One newer quarterback who is emerging as a tier 2 option in many rankings is Drake Maye. Going into his second year out of North Carolina, this kid is capable of great things. He hasn’t impressed much on the field last year, given the fact that his offensive line didn’t do him many favors. Now that he has a full season ahead of him, though, Drake Maye can jump leaps and bounds, potentially catching the eyes of many fantasy football players out there.
Drake Maye 2024 Stats and Fantasy Production
It’s tough to rate Maye’s stats from last year because he wasn’t the bona fide starter for New England until around halfway into the season. In the time that he did play, though, he played far from poorly.
Maye hit over 200 yards in eight of his 11 starts on the season, which was better than some quarterbacks who played the entire year. Maye was also able to turn in a 66.6 completion percentage. One big area for him to improve on this year is the touchdown-to-interception ratio: 15 to 10 is not a good number to see.
In terms of fantasy, Maye scored over 20 points only once, in Week 5 against Jacksonville. He got very close to that mark many times, though. He turned in a lot of 17 to 19-point weeks, which looks better considering his poor offensive line. Maye didn’t have the highest ceiling last year in terms of performance, but he consistently played well as the season went on.
Drake Maye 2025 Fantasy Outlook
The good news for Drake Maye is that his offense got a much-needed makeover in the offseason. New England finally has a substantial wide receiver in Stefon Diggs. The offensive line has also been greatly improved with the addition of Will Campbell via the draft. Those two additions alone should mean that Maye has a much easier time throwing the football and no shortage of weapons to throw to.
Despite that being the case, taking him as a QB1 in many leagues might be a risky proposition. Fantasy Pros has Maye ranked at number 12, so shorter leagues may not need to draft Maye as their QB1. He will be drafted in most leagues around where Kyler Murray, Caleb Williams, and C.J. Stroud get taken.
Potentially, Maye can outplay all of those names, but it’s not guaranteed. If any of the names ahead of Maye are available, such as Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield, or certainly Patrick Mahomes, it might be better to pump the brakes on Drake Maye and pick him up as a QB2 later in the draft. Maye is capable of finishing as a top 10 quarterback, but he isn’t projected to until he shows it on the field.
