Drake Maye was sensational in his sophomore season, finishing as the QB2 in fantasy football and the runner-up for NFL MVP. He led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl LX, where they lost to the Seahawks. With a much tougher schedule ahead this year, what is the Drake Maye fantasy football outlook for 2026?
Drake Maye Fantasy Football Outlook 2026
Recent Production
Maye started all 17 games in 2025, throwing for 4394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. He added 103 carries for 450 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Interestingly, in his rookie season in 2024, he had 421 rushing yards on just 54 carries. His yards per carry decreased from 7.8 to 4.37.
In some more advanced stats according to PlayerProfiler, Maye was first in yards per attempt and second in air yards per attempt. He was first in true completion percentage, which gets rid of throwaways and dropped passes. Maye was also first in pressured completion percentage and clean pocket completion percentage. He had a 20.9% carry share, good for fourth among quarterbacks, but was just 19th in designed runs per game at 1.06. His scrambles at 3.65 per game were second among quarterbacks.
2026 Drake Maye Fantasy Outlook
The Patriots lost Stefon Diggs in free agency in what was already a weak wide receiver room. They traded for A.J. Brown and signed Romeo Doubs to give Maye his top two weapons. Brown is a big upgrade over Diggs, giving Maye a true WR1 for the first time in his career. Last season, after Diggs, Maye was throwing to a group of guys including Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, and Kyle Williams, all of whom are still there in 2026. However, having Brown and Doubs gives Maye two consistent starting wide receivers that can be trusted.
The Patriots were a run-heavy team in 2025, being just 23rd in team pass plays per game. Expect that to continue with TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson forming a backfield duo.
Winning the AFC East division last season means the Patriots play a first-place schedule, which includes the Seahawks, Steelers, and Jaguars as the extra division champions they must play. Interestingly, these are the first three games for New England. Add in Buffalo as the Week 4 matchup, and the Patriots have a gauntlet to begin the season. The harder schedule will lead to some poorer fantasy performances for Maye, especially over the first month of the season. Maye could be a prime buy-low candidate after those first four games.
Drake Maye on 2026 outlook after Super Bowl loss: "I think just come firing off. You know, we start with Week 1. I think that speaks for itself on a rematch. So, I think we got to bring our ‘A’ game, and it starts in camp."https://t.co/IVU61lz66V pic.twitter.com/S249KgrMkt
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) July 27, 2026
Drake Maye Fantasy ADP
According to FantasyPros ADP, Maye is the third quarterback being drafted in fantasy leagues this summer. He is the 52nd overall player being drafted, so he is at the start of the sixth round of 10-team leagues and at the middle of the fifth round in 12-team leagues. The quarterbacks ahead of him are Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, while Maye is ahead of Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, and Jalen Hurts. Maye, Burrow, Daniels, and Hurts all have similar upside, so taking Maye a round or two earlier than those other guys could be a little bit of a risk.
Should You Draft or Pass on Drake Maye in 2026 Fantasy Football?
I am passing on Drake Maye fantasy football for 2026. He is being drafted as the QB3 after having a career year as the QB2, which is a very steep price for a guy who has only had one full season in the NFL. The next few guys being drafted after Maye have the same likelihood of being a top-three fantasy quarterback as Maye. Taking that into account, in addition to the tougher schedule, means it is a pass on Drake Maye fantasy football in 2026.
