Patriots are willing to trade down in NFL Draft, but it comes at a massive price

The offseason has not gone how the New England Patriots had hoped. Entering free agency, head coach Jerod Mayo noted that the Patriots had "a lot of cap space" and they were "ready to burn some cash." At the NFL Scouting Combine, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf said, "We're going to aggressively try to help the team."

Neither of those things happened.

The Patriots didn't make any splashy additions during free agency. They pursued wide receiver Calvin Ridley, but he ultimately elected to sign with the Tennessee Titans.

"It just seems like they missed out on everyone," one league executive told The Athletic.

With coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady gone, free agents are no longer lining up outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Perhaps Mayo and Wolf overestimated how many free agents would want to sign with New England. Their bold predictions to the media are rookie mistakes that they'll likely learn from. While those mistakes are mostly harmless, the 2024 NFL Draft won't be as forgiving.

Patriots may be willing to trade down from coveted pick in 2024 NFL Draft

The Patriots currently hold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It's the highest selection the team has possessed since Robert Kraft purchased the team. The pressure is on Wolf and Mayo, who will have to make a franchise-altering decision that could define their tenures in New England. The Patriots need a quarterback, but they could trade down if they don't love any of the prospects.

New England's asking price for the coveted pick could be significantly higher than expected, NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran said on a recent episode of the "Patriots Talk Podcast."

"What I'm hearing in terms of the bag that Jerod Mayo referenced last week — what kind of currency do the Patriots need to see coming to them?" Curran said. "I keep circling back to — it's gotta be three first-round picks, meaning Minnesota at No. 11 and No. 23, and their first-round pick from 2025. From what I'm hearing, it's going to take a lot more than that for the Patriots to be moved off their spot. Because they as a team collectively understand the opportunity that these three quarterbacks represent at the top of the draft."

USC's Caleb Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels, and North Carolina's Drake Maye are considered to be the three top-tier quarterback prospects in this year's draft class. The Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders are expected to select two of those quarterbacks, which means the Patriots would be in position to either select the last of the three quarterbacks or trade their pick to the highest-bidding team.

The Patriots may select the best remaining quarterback prospect, as expected, but there has been growing buzz surrounding other possibilities. Rumors have suggest a wide array of possibilities, including selecting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.