Kevin O’Connell Sends Subtle Message To Patriots, Robert Kraft

The Vikings are among multiple teams that analysts would not be surprised to attempt to trade up in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Patriots could be a team they’d be interested in going into business with.

Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy are the popular choices for Minnesota to trade up for. New England and the Washington Commanders publicly are “open for business,” but it could take a monumental offer to move down and not draft a quarterback.

Minnesota does have the ammo for the offer after it acquired another first-round pick from the Houston Texans, but it needs another team to be willing to move down. It’s a reality Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell knows and has been letting other teams know about.

“Ultimately, when you feel like you find that guy, then you got to hope that 31 other teams are complicit in making sure they (the quarterback) can become a Minnesota Viking,” O’Connell told attendees of the “Faith & Life” series at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church. “But we only need one team to be complicit, and hopefully we can find that team. I may or may not have sent a nice bouquet of flowers to Robert Kraft the other day.”

O’Connell also talked about his view of Maye and McCarthy and his belief that mechanics like footwork can be coachable, which probably tipped the Vikings’ hand of what the coaching staff thinks about the top prospects.

The flyer has been sent to the Patriots, but head coach Jerod Mayo admitted it would take a “bag” to move out of the No. 3 pick. And NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran reported that internally the belief is that it would take more than three first-round picks.

Minnesota certainly could present that kind of offer on the table, but as O’Connell said, the Patriots would need to be “complicit” to make a trade happen.