Though there was some speculation about the Patriots potentially trading the team’s 2024 first-round pick prior to the draft, New England ultimately decided to hold at third overall and select quarterback Drake Maye.
While that logical conclusion feels inevitable in retrospect — new Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and team executive Eliot Wolf clearly emphasized building around a rookie quarterback — it wasn’t a complete foregone conclusion.
In fact, according to a clip from a recent episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” program, which has been following the Giants’ offseason, New England at least discussed the possibility of dealing the team’s top pick.