11 to No. 10. With the 10th overall pick, Minnesota selected McCarthy, who will compete with Sam Darnold for the Vikings’ starting quarterback job.
There was a world in which the Vikings traded both of their first-round picks to move up for Maye or McCarthy. Instead, Minnesota made a modest trade to move up, selected McCarthy, and kept the No. 23 pick — which it eventually packaged in a deal to draft stud edge rusher Dallas Turner. Kevin O’Connell and Company played it perfectly.
When the dust settled, the Patriots, Giants, and Vikings all made the right decisions.
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