The Minnesota Vikings could be positioning themselves for a blockbuster trade in the 2024 NFL draft, and some are already wondering if such a deal would include the New England Patriots.
As the draft board currently stands, the Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick, which puts them in striking distance of one of the top-three quarterbacks in the draft. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are equally debated in terms of talent and potential, and the Vikings would probably love an opportunity to grab one of them.
Minnesota might have set the dominos in motion for such an opportunity on Friday, when trading multiple picks to the Houston Texans for the No. 23 overall pick of the draft. That means they now own two firsts at No. 11 and No. 23.
Could they entice the Patriots to come down from No. 3 with multiple first-round picks?
Moving up ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/62MeDgCOoz
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 15, 2024
Anything is possible when executives start negotiating potential trade deals, but it would be smarter if the Patriots resist the urge to take the bait. Sure, the team desperately needs assets to rebuild the offense, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of potentially missing on a franchise quarterback.
There are no guarantees the Patriots will ever be in a position again to draft one of the top quarterback prospects. They should consider themselves fortunate there are three players held in high regard at the position this year. In most cases, even with the No. 3 overall pick, they wouldn’t be in position to get a quarterback without needing to trade away a haul of draft assets to move up.
Swinging a trade now could put them in a similar situation as the Vikings—loaded with offensive talent and no quarterback to show for it. Getting the quarterback is the hard part.
The Patriots should get their new signal-caller and start to rebuild the offense through the draft by hitting on receivers, offensive linemen and a tight end. Free agency will come again next year, and there will be other veteran players looking for an opportunity to make money.
The draft will be here next year as well, but there are no guarantees the opportunity to get a quarterback will ever be.