The New York Giants had the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. On Tuesday’s episode of Hard Knocks, general manager Joe Schoen walked into the press box that the New England Patriots were in and Schoen talked to Eliot Wolf.
At the time of the scouting combine, rumors were going around about the possibility of the Patriots trading out of the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Wolf told Schoen that there were a couple of teams who called New England about that selection.
Schoen told Wolf to keep the Giants in the back of his mind. The New York Giants were no doubt interested in trading up from the sixth pick to the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The New York Giants Wanted the New England Patriots Pick Because They Wanted North Carolina Tar Heels Quarterback Drake Maye
The Patriots did not know what they were going to do with that pick at the time. There was no doubt that the Chicago Bears and the Washington Commanders were going to draft quarterbacks, but the New England Patriots needed more than just a quarterback.
The New York Giants at the time were ready to move off of Daniel Jones. This is one of the reasons why Schoen talked to Eliot Wolf about the New England Patriots.
On the Hard Knocks episode on Tuesday, one of the quarterbacks that the New York Giants interviewed was North Carolina Tar Heels Drake Maye. Here is the video as to why the Giants liked Maye so much:
Drake Maye might’ve been the smartest player in the draft 🤯
pic.twitter.com/ee1eYqfW6I https://t.co/Vi73awhxZz
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 10, 2024
His brains could be why New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll loved Drake Maye so much. Last season with the North Carolina Tar Heels, he played in 12 games and completed 63.3% of his passes for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Drake Maye also rushed for 449 yards on 112 carries and nine touchdowns, along with averaging 4.0 yards per carry.
Despite the Giants potentially trading up from the sixth pick to the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots decided to keep the pick in the end. New England did select Drake Maye with that pick instead of Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
With the sixth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, New York selected wide receiver Malik Nabers from LSU instead. This is not a bad consolation prize for them and Nabers will need to connect with quarterback Daniel Jones early and often this NFL season.
