The Giants’ pursuit to move up in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night in Detroit went all for naught, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t pitch a strong offer.
NFL Network first reported the Giants made a “last-ditch effort” to grab the No. 3 pick from the Patriots, but New England ended up keeping its spot and selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported the Giants made a strong effort to try to move up and get Maye, offering their 2025 first-round pick to try to entice the Patriots.
The Vikings, who also were looking to move up to the No. 3 pick, made an offer for the No. 3 pick that included the Nos. 11 and 23 picks this year along with their 2025 first-rounder.
But the Patriots were not interested in moving down from their spot, landing Maye, whom they hope is their next franchise quarterback after trading Mac Jones to the Jaguars earlier in the offseason.
The Giants, according to Breer, only wanted a quarterback in the first round if it was Maye, which did not come to fruition.
Instead, Big Blue took LSU star wide receiver Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick to beef up the offense for Daniel Jones.
Maye, for his part, said he’s excited to join a New England team that finished at the bottom of the AFC East last year in what became ex-head coach Bill Belichick’s swan song.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the 2024 NFL Draft
- 2024 NFL Draft grades for all 32 teams: Bears come up aces
- Grading every Giants 2024 NFL Draft pick: Malik Nabers leads way in surprising class
- Grading every Jets 2024 NFL Draft pick: Aaron Rodgers gets help
- NFL power rankings: Where all 32 teams stand after 2024 draft
The UNC product said while he admires Patriots great Tom Brady, he does not expect to be anywhere near that level on Day 1.
“Tom Brady’s the G.O.A.T. It’s easy to say that,” Maye told reporters Thursday night. “I’m not going to be Tom Brady. I’m just going to try to be Drake Maye. From there I’m just trying to learn from him. and hopefully try to get to know him a little bit. Other than that, try to soak it up and be a sponge. And try to learn all I can from him. He’s the man in that town.”
While new head coach Jerod Mayo was effusive in his praise for the new signal-caller, Belichick, on an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” seemed to be critical of the 21-year-old.
“Drake Maye, his footwork needs a lot of work,” Belichick said during a segment right before the Patriots selected Maye. “You can see here, he’s all over the place, never really sets his feet, never really gets into position to throw. He gets strip-sacked. Too much hopping around. Step up and throw.”
The Giants did not seem at all disappointed that they ended up with the electric Nabers, who had 3,003 receiving yards in three SEC seasons.
“Malik was our guy,’’ Giants general manager Joe Schoen said Thursday night. “He’s the guy we targeted. With the other players on the board, we took Malik Nabers.’’