QB · NE · GWTTKB

Drake Maye — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 20.7 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 48.6, usage worth 18.5.

23 years old · 2 seasons of experience · 2024 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 48.6
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 1.6, 3.7 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on underdog, priciest on yahoo.
SLEEPER48.5
ESPN47.8
YAHOO47.2
UNDERDOG67.2
CBS50.9
FFA56

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 4, pick 13 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankQB3
Bye week11
ADP standard deviation1.6 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 359 points, 21.4 per game — 4,218 passing yards, 30 passing TDs, 560 rushing yards. That is QB1, 56 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 17.1 points per game to a ceiling of 28.7, with the median at 21.4. Boom rate 34%, bust rate 20%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 48.6 on consensus and our board has him 56. We rank him 7.4 picks worse than the room drafts him, so at ADP he is mildly overpriced. That is an objection to the price and not to the player — if he falls past his slot he can be exactly the right pick.

Our written view

finished as the #2 scoring QB last season, aided significantly by a historically easy schedule that kept the offense in short-field, positive-script spots constantly. Adding a true #1 WR (AJ Brown) and a second real weapon (Romeo Doubs) should raise the talent level around him even as the easy schedule disappears. Rushing efficiency dropped off relative to his rookie-year per-carry numbers, but he's expected to scramble more as games get more competitive against a tougher schedule.

buy · high conviction · 2026-08

The offense he plays in, 2026

New England Patriots returns 4 of 6 continuity slots, replacing wr1, rb1. Drake Maye at quarterback, Mike Vrabel as head coach, Josh McDaniels calling it. The offense projects to 30.7 pass attempts a game at high confidence and 28.3 rushes.

In: Tommy DeVito (qb2), A.J. Brown (wr1), Romeo Doubs (wr2), Jam Miller (rb3), Lan Larison (rb4), Eli Raridon (te2). Out: Stefon Diggs (wr1), Antonio Gibson (rb3), Austin Hooper (te2).

The projected target split across the offense:

A.J. Brown23.1%
Kayshon Boutte10.5%
Hunter Henry9.9%
Demario Douglas9.7%
TreVeyon Henderson9.4%
Romeo Doubs9.3%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: This is an offense that is only getting better. TreVeyon Henderson COULD become the true featured RB on this high powered offense. AJ Brown could produce 2-3 more years at a VERY high level before fading. Romeo Doubs fits in very well and if his connection builds with Maye, he could be a very viable WR2 in PPR formats.

Key additions: Romeo Doubs WR from GB on 4 year deal, AJ Brown traded to Patriots by Eagles in June 2026 (will be teams WR1 in 2026). Drafted Caleb Lomu 1st round LT. Drafted TE Eli Raridon 3rd round. Drafted RB Jam Miller 7th round.

Key departures: WR Stefon Diggs (released), RB Antonio Gibson (released), TE Austin Hooper (signed with Falcons), OT Vederian Lowe signed with 49ers (depth)

Notes: Maye dynasty franchise QB. Patriots signed Romeo Doubs from Packers (huge potential and solid player could be WR2). The Patriots WILL trade for AJ Brown from Eagles & he will be their WR1 next year. He has MASSIVE potential with Drake Maye. Henderson should operate as lead back in 2026, but Vrabel has done strange things with playing time for backs & Stevenson will work in. Henry is still TE1, but drafted Raridon round 3 TE — Vrabel uses TEs.

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Drake Maye returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (29.5 att/g); Regressed 30% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 30.7 att/g.

How the quarterback projection was built

Base case 266.3 PPR points, with a bear case of 231.9 and a bull case of 416.9, and a comp mean of 294.6. The model puts 35% probability on him beating this and 65% on falling short. Drawn from 20 comparable quarterback seasons.

Comparable seasonWhat he actually scoredDistance
Russell Wilson 2015304.60.4
Russell Wilson 2019377.70.4
Aaron Rodgers 2010418.30.5
Aaron Rodgers 2014338.10.5
Philip Rivers 2013265.60.5

Cross-check against the dynasty market: his production ranks in the 55th percentile and his value in the 97th, which the engine reads as well above production. Players with a similar production-against-value gap saw dynasty value move -8.7% over the following year, across 14 cases — a dynasty signal, not a 2026 scoring one.

Offensive environment: NE rates 24.2 against a league average of 23, 1.2 points above it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season-3.2 · harder
Weeks 1–6-0.7 · neutral
Weeks 12–17-12.5 · harder
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)-4 · harder

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

Read the full Drake Maye study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved +39.6% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as post-spike. The base rate that applies: after a +30% spike, QBs crash the following year 52% of the time (hold 48%). That puts the measured risk of his dynasty value falling sharply over the next year at 52% — a probability drawn from comparable historical seasons, not a prediction, and not a statement about his 2026 scoring.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 2.8 elite seasons and 3.1 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Kyler Murray202121.564%-17.6%
Joe Burrow202221.961%+6.7%
Trevor Lawrence202316.460%0%
Daniel Jones202115.258%+62.8%
Trevor Lawrence202217.457%0%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 2 gained value, 1 lost it and 2 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00020252026
Monthly superflex value, 2024-03 to 2026-07. Up 67% across the series, peaking at 9,988.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2024, round 1, pick 3 by NWE
CollegeNorth Carolina
Age at draft22
Height6′4″
Weight223 lb

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game17.7
Week-to-week variation0.4
Boom rate4.2%
Bust rate4.2%
Games missed per season0

The record, season by season

2025 · NE · 17 games

His best game was Week 17 against NYJ — 32.44 PPR on 0 targets and a 0% target share, in a game that finished 42-10. His worst was Week 5 against BUF at 12.12, on 0 targets, final score 23-20. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 9 times and came in under 8 points 0 times. In the 10 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 19.5; in the 7 decided by more, 22.4. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 18.5 points per game. He scored 20.7, 7.2% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1LV13-2015.78241112.2%100%
2MIA33-2726.30103130%100%
3PIT14-2119.22074520%100%
4CAR42-1323.22031130%88%
5BUF23-2012.12031200%100%
6NO25-1927.24092830%100%
7TEN31-1323.08086220%85%
8CLE32-1326.28075030%100%
9ATL24-2316.36082020%100%
10TB28-2318.1071320%100%
11NYJ27-1415.4404210%100%
12CIN26-2015.96052210%100%
13NYG33-1520.48061220%100%
15BUF31-3520.5044320%100%
16BAL28-2423.70102520%100%
17NYJ42-1032.44032250%79%
18MIA38-1015.74054110%76%

Production

Receptions1
Targets1
Receiving yards2
Carries103
Rushing yards450
Touchdowns35
Points per game20.7
Yards per target2
Catch rate100%
Yards per carry4.37

Role

Snap share95.76%
Target share0.13%
Air-yards share-0.14%
WOPR0.001

Efficiency

Average depth of target-8
Yards after catch per reception10
Yards before catch per reception-8
Total YAC10
Broken tackles0
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted79.2
Receiving EPA per game-0.08
Rushing EPA per game0.66

Scoring position

Red-zone targets0
Red-zone target share0%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share20.6%
Goal-line carry share10.7%
Expected receiving TDs0
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck0
Expected rushing TDs2.95

Who else ate

The offense threw it 502 times. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Stefon Diggs21.29%
Hunter Henry18.16%
Mack Hollins13.57%
Kayshon Boutte9.6%
Demario Douglas9.6%
TreVeyon Henderson8.77%

Blowouts against close games

6 of his 17 games were blowouts, 40.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 23.54 in those and 19.53 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · NE · 13 games

His best game was Week 7 against JAX — 20.84 PPR on 0 targets and a 0% target share, in a game that finished 16-32. His worst was Week 18 against BUF at 0, on 0 targets, final score 23-16. Across 13 games he cleared 20 points 1 time and came in under 8 points 2 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 13.7; in the 7 decided by more, 13.6. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 14.9 points per game. He scored 13.63, 8.3% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
3NYJ3-242.08021200%31%
6HOU21-4119.52053830%100%
7JAX16-3220.84031820%100%
8NYJ25-2211.52034610%30%
9TEN17-2015.74089510%100%
10CHI19-311.76042410%100%
11LA22-2817.98032720%100%
12MIA15-3413.48052610%100%
13IND24-2519.42055910%99%
15ARI17-3017.48041420%100%
16BUF21-2417.44063020%100%
17LAC7-409.88063210%81%
18BUF23-16000000%5%

Production

Carries54
Rushing yards421
Touchdowns17
Points per game13.63
Yards per carry7.8

Role

Snap share80.46%
Target share0%
Air-yards share0%

Efficiency

Receiving EPA per game0
Rushing EPA per game1.55

Scoring position

Red-zone targets0
Red-zone target share0%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share7.1%
Goal-line carry share5.3%
Expected receiving TDs0
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck0
Expected rushing TDs0.68

Who else ate

The offense threw it 529 times. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Hunter Henry19.48%
Demario Douglas17.47%
Kayshon Boutte13.65%
Austin Hooper11.85%
Rhamondre Stevenson8.23%
Kendrick Bourne7.63%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Drake Maye10016.350%
Jacoby Brissett206.80%
Joe Milton1000%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 13 games were blowouts, 25.4% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 11.24 in those and 13.68 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

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