2024 NFL Draft: Vikings, Giants Pushing Patriots to Deal Third Pick to Take Drake Maye

New England had plans to stay in touch with Minnesota and New York through the afternoon.

Down to a few hours before the 2024 NFL draft and here’s what we know …

• The New England Patriots plan to listen to offers for their third pick right up until they turn the card in during the 8 p.m. ET hour.

As of earlier today, no one had come close to offering what it’d take to get there—with a quarterback premium for the pick in place. New England had plans to stay in touch with both the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings through the afternoon, and will keep listening, with both presumed to have Drake Maye in their sites.

Some in the league believe it’s Maye-or-no-quarterback for the Giants. As for the Vikings, my sense is they really like J.J. McCarthy. Whether they give up both of their first-rounders to get him is another question.

• For weeks now, folks have circled this weekend as the point where the San Francisco 49ers could move Brandon Aiyuk, and the Cincinnati Bengals could trade Tee Higgins.

The idea of it just got a lot more complicated.

On Wednesday, the Detroit Lions finalized a four-year extension with star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown that, when you eliminate the balloon number in 2028 (north of $36 million), averages out at $28 million per year in new money. That sets a new high-water mark at the position. It also gives Aiyuk and Higgins something to shoot for.

While St. Brown’s 2023 numbers were better than any year we’ve seen from Higgins or Aiyuk, Higgins and Aiyuk bring elements in size and speed, respectively, that St.. Brown doesn’t. So I’d say either would be likely to look at the St. Brown deal, draw a line in the sand, and not do a new contract for less than $30 million per year in new money. That makes it harder for Cincinnati and San Francisco to re-sign them.

It also, naturally, makes it harder for either of those teams to trade them to another team, because now you’re not just asking for a premium pick from another team, you’re putting that other team in a compromised position in a negotiation with market conditions changing.

At this point, the answer might be that it’s just easier for the Bengals and 49ers to hang on to those two receivers, make their Super Bowl runs with them, and then collect a 2026 compensatory pick for them after they cash in as free agents in March ’25 (assuming they don’t get extensions).

• Two years ago, I remember hearing how clean cornerback Trent McDuffie was as a prospect. He crushed his meetings with teams, his tape was great, his workout checked out, and his medicals were good. The baseline for him was very high.

So I asked around the past couple of days to find this year’s McDuffie.

The name that came up most—Duke center Graham Barton.

“He will be a Pro Bowl center,” one GM texted.

My guess would be that he winds up going somewhere between Pittsburgh at No. 20 and Dallas at No. 24. In both cases, I think the teams would probably take a tackle, if one they really liked fell to them (Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton might be that guy for either team). If Barton goes at 20, Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson could be in play for Dallas at 24.)

• I thought this, from an AFC exec, on LSU’s Malik Nabers was pretty interesting: “He has a chance to be Tyreek Hill good. He’s different from Rome [Odunze], he’s different from [Marvin] Harrison Jr. because he’s so damn explosive.”

Nabers’s coachability has come into focus with teams—it’s not disqualifying, but most folks will say he can be a handful. But those who like him chalk it up to his competitiveness.

One example is how he took the competition with Harrison to be the first receiver taken so seriously. A couple of execs I talked to actually believe that he ran a second 40-yard dash at his pro day, after blazing in the 4.3s on the first one, as a shot at Harrison, who chose not to work out.

•  Two surprise first-rounders? One could be Washington tackle Roger Rosengarten, who could be in play for San Francisco at 31 or Kansas City at 32. Another would be Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who I think could be in the mix with guys such as Illinois DT Johnny Newton, Missouri DE Darius Robinson, Penn State DE Chop Robinson or Iowa DB Cooper DeJean for the Packers at 25.

• Speaking of the Kansas City Chiefs, I do think they could go up for a tackle, but there are limits. If going up doesn’t work out, reaching for a next-tier tackle such as Rosengarten or BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia would be one avenue. Another could be taking Texas burner Xavier Worthy—who I’ve heard connected to teams as high as the teens (Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars)—if he somehow makes it to them at 32.

• DeJean’s another one with a wide range of outcomes possible. I could see him going as high as 16 to Seattle, or landing in the Ravens’ lap at 30, with the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Green Bay other potential fits for the Iowa jack-of-all-trades. I’d throw Texas DT Byron Murphy II in that category, too. He could go as high as 8 to the Atlanta Falcons, or as low as 18 to the Cincinnati Bengals. And I wouldn’t be stunned if someone moved up for Murphy.

• While I think it’ll be a receiver for the Giants at 6 if it’s not a quarterback, I have heard they do like Notre Dame’s Joe Alt. Taking him would likely mean moving 2022 first-rounder Evan Neal inside to guard—and might necessitate too much movement (do you move Alt or Andrew Thomas to right tackle?) on the line for Joe Schoen & Co. to actually go through with it.

• The Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Colts and Jaguars are among the teams that have been exploring a trade up. Philly and New Orleans, as I see it, might be competing with each other for a tackle, perhaps Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga (who could sneak in the top 10 to the New York Jets). The Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos have called around going both ways, and the Tennessee Titans and Falcons have investigated moves down from 7 and 8. Also, the Houston Texans have at least made calls on jumping back into the first round from their second-round spot at 42.

• I’d guess right now five quarterbacks in the first round. But if Denver is successful trading back, that number could be six.