There was a lot of hype surrounding the rookie quarterbacks last season, with the top three picks — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye — leading the charge. The teams they were drafted to had long needed a solid player under center, and their additions to the roster made it clear they were on their way to relevance again.
That was especially true for the Patriots and Maye, who was not drafted into as great of a situation as those taken before him. Not only did he not have a strong offensive cast to work with, but he was also set to join a first-time head coach with an incredibly inexperienced staff, which might have hindered some of his early growth and development in the league.
That didn't stop him from having an impressive season, even if it didn't begin until he was given the start in Week 6. He worked magic with what he was given and overcame the odds set before him, which is why there might be more excitement going into his second season.
Seeing that he will have a much more experienced staff to collaborate with and learn from, on top of a drastically improved roster, means the sky is the limit; however, that's not being reflected so far in how fans are viewing him as part of their fantasy teams this upcoming season.
Drake Maye will be a better fantasy quarterback than he's currently being projected to be
With plenty of fantasy football drafts set to take place in the near future, there is a lot of talk about which quarterbacks will be the best of the best for the 2025 season. Within that conversation are those who are being undervalued, which has Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report discussing the top 5 players to fall into that category, one of whom is Maye.
Despite the tremendous work that Vrabel and Co. have done this offseason to improve Maye's immediate and long-term future, fans are overlooking the fantasy potential Maye could have for their teams this fall.
"The Patriots put a ton of effort into improving their offense this offseason. They added Garrett Bradbury and Morgan Moses to the O-line before using the fourth overall pick on left tackle Will Campbell. They also added Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins to the skill group before drafting running back TreVeyon Henderson and wideout Kyle Williams.
Additionally, New England added an experienced head coach in Mike Vrabel and a seasoned offensive play-caller in Josh McDaniels. The Patriots may not be a playoff contender this season, but Maye's support system will be leaps and bounds better than it was a year ago.
The 22-year-old has starting potential in most fantasy formats and is worth considering well ahead of his current ADP."
Although drafting Maye would likely be a better option in a backup role, given the long list of tenured starters that will be available, he should not be overlooked in general. The offense built around him will inevitably elevate his game, even if we haven't yet seen how it all meshes together.
In addition to its talented roster, the team benefits from having Josh McDaniels as its offensive coordinator. This won't be the Patriots offense of the 2024 season that mainly disappointed and has fans scratching their heads every week. We will see a competent group making far fewer mistakes and all being on the same page, with a playcaller who understands the game from top to bottom.
All of this should put Maye on fantasy players' radars, and based on what he's projected to do in Year 2, he could easily make many regret passing on him when midseason rolls around. That's just another exciting element that Patriots fans can look forward to.