Drake Maye DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (right hand) was limited during Wednesday's practice. The rookie reportedly injured one of his fingers during last Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Maye is expected to recover in time for Week 18 against the Buffalo Bills, and he's in line to start after head coach Jerod Mayo indicated all of New England's healthy starters would play. Nevertheless, it's an interesting story to monitor given that the Patriots would clinch the No. 1 draft pick with a loss on Sunday but could drop as low as No. 5 if they win. There has been ongoing speculation that the Patriots could rest Maye to preserve his health and secure the top pick, but as of now, it sounds like Mayo is going to roll out his starters in hopes of a Week 18 victory.

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye is expected to make the start in the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival Buffalo Bills. "Drake is the starting quarterback. If he's healthy and ready to go, he'll play," head coach Jerod Mayo said. There has been speculation going around that the Pats will hold Maye out of the meaningless regular-season finale with the Bills likely resting most of their starters. The 22-year-old third overall pick out of North Carolina this year has certainly given Patriots fans enough to look forward to in the coming years as their franchise signal-caller, but he mostly struggled in 2024 with a terrible supporting cast around him on offense. Going into Week 18, Maye has completed 66.8% of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 TDs and 10 interceptions while also scoring two TDs on the ground. He'll be a QB2 with upside in 2025.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has appeared in 12 games while starting in 11 of them during his rookie season. The team was eliminated from playoff contention a while back as they sit at 3-13 heading into the final week of the regular season. Head coach Jerod Mayo said "All possibilities are under consideration" when asked if they'll be resting Maye to avoid injury risk. If that's the case, Jacoby Brissett would go under center one more time, but fantasy managers will want to check back closer to kickoff.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye completed 12 of 22 passes for 117 yards, one touchdown, and one lost fumble during Saturday's Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in blowout fashion. He also took four sacks and rushed six times for 32 yards on the ground. The rookie quarterback missed one drive as he was evaluated for a head injury, but he was able to return. However, he didn't play very well upon re-entering the game. He did take advantage of a free play by throwing a deep touchdown strike to DeMario Douglas, but other than that big play, his passing performance was uneventful. He now has five lost fumbles over his last eight games, and a total of 13 turnovers during that span. The UNC product continues to impress as a runner, but he needs to clean up the turnovers before fantasy managers can legitimately consider starting him in single-quarterback leagues.

According to the New England Patriots, rookie quarterback Drake Maye (head) has returned to Saturday's game. Maye left the field after their first offensive drive after taking a hard hit to the head. He was seen in the blue medical tent and eventually went to the locker room. However, Maye was able to return and missed only one offensive drive. Veteran Jacoby Brissett went 0-for-1 on his lone passing attempt in relief.