Patriots staffer inadvertently reveals plans for first-round pick

There is always a lot of speculation around any upcoming NFL draft, but this year seems filled with consistent rumors and debate regarding the teams at the top of the board. The Patriots remain the most discussed team, with reports suggesting they're staying put at No. 3 while others just hours later claim the opposite.

That's the current situation, as Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer cited his knowledge and sources revealing New England's desire to hold onto the third overall pick and likely take a quarterback.

According to the insider, those conversations were had just a few weeks ago during the NFL Combine, which came about due to the Falcons' hopes of moving up in the draft for a quarterback. Clearly, that has since changed with the signing of Kirk Cousins, but it's still a relevant tidbit to keep in mind.

"The Commanders and the Patriots were unwilling to move. Now, that can change over time as teams go through their evaluation process, but at least at the combine, the Patriots were a 'no' when teams were looking to move up."

Right on cue, a new rumor (or a conspiracy theory, if you'd rather) is being floated about what the Patriots will do with their pick, and it's coming straight from a member of the staff.

Patriots staffer inadvertently reveals plans for first-round pick

Thanks to social media investigators, a fan noticed that the Patriots' Director of College Scouting, Camren Williams, liked an interesting post on Twitter/X on Monday. The post stood out for a few reasons, including his lack of activity on the app.

The tweet's content is the main reason it has become the latest chatter.

It was written by a fantasy football writer who shared his belief about what the Vikings are cooking up ever since they made a trade over the weekend with the Texans to acquire another first-round selection. The assumption has been that the team is loading up to pull off a draft-day trade to get their next franchise quarterback, and they have been eyeing the top-5 teams to swap with.

The post connects UNC quarterback Drake Maye to the Vikings through their quarterbacks coach, Josh McCown, who worked with Maye in high school. Some believe he is the best fit for the Vikings' system under Kevin O'Connell and is most likely the player they're targeting in a potential trade-up.

That's why they added another first-rounder to their batch of picks. Some fans are taking it a step further by suggesting the Patriots have already made a deal with Minnesota, which explains their signing of K.J. Osborn.

With all this coming from just one simple tweet, many people have questioned why Williams chose to like the tweet if it wasn't an accidental reveal of the Patriots' plans.

This could be explained by the accidental liking of tweets, which happens to many people daily. Or it could mean exactly what is being speculated about now, and the Patriots are entertaining the idea of trading down for more draft capital.

We won't know the answer until the first round of the draft on April 25, so unfortunately, these types of theories will continue.

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