The Patriots had to fend off some massive trade offers before drafting Drake Maye.
During an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said a pair of teams came calling with a long list of draft capital in an attempt to take the North Carolina product No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“So the Vikings offered them the 11th pick, the 23rd pick, a 2025 first-round pick,” Breer said during the radio hit. “So they were offered three first-round picks and then pick swaps later on. And then the Giants offered their first-round pick, which was sixth. So they would only have to move down three spots. Then their 2025 first-round pick. Then, I believe, a third-round pick.”
The Patriots, of course, held on to the pick to take Maye, giving them what they hoped at the time to be a franchise quarterback after the Mac Jones experiment went sideways.
“They were big offers,” Breer continued. “The Patriots had a lot of holes, and I think when you looked at it, there were people saying maybe they should trade down and fill multiple holes. …They didn’t move off their spot.”
The decision appears to have paid off for New England.
Maye has been one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season, throwing for 1,522 yards with 10 touchdown passes and just two interceptions through six games.
He also has 138 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The Patriots are off to their best start since the Tom Brady era, sitting at 4-2 heading into this weekend’s contest against the Titans in Tennessee.
After failing to trade up for Maye, the Vikings moved up a spot to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who Minnesota still hopes to be its quarterback of the future despite injuries hampering his first two years in the league.
