The New York Giants seemingly really wanted to draft Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the New England Patriots really wanted to take the North Carolina quarterback.
That's exactly what Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo and the rest of the Patriots' football operations crew ended up doing with the No. 3 pick. Despite speculation or suggestions they should trade the pick to beef up an ongoing rebuild further, the Pats emphasized the most important position in football and took Maye.
But it wasn't for a lack of effort from the Giants to pry that No. 3 pick out of the Patriots' hands.
The Giants, as we've seen on episodes of this offseason season of "Hard Knocks," were legitimately interested in trading up from No. 6. After seeing an NFL scouting combine interaction between Maye and Giants coach Brian Daboll, it sure looked like the G-Men wanted the Carolina gunslinger. Another "Hard Knocks" scene showed Joe Schoen and Wolf discussing at the combine what it might take for the Giants to acquire that No. 3 pick.
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Now, thanks to a teaser clip from the NFL, we know even more about New York's efforts to swing a deal with the Patriots. The clip for Tuesday night's episode shows a snippet of a draft-day conversation between Schoen and Wolf where the latter makes it rather clear it was going to take a generational offer to give up the selection.
Schoen: Are you guys still listening, or are you guys making a decision? What are you guys thinking?
Wolf: I think we're pretty happy with sitting here picking.
Schoen: OK.
Wolf: But if you offer us, like, 1, 2, 3 this year, 1, 2 next year -- I mean, you know, I'm exaggerating.
Schoen: But I mean it's going to be something crazy like that?
Wolf: It would probably have to be pretty significant.
Schoen: OK, so, like a one this year … a one next year and something more this year is not going to do it? It's gotta be multiples in '25?
Wolf: Uhh, we're just in this situation where we're probably going to sit and take a quarterback, ya know?
Schoen: OK
Again, we can't say for sure the Giants were eying Maye, but the evidence is hard to ignore. At the very least, it's gotta be a tough watch for incumbent quarterback Daniel Jones for whom Schoen has expressed confidence this offseason. New York almost certainly wasn't trying to move up to take anything other than a quarterback.
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Granted, if the Patriots were able to land the No. 6 pick plus the Giants' second- and third-round picks this year plus a first- and a second-rounder next year, they'd be crazy if they didn't at least consider it.
It's an interesting development from the Patriots' side of things, too, though. They pretty clearly were thrilled to get Maye at No. 3, but this is also evidence of at least a slight willingness to listen to offers right up until draft day. And while previous reporting already suggested as much, it's still fascinating to hear.
Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
