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Report: Vikings Offered Three First-Rounders to Patriots For No. 3 Pick
The Patriots ultimately stood pat and took Drake Maye.
The Vikings offered picks 11, 23, and their 2025 first-round pick to the Patriots for the No. 3 pick, with "picks swaps favoring the Vikings as part of the proposal," according to SI's Albert Breer, who added that the Vikings' offer "ticked up with New England on the clock (on Thursday night)." The Giants also made New England an offer that included their 2025 first-rounder to move up from 6 to 3.
"Ultimately, nothing came close to moving the Patriots off their choice," Breer wrote. "In fact, that Kevin O’Connell and Brian Daboll were the head coaches interested only emboldened New England to stay put."
The Patriots, who were apparently asking for a massive haul to move the pick, decided to stay put and select Drake Maye. The Vikings clearly liked Maye a lot, but much like he did in contract negotiations with Kirk Cousins, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drew a line in the sand when it came to how much he was willing to give up. After watching Maye go third and Michael Penix Jr. shockingly go eighth, the Vikings moved up one spot from 11 to ensure that they could draft J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback of the future. Because they were patient, they were able to hold onto the 23rd pick — which they used to move up for Alabama's Dallas Turner — and their 2025 first-rounder.
In Trading Up for J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner, the Vikings Swung For the Fences
"I think that question’s tough," Adofo-Mensah said when asked if McCarthy was the guy the Vikings were targeting all long. "We're very big here on quarterbacks and how, differently, they can impact the game. What I can tell you is (McCarthy) was somebody whose skill set we were really excited about, we know we can build around and win with. He's just scratching (the surface). He’s somebody you're talking about, from a talent standpoint, is as talented as anybody in the draft."
The Vikings clearly had multiple quarterbacks they liked in this draft. They wanted Maye, but only at a certain price. Once he was off the table, they were quite excited to get McCarthy where they got him, and they'll now pour into him as their QB of the future. It's going to be very interesting to see how the careers of the the six quarterbacks drafted in the top 12 picks on Thursday unfold. One thing that's hard to argue is that McCarthy is coming into the best situation of any of them.
"Every QB in the class that I interacted with wanted to go to Minnesota," McCarthy said.
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