Triple-Crown Ascendancy

Drake Maye was exceptional last year, finishing as the No. 3 fantasy quarterback in a genuine Year Two breakout. He achieved the rare feat of leading the league in completion rate and yards per attempt while leading the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl.

As you know, we are among the first in the industry to release full-year projections in early February, and we've had Maye in our Top 3 from the start. The rest of the industry is about to play catch-up now that A.J. Brown is officially a Patriot.

Before the blockbuster Brown trade, the fantasy community appeared set on pricing in a modest downturn for Maye, fearing that New England's incredibly easy 2025 strength of schedule overstated his baseline productivity. While the Patriots will undoubtedly face a more grueling path this season, that single negative is completely overwhelmed by four massive tailwinds:

• A Massive Receiver Upgrade: A.J. Brown gives the offense a genuine, coverage-dictating alpha. Besides him, the signing of Romeo Doubs immediately provides a high-floor No. 2 target.
• Systemic and Iterative Improvement: Last year was Maye's first under Josh McDaniels. He and his teammates were executing 100-level plays in 2025; they are graduating to 200-level nuances this year.
• A Bolstered Offensive Line: Footballguys' offensive line guru Matt Bitonti ranks the Patriots' line 9th in his preseason model, thanks to a healthier Will Campbell, the addition of Elijah Vera-Tucker, and moving Jared Wilson to center.
• Increased Passing Volume: Last year's 29.5 pass attempts per game were the second-lowest of Josh McDaniels' 19-year play-calling career. He kept the offense in "kid glove" mode last season but will almost certainly unshackle the passing game this year. For context, his teams have averaged 596 attempts per season (adjusted for a 17-game schedule).

Crucially, our QB2 ranking isn't built on an assumption that Maye simply copies and pastes last year's outlier metrics. As you will see in our formal projections below, we are explicitly baking in a natural efficiency regression. Yet, because of the massive baseline upgrades around him, his floor remains fundamentally elevated.

Josh Allen should be the first quarterback drafted. But no other signal-caller has a better case to hear their name called next than Maye. I would absolutely recommend drafting him over the consensus No. 2, Lamar Jackson.

2025: Rarified Air

To say Drake Maye was a fantasy asset last year is like saying a Porsche is a decent commuter car. Let's run through his 2025 bona fides:

• Passing Yards: 4,394 (4th)
• Passing TDs: 31 (3rd)
• Completion Rate: 72.0% (1st)
• Yards per Attempt: 8.9 (1st)
• Passer Rating: 113.5 (1st)
• Rushing Yards: 450 (4th among QBs)
• Fantasy Points: 404.7 (3rd)

Let's not gloss over the fact that Maye led the league in both completion rate and yards per attempt. Those stats typically have a fierce negative correlation, because the deeper you fling the ball downfield, the harder it is to complete passes.

On top of that, Maye led the league in passer rating. In the Super Bowl Era, only six other quarterbacks have ever led the NFL in all three categories in the same season.

Quarterbacks who led the NFL in Comp%, Y/Att and Passer Rating

The vast majority of this list resides in Canton. You quite literally cannot find more rarified air for a quarterback entering his third NFL season.

The New Passing Hierarchy