QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Drake Maye may not exactly be an unknown entity on the heels of an impressive rookie season that resulted in a Pro Bowl nod, but he’s still not getting the fantasy respect he deserves. The New England Patriots star has a middling ADP of just 121 and is currently the QB15—making him a projected backup at best in most formats.

While Maye’s 2024 numbers don’t quote warrant a ranking that puts him in the same tier as the Lamar Jackson’s and Josh Allen’s of the world, his upside alone should have him being selected near the QB12 spot or higher. He averaged a shade over 18 fantasy points per game in his Year 1 starts, marks that would have rated as the QB15 had he started every game even while playing on a downtrodden Pats squad bereft of quality pieces.

New England overhauled both its coaching staff and roster this offseason, bringing in a new head coach in Mike Vrabel, a proven offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels and a slew of new pieces to augment the sophomore signal-caller.

The most impactful of these additions will be Will Campbell, the No. 4 overall pick who projects to take over as the team’s starting left tackle for the foreseeable future. Campbell represents the most major upgrade in the offensive trenches, although the acquisition of veterans Morgan Moses and Garrett Bradbury will also help immensely.

Defenses will have to respect New England’s ground game more this coming year. The Pats expended an early Day 2 pick on TreVeyon Henderson, the talented and versatile Ohio State star who can contribute on all three downs while rating as one of the best pass protection prospects to ever enter the league.

Maye will have more talented targets to pick out when he drops back this season too. The presence of Stefon Diggs—who could quickly establish himself as the best wideout to suit up for New England in years if he’s fully recovered from a season-ending ACL tear—and Mack Hollins gives the Patriots receiving corps an edge it had been lacking in recent seasons.