New England Patriots DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

New England Patriots quarterback Joe Milton III completed 22 of his 29 pass attempts for 241 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills. He also rushed 10 times for 16 yards and an additional touchdown on the ground. Milton didn't take a sack or throw an interception in the victory, but he did lose a fumble on a botched hand-off with Antonio Gibson. The Patriots needed a loss to secure the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and in order to get some extra film on Milton, they benched Drake Maye after the opening drive. Milton performed better than anyone could have imagined, completing each of his first 11 pass attempts. He totaled two touchdowns and showed phenomenal mobility. The win dropped New England from No. 1 to No. 4 in the draft order, but that's arguably a fair price to pay in exchange for the assurance that New England has two talented, young playmakers in its quarterback room entering 2025. Maye will remain the starter while Milton is likely headed for the backup role.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was pulled from Sunday's AFC East clash with the Bills. The Pats are playing for draft picks, so the signal-caller will finish by failing to connect on his lone pass attempt. He wasn't the most reliable rookie quarterback during the 2024-25 campaign, throwing for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, adding 54 carries for 421 yards and two touchdowns. It's obvious New England has work to do to bolster depth on the offensive side of the ball. With that said, dynasty managers can consider retaining Maye for at least another season to see how things play out, although he may not be a viable fantasy starter in 2025-26. With Maye presumably done for the remainder of Week 18, Joe Milton III is in under center and has already thrown a touchdown.

As expected, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (hand) is officially active and will start on Sunday against the division-rival Buffalo Bills in the Week 18 regular-season opener. Maye has been dealing with a right-hand injury, and although he was questionable to play, there was never much doubt that he'd be active to close out his rookie season. It's been an up and down first year in the NFL for Maye, as he enters Week 18 action with a 66.8 completion percentage, 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 12 games (11 starts). The North Carolina product has shown flashes of upside, though, and given the lack of talent around him, it's hard to be too critical of the rookie in his first year. Despite some starters resting around the league, Maye will merely be a QB2 with upside in Week 18 against a Bills defense that will be pulling starters early.

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (foot) has been ruled out for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Henry was limited in practice all week but will end his 2024 season a week early. With the 30-year-old officially out against a Bills defense that will be taking it easy with the No. 2 seed already locked up for the playoffs, Austin Hooper could be a sneaky DFS play this weekend with a starting workload on tap. Henry will be back with New England next year after wrapping up his fourth season with the Pats. The former second-rounder by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2016 out of Arkansas finishes with a career-high 674 receiving yards on a career-high 66 receptions (97 targets), although he only found the end zone two times in 16 games, limiting his value as a low-end TE1 option on a weekly basis in fantasy.

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper has fallen off the fantasy radar ahead of Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Buffalo Bills. Hooper enjoyed an impressive stretch of games from Week 10 through Week 13 during which he was the overall TE10 in PPR leagues, but he has just 10 catches for 112 yards in three games since then. Equally noteworthy is the fact that his snap share dropped to 45 percent last Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers, which is the lowest it has been since Week 12. It's possible that this was an anomaly based on scheme and game plan, as fellow tight end Hunter Henry also played reduced snaps. However, it's still a sign that Hooper's role in the offense may be declining. As long as he remains behind Henry, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, and perhaps Kendrick Bourne in the pecking order, he can be avoided in fantasy football. Fantasy managers should look elsewhere for production at the tight end position in Week 18.