Here’s what Giants offered Patriots to move up for Drake Maye in NFL draft
New England Patriots first round draft pick Drake Maye, a quarterback out of North Carolina, jokes with his brothers during an NFL football press conference, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen made his best pitch to move up in Round 1 of the NFL draft to select UNC quarterback Drake Maye. It just wasn’t enough.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the New England Patriots turned down offers from the Giants and Minnesota Vikings for the No. 3 pick. The Giants’ offer included a second first-rounder.
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, Schoen did not find a taker for a trade up the draft board and he took LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers over Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, the next-best QB on the board who landed with the Vikings at No. 10. The Giants did not have an opportunity to take one of the upper-echelon QBs because they went off the boards in the first three picks — Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears), Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) and Maye (Patriots).
As NJ Advance Media’s Darryl Slater wrote Thursday, Maye was the player Schoen wanted all along.
Once Maye was gone, it became obvious that general manager Joe Schoen’s quarterback approach at the top of this draft was indeed “Maye or nobody.” Because not only did he not trade up to fourth or fifth for McCarthy, but he also passed on him at No. 6.
Maybe the Giants will look back and be thankful that Maye didn’t work out for them. Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick did not sound too enthused by the pick, saying that Maye needs “some work at reading defenses, reading coverages. … This is a kid that can make all the throws. He just needs to be more consistent.”
