As the first round of the NFL Draft approached on Thursday, it seemed like the New England Patriots were still considering trading the No. 3 pick, but they eventually decided on keeping it and taking their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye, but that was not before turning down massive hauls from other teams like the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.
“Well I know there was a lot of action at three,” Daniel Jeremiah said on The Rich Eisen Show. “Drake Maye was a big target with Minnesota and the Giants I know something had been said about Eliot Wolf saying he didn't get the offer that they thought was worth it. Well, there was no offer that was worth it because from what I was told there were monumental packages put together to go up there for the third pick, so that turned out that pick just simply wasn't for sale. So that wasn't a lack of commitment from those teams, there were very, very, very, very strong offers put forth there.”
The Vikings' interest in a quarterback was well-documented. They essentially needed to come out with a prospect in the first round after Kirk Cousins departed for the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. Sam Darnold was signed for the possibility that they were unable to get one. It seems they made a very aggressive offer to try to land the No. 3 pick and get Drake Maye, but the Patriots did not give in to that offer. Minnesota eventually landed JJ McCarthy from Michigan after trading up one spot to land him with the New York Jets.
Were the Giants really targeting Drake Maye at No. 3?
The Giants had been rumored to be interested in a quarterback as well, as Daniel Jones' status with the team was in question. But they were not seen as desperate for a quarterback, and did not have the need to force it. New York seemingly coveted Maye, but was not able to move up either. Instead, the Giants stuck at No. 6 and picked LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, and Jones is expected to be the starter in 2024, as long as he is healthy. New York landed its most talented receiver since Odell Beckham Jr., who also came from LSU, but Adam Schefter of ESPN seems to think the Giants had their eyes on Joe Alt in a potential move up, who went No. 5 to the Chargers.
“I believe that the Giants wanted Joe Alt to slide to them, that's my belief, that was the hope that he was going to get to them, and I think that some of this quarterback talk might've been a little camoflauge to try to get sombody like Minnesota to trade up, because if they traded up to the Chargers spot at five and gotten JJ McCarthy, Joe Alt would've slid right to the Giants slot at number six,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show.
After all of the chaos and rumors, the Patriots made a bet that Maye can be their quarterback of the future. That led to the Giants and Vikings needing to pivot to contingency plans.
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