Even though the Buffalo Bills have dominated the New England Patriots for the last four seasons, it still doesn’t make up for two decades of the Patriots ruling the AFC East and making the Bills the little brother. The tables have turned for the better in Buffalo when it comes to dealing with New England.
The Patriots are going into a full rebuild in their franchise. They are expected to be a bottom three team in 2024 as they have more room for improvement rather than star players. Jerod Mayo steps in as the new head coach and while the Patriots will more than likely roll with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, but the main focus is on the development of Drake Maye. New England drafted Maye third overall this year and there was speculation that the Patriots should have traded down to acquire future draft picks.
There were plenty of teams that could have made calls to New England to acquire the third overall pick, but one team we know of for sure that tried to trade up was the New York Giants. General manager Joe Schoen attempted to trade up into the top three but the Patriots’ asking price was absolutely ridiculous. Eliot Wolf from the Patriots had told Schoen that unless the Giants were willing to give up a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in 2024, along with a 1st and 2nd in 2025, the Patriots were staying at their pick.
Hours before the Draft, the @Giants made a last-minute try to trade up with the Patriots 👀
— NFL (@NFL) July 23, 2024
New episode of #HardKnocks Offseason with the @Giants airs tonight at 9pm ET on @StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/YY63UG7pE3
The Bills should ecstatic that the Patriots drafted Drake Maye at #3
This is not a knock on Maye because he has a ton of talent, but he obviously still has plenty of room to grow going from college to the pros. The main reason why the Bills should be thrilled about it is because the Patriots still have a below average roster and are not setting up Maye for success. While 2024 may be a learning year for Maye, he will need to get some playing time this season at some point and him not having the best pieces around him will keep him limited.
The Patriots have had a tough time developing the roster with impactful playmakers. Outside of Rhamondre Stevenson, there are no notable players that implement fear into a defense. With the Patriots turning down the Giants’ attempt to move up, New England did not get any major draft capital for next year which puts them at a major disadvantage.