Analyst Projects Patriots To Make Huge First-Round Draft Trade

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo recently made it clear New England is open to trading down in the 2024 NFL Draft despite its glaring needs at multiple key positions.

ESPN's Matt Miller, for one, believes a blockbuster deal will come to fruition.

The NFL draft analyst on Wednesday released a seven-round mock draft, which sees the Patriots give the No. 3 overall selection to the Vikings in exchange for picks No. 11 and No. 23 as well as a 2025 first-rounder. In Miller's mock, Minnesota used its new pick on Drake Maye, while New England spent its pair of newly acquired first-rounders on offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu (No. 11) and cornerback Cooper DeJean (No. 23).

Even in this scenario, the Patriots still could select one of the best quarterbacks in the class with the 34th overall pick. But Miller believes New England will grab wide receiver Keon Coleman with that selection and not address its QB situation until Round 4 when it takes Spencer Rattler at 103 overall.

Robert Kraft probably wouldn't love this plan. While the Patriots owner understands a rebuild is going to take some time, he clearly wants to see his team come away with one of the best quarterbacks in the draft. In Miller's hypothetical, New England would kick the can further down the road and hope to land a top signal-caller in 2025.

That said, both Mayo and Kraft appear connected on the importance of needing to really love a player to take him so high in the draft. A trade would make sense if New England's top option isn't available at No. 3, and Minnesota seems to be licking its chops to move up.