Patriots had diabolical reason for turning down trade offers from Giants, Vikings for Drake Maye

Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, there were talks about teams like the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings looking to trade up for a quarterback. Both of those franchises obviously entered the day with needs at the quarterback position, the question was if it was even possible for them to make that franchise-changing trade.

The Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders appeared to be locked into their picks at No. 1 and No. 2 overall, but there was less certainty revolving around the New England Patriots who held the No. 3 overall pick. There was even a report that came out just before Thursday's draft that said that the Giants were trying to trade up to No. 3 to select North Carolina QB Drake Maye and that New England was willing to listen.

Ultimately, no trade went down, and the Patriots snagged Maye with the No. 3 pick. The rumored reasoning as to why New England went with Maye instead of trading down is pretty fascinating.

Patriots had fascinating reason for turning down trade offers for Drake Maye

Maye is a quarterback that the Patriots obviously liked a lot. In SI's Albert Breer's latest, he had this to say when it came to New England's evaluation of Maye as a quarterback.

"A big part of why the Patriots selected Maye was his makeup, which they hope will lead to the development of his blue-chip traits. The Patriots were immediately impressed with his football intelligence, and how driven he is by the sport. Then, there were the leadership qualities he very clearly brought to the table, and were displayed when New England drilled him on his 2023 struggles. With conditions around him changing after his breakout ’22 season, Maye’s play suffered last year. Yet, he refused to blame anyone else, player or coach, or anything else for any of it."

While his makeup and leadership traits are extremely important, there appears to be one fascinating reason as to why the Patriots ultimately refused to part with their chance to select Maye. It has nothing to do with any of these qualities that they love.

"Ultimately, nothing came close to moving the Patriots off their choice. In fact, that Kevin O’Connell and Brian Daboll were the head coaches interested, only emboldened New England to stay put."

The Patriots received strong offers from both the Giants and Vikings for that No. 3 selection, but chose to instead keep the pick in large part because of who was calling them for that pick. The Giants with Brian Daboll and the Vikings with Kevin O'Connell are two head coaches who have had a ton of success developing quarterbacks. If they were interested, surely the Patriots should be interested too, right?

What would've happened if a team like the Raiders called the Patriots for No. 3? Would they have been more willing to move the pick?

If Maye does turn out to be the franchise quarterback they're hoping to be, Patriots fans can thank Daboll and O'Connell for showing interest.