The New England Patriots are positioned to select their next franchise quarterback with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, there’s an obvious deal to make if they prefer to trade down.

Also in need of a QB are the Minnesota Vikings, who lost veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins in free agency to the Atlanta Falcons. Minnesota currently owns the 11th overall pick, so it would likely need to trade into the top five for any shot at drafting one of the top QBs available.

If the Patriots aren’t in love with LSU’s Jayden Daniels or UNC’s Drake Maye, the Vikings are a match made in heaven. New England could still land an impact player at No. 11 overall and land a second-tier QB like Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix, or Oregon’s Bo Nix.

Vikings beat reporter Alec Lewis of The Athletic joined the latest edition of the Patriots Talk Podcast to discuss the prospect of Minnesota moving up in the draft. Just how desperate are the Vikings to end up with one of the top quarterbacks?

“I think pretty desperate,” Lewis answered. “From the time Kirk Cousins departed and moved to Atlanta, it seemed pretty obvious that option 1A at this point is for them to get their guy. And obviously, at this point, it is hard to identify which guy it is specifically. But I would be very surprised if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, a GM who derives from Wall Street, is not going to do everything he can to trade to the optimal spot where he feels like he can find his guy and head coach Kevin O’Connell’s guy.”

Our Tom E. Curran asked Lewis whether there’s even more desperation for Minnesota with superstar wideout Justin Jefferson on the roster.

“I think there is,” Lewis said. “I mean, Justin Jefferson, last year there were extension talks and they ultimately broke off. And Justin’s a guy who wants a lot of money, but he also wants to be in a situation where he can win football games year after year. He wants to be a Hall of Famer. He wants to wear a gold jacket. He wants to be relevant, and winning provides those opportunities. And to win, you need a quarterback.

“So, no question, to establish and earn his trust, and then also for the GM and head coach entering their third seasons to establish trust with ownership and the fanbase, there is a pressure to make something happen here.”

Lewis goes on to state that he believes the Vikings will “make a pretty splashy trade” to move up in the draft.