LATEST NFL DRAFT RUMORS POINT TO PATRIOTS PICKING DRAKE MAYE AT NO. 3

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is a little more over 24 hours away, meaning that while rumors continue flying around more substance will soon be added to the information as well. As former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick recently pointed out, information can become “very, very accurate” the closer the event actually comes.

That does not mean there is not still plenty of misinformation — both of the inadvertent and the targeted kind — flying around. In order to keep everybody’s sanity intact as well as possible, and to offer some additional contextualization if possible, here is a rundown of the latest pre-draft rumors about the Patriots.

Rumor No. 1: The Patriots will stay put, draft Drake Maye at No. 3

The Patriots could very well still move down from the third overall position — and they remain open to it under the right circumstances — but it seems increasingly likely they are not going to get an offer that would make them give up the premium selection. As of Tuesday, no serious offer has arrived.

At the moment, it therefore seems likely that the Patriots stay put. And if they do, the expectation is they will pick North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye third overall.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said as much on Wednesday morning.

“I don’t know how much movement we’re going to see,” he said during an appearance on Pardon My Take. “As of last night, and talking to a couple of different GMs, the expectation was sticking-and-picking 1, 2, 3. And that ends up being, Jayden [Daniels] going 2, Drake going 3, and then you have at 4, it sounded like the Cardinals were going to stay there and take Marvin Harrison. I know the Chargers would like to get out of 5, but the sense that I get — at least as of last night — was that Minnesota would come up for Drake Maye but they weren’t going to come up for anybody else.”

The Vikings have repeatedly been mentioned as a team trying to move up the board in hopes of getting Maye or Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. It seems the former will be drafted third overall, and the likelihood of the Patriots being the ones to make that pick keeps increasing.

Rumor No. 2: Vikings may or may not be intent to move ‘heaven and earth’ to move up

One of the fun things about pre-draft rumors is their oftentimes contradictory nature. The Vikings’ apparent interest in trading up is an example of that.

According to a recent article by Jeff Howe of The Athletic, there still are rumblings about Minnesota being motivated to get Drake Maye:

[I]f Maye is indeed still on the board here, one executive believed the Minnesota Vikings “would move heaven and earth” in an attempt to move up. There will be some drama around this pick on draft night ...

The definition of “moving heaven and earth” seems to be a bit vague, however. According to a different story by ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, after all, Minnesota might not be willing to use the full extent of its available capital in a trade:

The belief among some team executives I’ve spoken to is that Minnesota doesn’t want to part with both of its first-round picks in a trade, which makes a major move up an arduous task. Perhaps that’s just posturing, but the Vikings appear nimble.

Going back to the Patriots, they are looking for a significant return were they to give up No. 3 and the right to select their quarterback out of those remaining. As the owners of the 11th and 23rd overall picks, Minnesota would have the ammunition to at least start a conversation — even though other assets would have to be exchanged to that.

If the Vikings are indeed looking to keep one of their first-rounders this years, however, it would be no surprise if the Patriots are ultimately unwilling to engage in a trade.

Rumor No. 3: A trade could still happen, but not until the draft is underway

While it seems the Patriots are trending toward keeping the third overall pick, things can change quickly the closer that selection comes. According to one report by ESPN’s Dianna Russini, “[t]eams are expecting that if the Patriots make a trade, they won’t do the deal until they see who Washington is taking at QB.”

New England’s flexibility depends on their board. If they, for example, have LSU’s Jayden Daniels as their clear top target ahead of other quarterbacks but he ends up going to the Washington Commanders as expected, they might be more willing to drop back — maybe to 11 with the Vikings, or to 6 with the Giants should they make a more compelling offer.

Until the Commanders hand in the card with either Daniels’ or Drake Maye’s name on it, a level of uncertainty remains.

Rumor No. 4: The Patriots have Jayden Daniels rated higher than Drake Maye

Speaking of the Patriots’ draft board, according to Jeremy Fowler they might have Daniels ranked higher than Maye:

“Common sense says the Patriots need a quarterback,” a team source told me. My sense after asking around to several sources is that the Patriots have Daniels rated ahead of North Carolina’s Drake Maye in the pecking order but still like Maye’s upside.

If the difference between the two is significant, or if there is no real dividing line in the team’s eyes between Maye and J.J. McCarthy in the next area of the board, moving down from No. 3 might still make sense if the right opportunity presents itself. At least at the moment, though, things do not appear to be trending that way.

In fact, according to a recent story by Chad Graff and Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the team is high on Maye as well regardless of where he may or may not rank on its draft board.

[W]hat has become clearer in recent days is how high the Patriots are on Maye, whom they view as a close-to-ideal fit for the offense they want to run.

With offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, the Patriots will utilize a playbook similar to the one Kevin Stefanski deploys in Cleveland. Stefanski favors quarterbacks who can throw on the run and excel on play action. Maye checks those boxes.

Even more smoke to the fire that is Drake Maye ending up in New England on Thursday night.

Rumor No. 5: The Tom Brady/J.J. McCarthy connection rears its head

This next rumor seems to fall more into the “chitter chatter” category than anything else. However, it is silly season in the NFL so it’s worth mentioning as well: the connection between fellow ex-Wolverines Tom Brady and J.J. McCarthy might impact New England’s decision making, per Fowler.

[I] was reminded Tuesday night to not totally discount Robert Kraft’s affinity for Tom Brady, who might see shades of himself in McCarthy, a fellow Michigan product. The Patriots could trade back and acquire McCarthy with a later pick.

The connection between Brady and McCarthy being a deciding factor when it comes to who the Patriots will draft in the first round seems unlikely, to say the least. The team does appear to like the Michigan QB and might end up drafting him should a trade-down become a reality, but there will be legitimate reasons to do so.

The team’s owner having an affinity for another former Michigan passer is not that.

Rumor No. 6: Jonathan Kraft not as involved as it previously speculated

Speaking of ownership. On Monday, a rumor started circulating that Robert Kraft’s son, team president Jonathan Kraft, was “heavily involved in the decision making” leading up to the draft. This raised some eyebrows given that the family had repeatedly insisted that it would have a hands-off approach when it comes to running football operations at One Patriot Place.

On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini added some more context to that one quote:

The team has yet to award the title of general manager to Eliot Wolf, who is running point, and it has shifted to a more collaborative process overseen by Jonathan Kraft. Ownership is allowing the football decision-makers to make the calls while keeping open a constant line of communication. But make no mistake, the Krafts know everything that is going on, as they should.

Kraft is the heir to the franchise, and has every right to “oversee” the operation. However, this makes it sound like he has no input into what the Patriots will actually do in the draft — as he shouldn’t.

2024-04-24T17:25:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd