Assessing what it means from a fantasy football perspective to have Jacob Brissett ahead of Drake Maye.
Another major NFL news came early Thursday morning when the New England Patriots named the team’s starting quarterback.
Let’s discuss what the move means from a fantasy football perspective for the Patriots’ quarterbacks and other members of the offense.
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Brissett Over Maye
The news was announced after coach Jerod Mayo informed the team of his decision.
Brissett has been in the NFL for eight years and has played for five teams. He has a record of 18-30 in 48 career games.
Brissett has a career passing success rate of 61.3%, 51 touchdowns, and just 23 interceptions. He also has 915 rushing yards and 15 points.
Brissett has not started for the Browns since 2022. The team went 4-7 in his starts.
Maye was selected third in the 2024 NFL Draft, so it’s a bit disappointing that he didn’t immediately secure a spot in the starting lineup.
He threw for 192 yards and one touchdown in the preseason, avoiding one interception and completing 61.8% of his passes.
Maye was the star for North Carolina in college. In his final two seasons, he threw for 7,723 yards, 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Maye added 1,102 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.
Expect Brissett’s average draft position to increase toward the end of the season, while Maye’s position will decrease slightly.
Fantasy Outlook for New England QBs
I was convinced that Maye would secure the starting spot, but I’m not surprised that they chose Brissett.
New England doesn’t look like a particularly good team to start the season, so having Brissett play in the first few games will ease the pressure on Maye. The team will then be able to excite fans even if they do start off slow – the rookie QB could be seen as the player to lead the team in the right direction.
Whoever was named as the starter wasn’t necessarily a weekly asset in the usual fantasy leagues, at least not early in the season. Both are waiver-wire options, selected when they face a weak defense or after a key game the previous week. None of that changes with today’s news.
Brissett can be an average fantasy quarterback, but the Pats offense also lacks a ton of talent, so his average fantasy performance will be patchy at best.
Maye will struggle with the same lackluster offense, but has more potential than Brissett. He’ll get his chance at some point this season, but like I said, he probably won’t be a really good fantasy option for a few weeks.
You never know how an NFL season will turn out, and either of these two players could quickly change history. They’re fantasy options to pursue in standard leagues, not the team you have to play every week.
Of course, they’re all more valuable in deeper leagues, and Maye is an even better option in dynasty leagues. If the matchup is right, Brissett or Maye could be considered as starters, but I’d try to avoid them as much as possible – you’ll see why in a moment.
The fantasy prospects of other Patriots
New England’s best offensive player at running back, wide receiver or tight end is probably the RB, and it looks like he will have to share the work this season.
and appear to be the best wide receivers at the start of the season, while and are rookies and other options.
is the best tight end and a rookie provides depth.
There just aren’t many good playmakers on this offense. Some might emerge as the season goes on, but right now this offense looks to be one of the worst units in all of football.
Stevenson was the highest drafted Patriot in fantasy drafts and he is either a last-minute starting option or backup for fantasy purposes. I think New England will rely on Stevenson and Gibson this season, so I think both could be flexible starting options in PPR leagues. Obviously, good quarterback play would help those guys a lot.
Henry is a streaming option at tight end to start the season. I think he’s a stealth good option, especially given the quarterbacks on the roster. Brissett probably won’t throw long pass after long pass and Maye will probably trust his checkdown options, so Hunter will have multiple targets per game either way.
Polk is actually the highest drafted receiver, but I believe Douglas will be the best streaming option early in the season. I wouldn’t trust any of the Patriots’ receivers to earn a starting spot in a standard league, but would consider Douglas and Polk in deeper formats.
Baker, Osborn, Thornton, Hooper and Bell are all very good options for the league, but they are worth keeping an eye on because there are no proven playmakers in the starting lineup to start the season.
will be a good fantasy option if he returns from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
So, to summarize, if Brissett gets into the starting lineup instead of Maye, it doesn’t change much for the rest of New England’s fantasy options. There aren’t many good options, and putting Brissett in the starting lineup instead of Maye probably won’t be a season-long pain anyway. There might be one or two surprise players that become relevant in fantasy, but I can’t imagine we’ll be putting the team’s players in the starting lineup week after week. Let’s hope Maye can change history if he gets into the starting lineup after a few weeks.
The FantasySP team will be keeping an eye on the Patriots quarterback situation all season long, so keep checking back for more!
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