3 Draft-Day Trades the Patriots Can Make Using the No. 3 Pick
The NFL Draft is about new beginnings.
Every year, over three days, hundreds of players see their lifelong dreams fulfilled. Teams take a close look at a fresh class of players who’ll have the ability to shift their fortunes. Veterans are forgotten in favor of younger, cheaper options.
No franchise is looking at new beginnings more than the New England Patriots. After two decades of dynastic dominance under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the team bottomed out in 2023. New England finished 4-13, resulting in the departure of Belichick, several key staffers, and an array of organizational veterans.
There is a silver lining, of course. Being as bad as the Patriots were earns you valuable draft rights, and the chance to draft a blue-chip prospect. New England’s 2023 landed them at the No. 3 slot, a valuable pick which will almost certainly be used on a coveted quarterback.
But, the Patriots aren’t the only team in the league looking to draft a top-tier young quarterback. They’ll almost certainly receive several trade offers for the No. 3 pick (some believe they have already). Whether they move the pick or not is far from certain, but you have to believe they’d at least be open for conversations.
Here are three offers the Patriots could feasibly receive for the pick.
Minnesota Vikings
Vikings Receive: No. 3 pick, 2025 4th round pick
Patriots Receive: No. 11 pick, 2025 1st round pick, 2026 2nd round pick, 2026 3rd round pick
Some have mocked the Vikings giving up three or even four first rounders to move up eight slots in this draft. I don’t see that happening, but there’s no question it would take a haul for Minnesota to jump into the top three. This QB class projects as relatively top-heavy, and New England would effectively be giving up their shot at a franchise signal-caller by moving back to 11. Therefore, the Vikings would have to give up a premium to pull this off.
Minnesota makes this trade if they believe Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, or any other QB (JJ McCarthy? Michael Penix Jr.?) is franchise altering. Everybody around the league knows the Vikings are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback; Kirk Cousins’s departure leaves them with a void at the position, one that they’ll need to fill immediately if they’d like to keep megastar WR Justin Jefferson happy.
New England makes this deal if they love next year’s QB class, or if they’d like to flesh out a bad roster before throwing a rookie QB into the fire. It’ll be a multi-year rebuild in Foxborough no matter who they draft, and trading the No. 3 pick would only help the Patriots stockpile assets. Additionally, the Vikings figure to be mediocre at best next year, meaning their 2025 first is likely to be a good one. If they really like Maye or Daniels, though, there’s not much sense in executing such a deal.