Drake Maye vs Ladd McConkey

“Maye's second-year breakout led to a second-place MVP finish and a Super Bowl appearance. He was the QB2 behind Josh Allen in fantasy points for the season (producing 96.3% of Allen's season total), and the QB2 in points per game (20.7).”

“Drake Maye's dual-threat ability will make him a highly sought-after quarterback in fantasy drafts, but I'll be curious to see how he performs against a tougher schedule.”

“Behren Morton will likely be the Patriots' third-string quarterback behind Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito.”

“With FantasyPros ranking their upcoming schedule as the 11th-hardest for fantasy quarterbacks, Maye's rushing will be key if he wants to replicate his elite fantasy numbers. It's likely regression will hit, pushing him down from last year's QB2 finish into the top eight.”

“Drake Maye is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.”

“Drake Maye was one of the biggest steals in fantasy football last season, finishing as the QB2 despite getting drafted as the QB16 in the ADP, going undrafted in most 1QB leagues yet finishing inside the top four quarterbacks.”

“Drake Maye has looked the part ever since stepping in Week 6 of his rookie season. He then finished 2025 averaging 21.2 points per game. Maye also ranked in the top five of just about every efficiency metric tracked at Player Profiler, and finished No. 2 in the second-closest MVP vote to date.”

“Drake Maye finished Week 17 as the QB2.”

“Patriots VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said the team's top priority is to extend QB Drake Maye and CB Christian Gonzalez, adding that the team's free-agent spending over the past couple of seasons isn't a sustainable model for building.”

“It gives him a little bit of confidence knowing that he has someone who's had success throughout his career in the NFL doing something that Drake excels at.”

“QB Drake Maye has much more knowledge than he did heading into this offseason than he did last year. OC Josh McDaniels said, "This offseason is different than last. Last offseason, we were just getting to know the language and learning how to operate within a system of offensive football. This year, we're trying to take that and then go to the next phase of that, the next level of that, in his case which is obviously playing the position of quarterback."”

“After returning from a late-season knee injury, Campbell struggled mightily while protecting Drake Maye, culminating in the QB suffering a league-leading 21 sacks in the postseason.”

“McConkey's CTCH% dropped from 73% to 62% year-over-year, and that drop, combined with a lower YPC, made a substantial difference in his performance. Much of this can be attributed to the offensive line injuries and subsequent pocket pressure that QB Justin Herbert faced much of the season. Herbert was pressured on 45% of McConkey's targets, and his catchable targets dropped by 10 percentage points. Bringing back a fully healthy offensive line and drafting four additional linemen (including the #1 ranked Center in the class) should make a big difference for this offensive unit.”

“Despite a gaffe-riddled rookie year, QJ showed marginal development in his second season, and Ladd McConkey looked like one of the steals of the draft in 2024. Then Allen, who departed for a one-year sabbatical in Chicago in 2024, returned to Los Angeles for his swan song and mucked the whole thing up! Or did he? The narrative in the fantasy football community has been that Keenan Allen NERFed Ladd McConkey's 2025 numbers, but further analysis shows there were several other factors at play.”

“Ladd McConkey is being drafted just ahead of Josh Allen, who has a late-third-round ADP.”

“Jake Ciely's favorite wide receiver target closes the list. Although Ladd McConkey disappointed many fantasy managers last season, Ciely believes the market has overcorrected. With Mike McDaniel now running the Chargers offense, he expects McConkey to become the clear focal point of the passing game. McDaniel's offenses have consistently funneled targets to their top receiver, and Ciely believes McConkey is perfectly suited for that role thanks to his ability to create separation and generate yards after the catch. If the offense performs as expected, McConkey has a realistic path back into WR1 territory.”

“The biggest boost for McConkey is the arrival of Mike McDaniel as the Chargers' offensive coordinator. Last season, McConkey ran 90% of his routes with three receivers on the field, while just 10% came in 1-WR or 2-WR sets. Compare that to Jaylen Waddle last season under McDaniel, a similar player stylistically, who ran 54% of his routes in 3-WR sets and 46% in 1-WR or 2-WR sets.”

“With the departure of Allen and the addition of Mike McDaniel, there is reason to once again be excited about this offense. McConkey is by far the most talented and should rarely leave the field.”

“Despite the addition of Jim Harbaugh, McConkey's numbers were not dissimilar to those of his rookie season. However, he fell from 1,149 yards to 789 yards on only six fewer targets.”

“Ladd McConkey has a little bit working for and against him for everyone. Narratively-inclined folks have pointed to him as the 'next JSN.' Some data-inclined people still point to his strong college YPRR and elite year 1, while others view denigrate his total college production and poor year 2.”

“With Keenan Allen still unsigned and new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel arriving from Miami, it looks like it could be wheels up for the third-year receiver out of Georgia. All signs point to a big bounce-back year for McConkey in 2026.”

“The Chargers already have Ladd McConkey, Oronde Gadsden, Quentin Johnston, and David Njoku as pass catchers, leaving just not a lot of room for Thompson to get enough volume this season in what is likely to be a run-heavy Chargers offense with a crowded set of pass catchers.”

“McConkey took a step back last season, finishing as the WR38 in half-ppr leagues, but is excited to get involved in the new Chargers offense run by Mike McDaniel. He's currently being valued as a low-end WR2 in early best ball drafts.”

“Ladd McConkey revealed Tuesday that he strained his left hamstring in Phase 2 of the Chargers offseason program but expects to be ready for training camp in July. "There's no reason to rush it and really push it and then have another setback and then you bleed into training camp," he said.”