The smartest approach the New England Patriots can take in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is selecting a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick.
The 2024 draft class is loaded at the quarterback position. There are three or four top-tier prospects -- USC's Caleb Willians, UNC's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels, and maybe Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. Oregon's Bo Nix and Washington's Michael Penix Jr. could be first-rounders, too.
It's a great year to need a potential franchise QB, and the Patriots badly need an upgrade at that position after watching Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe struggle in 2023. New England's offense ranked tied for last in scoring at 13.8 points per game last season.
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One of Maye or Daniels will be available to the Patriots at No. 3, assuming the Chicago Bears take Williams first overall as expected. Whichever one of those two quarterbacks is available also could determine what kind of trade offers the Patriots might receive for their first-round pick.
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The New York Giants, who own the No. 6 pick, could attempt to trade up for a quarterback.
FOX Sports' Ralph Vacchiano reported Friday that Maye "is the prospect who could most entice the Giants to make a blockbuster move up from No. 6, according to multiple NFL sources familiar with the Giants' thinking."
Here's more from Vacchiano:
"In fact, one league source said he believes that if Maye somehow gets past the Washington Commanders at No. 2 — which is far from a certainty — the Giants would consider making an aggressive offer to the New England Patriots to move up from No. 6 to No. 3 to draft him. It's not clear if New York would be willing to do the same for LSU's Jayden Daniels or Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, the other two top quarterbacks likely to be available at that spot."
Trading down to No. 6 would allow the Patriots to likely acquire a couple more valuable picks from the Giants and still be in a position to select a premium player in the top 10. The Patriots could target one of the top wide receivers (Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, etc.) or a top-tier offensive tackle (Joe Alt) in that spot. Maybe McCarthy would still be there at No. 6, too.
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If the Patriots traded down to No. 11 (Vikings), No. 12 (Broncos) or No. 13 (Raiders), they probably would miss out on the Tier 1 wideouts and offensive tackles, although this class is pretty deep at both positions.
What would the Giants need to give up to acquire the Patriots' pick? NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, in his pre-scouting combine conference call in February, projected the Giants would need to give up the No. 6 pick, two 2024 second-rounders (Nos. 39 and 47) and a 2025 second-round pick to move up three spots in Round 1. The Giants have since traded the No. 39 pick to the Panthers in exchange for linebacker Brian Burns.
Given the amount of quality quarterbacks in this draft, it'll be fascinating to see which of the teams in the top four of the first round consider trading out. It would be a pretty bold move to do so.