Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, some wondered if the New England Patriots should have selected Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. over North Carolina's Drake Maye.
The Patriots needed Maye more, but there was a running argument that the team would be better off filling other positions on offense to create a better situation overall for a young quarterback. Ultimately, the team made the right decision and drafted the quarterback.
However, they might now be in a position to land both, two years after that fateful draft night.
Maye, who was the runner-up for MVP and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 2025, looks the part of an elite franchise quarterback. Harrison, on the other hand, has struggled to live up to the otherworldly hype
that he had coming out of college.
It has led to swirling trade rumors about the former Buckeye. With A.J. Brown on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain, NFL insider Albert Breer was asked if the Patriots should show interest in the former first-round draft pick.
Breer seemed to like the idea, pointing to Mike Vrabel's tough coaching style as a fit to potentially get the best out of Harrison.
"I had a chance to kind of dig into [the problems with Harrison] with a few people who have coached him, a few people who are coaching him. What kept coming up was a toughness issue. ...To be a bigger receiver in the NFL you have to be really rugged," Breer said on Zolak & Bertrand. "Being big and being rugged aren't the same things. If you're a bigger player, it probably means you aren't separating in the same way a smaller guy is. ...So who can get through to him on the toughness part of it?
"Mike Vrabel would probably be one of the guys who could. It's something that I would probably consider because I think if they're willing to give him up for like a Day 3 pick and you're talking about, A.J. Brown, you want him to be your No. 1 when he comes back and then maybe he's your No. 1 for another year, but then you don't have an answer beyond that. That's where it might be worth taking the flyer."
Could the Patriots be interested in Marvin Harrison Jr.@AlbertBreer weighs in on why the receiver hasn't worked out in Arizona, and how Mike Vrabel could be the guy to fix him: @ZoandBertrand pic.twitter.com/hM3GcEPWnx
— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) September 24, 2026
A Day 3 pick would be a tempting trade offer for a player with untapped elite potential.
Of course, the Cardinals would have to be willing to make that deal, which would be a shocking discount for the No. 4 overall pick in 2024. It's important to note that Brown is expected to return at some point this season, and the team also invested heavily in Romeo Doubs in free agency.
Those two moves are part of the reason why they decided to trade Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans. With that said, Harrison was viewed as a generational talent entering the NFL draft. Even if the Patriots are set at receiver, they'd have to take a move of that magnitude under consideration, at the very least.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: NFL insider views Patriots as trade fit for WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
