Vikings might have escaped a potential franchise-altering disaster

Before Drake Maye was eventually drafted with the third overall pick by the New England Patriots earlier this year, the Minnesota Vikings had reportedly made an attempt to trade up in the opening round of the 2024 draft to select the former North Carolina quarterback, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss.

Instead, the Vikings didn't get a chance to select Maye and they wound up landing former Michigan signal-caller J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in this year's NFL Draft.

Apparently, Minnesota might have avoided a disaster by not ending up with Maye, as the Patriots rookie has been reportedly experiencing some significant struggles in training camp this summer.

Drake Maye landing with the New England Patriots already seems like a blessing in disguise for the Minnesota Vikings

In the day and age where NFL aggregators will share almost anything online to generate views, sometimes it's difficult to tell what information is valid and what isn't.

When it comes to Maye's performance in New England's training camp this summer, however, multiple people in attendance have confirmed that he hasn't looked very impressive.

Earlier this week, the Boston Globe's Ben Volin wrote that fellow Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton, a 2024 sixth-round pick, has "outplayed Maye over the first six practices of camp."

Then on Thursday, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd shared some info he recently was told by NBC Sports Boston's Michael Holley.

"According to Michael Holley, somebody I know, trust and respect, he said, 'I went to recent practices. I wanted him to be Justin Herbert and Josh Allen because those were [Maye's draft comparisons], but I saw was the ghost of Mac Jones. [Maye] couldn't do anything right.'"

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, McCarthy has reportedly looked like the best quarterback on the field for the team in this summer's training camp, according to KSTP's Darren Wolfson, and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell hasn't ruled out starting the rookie in the team's regular-season opener yet.

Now, would things be going differently for Maye if he actually ended up in Minnesota and not New England? It's certainly possible, but McCarthy could also just turn out to be the better prospect of the two, and it wouldn't have mattered where either of them landed in the 2024 draft.

To be fair to Maye, he reportedly "bounced back" and "looked more accurate and efficient" during Thursday's practice at Patriots training camp, according to Mass Live's Mark Daniels.

So, perhaps Maye's big struggles are behind him, and that's at least that's what New England fans are hoping. Either way, and it's still early, but it already seems like the Vikings wound up with the better quarterback in the 2024 draft between McCarthy and Maye.

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