Drake Maye

Drake Maye enters the 2026 fantasy football season looking like one of the more exciting young quarterbacks to roster. He’s coming off a breakout year that showed both strong passing upside and the kind of rushing production fantasy managers love, and recent preseason outlooks have kept him in the QB1 conversation, with some ranking him as high as the top five at the position.

The biggest storyline from his 2025 run was health, not performance. Maye dealt with a right shoulder injury late in the season, was limited in practice before the Super Bowl, and later admitted he received a pain-killing injection, though he also said the injury would not require surgery. The encouraging part for fantasy is that by early August he was saying his shoulder “feels great,” which is exactly what managers wanted to hear heading into draft season.

From a fantasy perspective, Maye’s appeal is straightforward: he can pile up points both through the air and on the ground. Recent projections still paint him as a strong fantasy starter, with roughly 4,000 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, and close to 500 rushing yards in the mix, which gives him a sturdy weekly floor with real spike-week upside. That rushing element matters a lot because it helps him survive the inevitable rookie-year-to-year-to-year volatility that hits many young passers.

For 2026 drafts, Maye is the kind of quarterback you can feel good about targeting if you want ceiling without spending an elite pick. In one-quarterback leagues, he looks like a strong mid-round QB1 candidate, while in superflex formats he belongs even earlier because his combination of age, arm talent, and mobility makes him a long-term difference-maker. If the shoulder stays quiet, he has a real chance to be one of the best fantasy quarterbacks in the league this season.