Patriots Fantasy Football Preview: Drake Maye, Rhamondre Stevenson, Ja'Lynn Polk, Demario Douglas, Hunter Henry and More

Breaking down the New England Patriots best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.

Let’s go over another NFL team fantasy football preview.

We’ve looked at the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons and now will cover the New England Patriots.

Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.

Get ready for draft season! Practice Mock Drafts, check out ADPs and get advice for trades with our trade analyzer.

Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks

There’s a couple names to discuss under the quarterback section here. Jacoby Brissett is a veteran option for New England, while rookie Drake Maye is looked to as the future of the team. Joe Milton III was also drafted this offseason and is at least worth mentioning because he played well in the first preseason game.

Brissett returns to New England after spending his rookie season there. He played with Washington last season, but didn’t make any starts. Brissett is 18-30 over his eight-year NFL career, with 51 touchdowns to 23 interceptions. Those aren’t bad marks, but the 61.3% completion mark tells the bigger story.

Maye was the third overall pick in the draft. He starred at North Carolina the past two seasons, throwing for 7,329 yards, 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Milton played in parts of six college seasons, the final three with Tennessee. He threw for 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions in his final season. He adds a rushing element to things and was elusive in his preseason debut.

Maye is the top New England QB according to our ADP data, but I wouldn’t take him in a standard league until the team names a starter. Whoever the starter is could be a late pick in standard league drafts, but I’d prefer to pick him up off the waiver wire instead.

The team’s starter will open the season in the lower third of the league in terms of fantasy QB options, so they might not be startable in deeper league or two-QB leagues either right away.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Rhamondre Stevenson is the team’s presumed No. 1 running back, but Antonio Gibson gives the team a good backup now. 

Stevenson played in 12 games a season ago. He rushed for 619 yards and four touchdowns on 156 attempts. Stevenson added 238 receiving yards and no scores on 38 catches and 51 targets. He had 1,461 total yards in 2023.

Gibson was with Washington for the first four years of his NFL career. He played in 16 games last season. He rushed for 265 yards and a score on 65 attempts, while adding 389 yards and two scores on 48 catches and 59 targets. He had over 1,000 total yards and 21 touchdowns across his first two seasons, but has dropped off since.

Stevenson is the guy to own, and you can get him for a very reasonable price right now. He’s RB21 and going around pick 64.

Gibson is RB52 and going around pick 158. None of the team’s other backs are on the fantasy radar at this point.

Stevenson is a bounceback fantasy candidate, and is someone I’d target in the middle rounds. He’s got top-10 fantasy RB upside, but probably will pretty easily outperform his RB21 mark if he can play a full season. There’s enough upside that I’d take him and not worry too much about last year’s injury woes.

Gibson is a borderline draftable player in standard leagues, and it makes sense given his pass-catching upside and Stevenson’s injury last season. I think your later picks could be spent on a more useful player though, and I’d treat Gibson as a waiver wire/streaming option to start the season.

Both Stevenson and Gibson are solid options in deeper fantasy leagues. Both could be startable if the Patriots’ offense is even average.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

The wide receiver room is a mess for New England. Rookie Ja'Lynn Polk, Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas are the likely starters when everyone is healthy. Jalen Reagor, K.J. Osborn and rookie Javon Baker are the top backups. 

Others could play a role, but I wanted to focus on these six here. If things change before the season, FantasySP will cover it in a standalone story.

Douglas played in 14 games in his rookie season. He made 49 catches on 79 targets, going for 561 yards but no touchdowns. He had 41 yards on eight rushing attempts.

Bourne appeared in eight games before suffering a season-ending injury. He wants to play in week one, but if he can’t that would obviously affect his fantasy outlook. Bourne had 406 yards and four scores on 37 catches and 55 targets last year.

In 11 games with New England last season, Reagor had 138 receiving yards on seven catches and 23 targets. 

Osborn was with Minnesota for the past four seasons. He played in 16 games last season, hauling in 48 of his 75 targets for 540 yards and three touchdowns. 

Polk had a couple nice seasons with Washington during his college career. He could instantly become the team’s No. 1 receiving option.

Baker started his collegiate career at Alabama before making a name for himself at UCF. He scored 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Polk is the top New England receiver off draft boards. He’s WR68 and going around pick 168. Douglas is WR71 and going around pick 183. Baker is WR80 and going around pick 225. All the other receivers are going past pick 250.

I too think Polk is the best fantasy option right now, but also don’t think I’d draft him in a standard league. I’d wait a couple weeks for the players to determine who the best receiving options are going to be and then add the best ones on the waiver wire.

Polk is the best option in deeper leagues and dynasties because of his potential/upside. I like them in the order they are on the ADP list. Things could be figured out as the season nears, so keep an eye on the list as time passes.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

Hunter Henry is the top tight end in New England. Austin Hooper and rookie Jaheim Bell are backup options.

Henry played in 14 games a season ago for the Pats. He had 419 yards and six scores on 42 receptions and 61 targets.

Hooper was with the Raiders. He played in 17 games, making 25 grabs on 31 targets for 234 yards and no scores.

Bell had some decent seasons during a four-year college run. He played at South Carolina and Florida State.

Henry is the guy to consider in fantasy drafts. He’s TE18 and going around pick 160.

Henry will be a streaming option this season, but I wouldn’t use a pick on him in a standard league. There’s bigger potential players you can add at the end of the draft. I do think he’s got a good chance at outperforming the TE18 mark, because whatever quarterback is starting is likely going to check the ball down a bunch.

The Pats’ other TEs are only options in the deepest fantasy leagues. They shouldn’t be starting though, and would only be startable if Henry goes down with an injury. 

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