Imagine a world where the New England Patriots trade down the NFL draft board and still land Jayden Daniels and a first-round receiver.

There’s no way that could happen, right?

Well, that’s exactly the home-run haul that Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald and Nate Tice predicted in the outlet’s recent mock draft.

Yahoo has the Minnesota Vikings trading up with the Patriots and dealing their two first-round picks in 2024 (Nos. 11 and 23) for No. 3 overall. With that pick, Yahoo predicts the Vikings select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy’s rise up the draft boards has been notable, but others still view the former Wolverine as the fourth quarterback behind Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Daniels, in some order.

The Vikings trading up for McCarthy, especially since Minnesota was not at his Pro Day and the staff’s well-documented connection to Maye, would make this a bit of surprise.

But Daniels falling outside of the top 10 would be a downright stunner. Yahoo mocked Daniels to the Patriots at No. 11 overall. New England then lands Daniels’ college teammate in LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. with the 23rd pick.

Thomas is viewed as one of the top receiver prospects. He told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine he modeled his game after Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins.

Patriots fans surely would be thrilled if New England was able to play the board that well in late April. But for a number of reasons, including the report Daniels is the leader in the clubhouse to be selected second overall, make it a far-fetched to say the least.

Patriots Now Open to Trading No. 3 Overall Pick

If Kwesi Adofo-Mensah plans on making a blockbuster trade to land the Minnesota Vikings a top-three pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, then the New England Patriots are the trade partner to watch. On Sunday, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo firmly planted the for sale sign on Tom Brady’s old lawn, letting everyone know New England is open to negotiating a trade back from the third overall pick.

New England Patriots open to trading No. 3 Overall Pick

Mayo made multiple comments signifying that not only are the Patriots not locked in on drafting a quarterback at No. 3, but also that they’re ready to consider any trade offer that arrives.

“Obviously, quarterback is definitely a priority. With that being said, we’re still open to any type of deals that come our way.” … “Remember, there are other positions besides quarterback as well. We’ll be at 100% when the draft gets here [April 25]. Just not yet.”

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo on team’s draft plans (quote via ESPN)

If there’s a quarterback the Patriots aren’t in love with, it’s always possible they pivot to a top wide receiver instead. Patriots acting GM Eliot Wolf has mentioned that he hoped to “weaponize” the scoring attack, yet their efforts to sign receiver Calvin Ridley came up short.

“The most important thing for us was to get our people back here. Re-sign our players — the Mike Onwenus of the world. We have some good players that we like to keep and that’s kind of part of the culture that we want to build. Obviously, we were disappointed that Ridley went in a different direction, but we’re good. I like the direction that we’re going.”

Patriots’ ‘GM’ Eliot Wolf (quote via ESPN)

Patriots Hyping Jacoby Brissett as QB1, Like Vikings Did with Darnold

While it would be a surprise, the Patriots’ head coach also spent time hyping up the recently-signed Jacoby Brissett as a potential starter, much like the Vikings have built up Sam Darnold.

“A guy like Jacoby, he’s a great leader. Everyone loves him. To get him back in the building is definitely helpful for us. And honestly, look, he could absolutely be our starter this year. We’ll have to see. Like I said, we’re not dead set at taking a quarterback at No. 3, but we do feel good having a guy like Jacoby ready to go.”

Jerod Mayo on Jacoby Brissett (quote via NFL.com)

All this points to the Patriots legitimately being open to a godfather, dare I say, perhaps even a Herschel Walker-like trade offer from the Vikings. Such a move likely requires parting with both of the Vikings’ first-round picks (11 +23), plus their 2025 first-round pick at the very least.

However, it is also entirely possible that the Patriots truly don’t know what they’ll do yet. What if the Patriots only like one prospect between Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, and if their target prospect gets selected by Washington at No. 2, maybe New England thinks the remaining prospect is a bust? At that point, why not see what trade offers are floating around?

The same could ring true for the Vikings. Rumors are rumors, but no one knows what the Vikings’ draft board looks like either. They also might be waiting to see which prospect ‘falls’ to No. 3 before selling the farm. Either way, it’s setting up to be arguably the most exciting NFL Draft of all time for Vikings fans.