Grading the Vikings, Giants reported trade offers to Patriots for No. 3 pick in NFL Draft

The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone, and some teams found their new franchise quarterback. As was heavily expected, the Chicago Bears used the No. 1 pick on USC's Caleb Williams and the Washington Commanders selected LSU's Jayden Daniels second overall. The intrigue really began with the New England Patriots, who held the No. 3 pick and opened up their phone lines for those interested in trading up.

It was heavily reported that the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants were trying their best to convince the Patriots to surrender their selection. Both had one player on their minds -- North Carolins quarterback Drake Maye, who had been a hyped-up prospect for years. But the Patriots were looking for an offer they simply couldn't refuse. They never got what they deemed was worthy of giving up the pick, and drafted Maye to be their quarterback of the future.

As for the Vikings, they moved up to the No. 10 pick to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Giants, meanwhile, passed on quarterback altogether and selected LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick.

Now, ESPN's Mike Reiss detailed the offers that both the Vikings and Giants made to the Patriots. Let's hand out some grades.

Grading Giants reported trade offer to Patriots for No. 3 pick in NFL Draft

Let's start with the Giants offer. According to Reiss, the Giants offered the sixth overall pick this year and their 2025 first-round pick to move up to No. 3.

For the Patriots, this allowed them to not move too far back in the first round and potentially take another quarterback if they had them graded equally to Maye. The thing is, it's unknown if the Patriots viewed McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., or Bo Nix the same as Maye.

The thing is, even with this offer, it's still not convincing enough for the Patriots to take the remaining top six quarterback prospects after Maye. Perhaps a 2026 first-round pick would have gotten a deal done, but it's hard to fault the Patriots for turning down the deal.

That's not to say the Giants didn't try. Now, they have to wait until next year to find Daniel Jones' replacement...unless he has a great 2024, and the Giants repeat the cycle. Giants fans, pay attention to quarterback prospects next year like Georgia's Carson Beck, Texas' Quinn Ewers, and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.

Giants trade grade: C-

Grading Vikings reported trade offer to Patriots for No. 3 pick in NFL Draft

The Vikings had more draft capital at their disposal. Before this year's NFL Draft, the Vikings acquired the No. 23 overall pick from the Houston Texans. With that and the No. 11 selection, Minnesota had the picks needed to make a jump up the draft board for a quarterback.

According to Reiss, the Vikings offered both of their first-round picks this year and their 2025 first-rounder for the No. 3 pick. But, Minnesota got a bit greedy with their offer. In addition to the third overall pick, they wanted two mid-round selections too.

Umm, Minnesota wanted to trade up, right? Why would they want more in return with the No. 3 pick. Maybe that priced them out. If the Vikings had made their initial offer for the No. 3 pick, maybe, just maybe, it would have gotten a deal done. Asking for more picks was asking for too much.

Luckily for the Vikings, they did land a quarterback. But will McCarthy be as good as Maye? That remains to be seen.

Vikings trade grade: B-