Five Biggest Questions:
1. Is Drake Maye a top-14 QB?
2. Will TreVeyon Henderson operate as a bell cow?
3. Is Stefon Diggs still a weekly fantasy starter?
4. Are Kyle Williams or DeMario Douglas draftable?
5. Is Hunter Henry or Austin Hooper draftable?
Head coach Jared Mayo didn't last long, and in fairness he didn't have enough time to clean up the mess of Bill Belichick's final three years, when (for example) all but one of his QB/RB/WR draft picks have (so far) turned out to be busts. Now Mike Vrabel is taking the helm of a franchise that's better positioned to help fantasy managers.
After all the recent upheaval, this team finally has what appears to be long-term starters at key offensive positions. 2024 rookie Drake Maye did the near-impossible, matching the hype while throwing primarily to guys who probably won't be in the league in 2-3 years. His QB14 ADP is two spots ahead of where he was 10 days agoPushing him into the top 12 might come at the expense of Bo Nix (QB10 ADP), Brock Purdy (QB11), and Caleb Williams (QB12). Even inching him up might displace one of my favorite preseason bargains, Dak Prescott (QB13 ADP). I view Maye as a decent streamer with (for now) a relatively low ceiling).
On the ground, maybe it's just me, but it's hard to reset my Patriot RB brain since Belichick's departure. The benchings after fumbles. The random touchdowns by fourth-stringers. It was enough to drive even the best fantasy managers a little nuts. Things should make more sense under Vrabel's leadership. The Pats drafted TreVeyon Henderson to eventually supplant Rhamondre Stevenson (RB39 ADP) atop the depth chart. As long as the rookie officially wins the starting job, he should make good on his RB22 ADP.
The receiving corps also got a huge boost, with Stefon Diggs and third-round rookie Kyle Williams pushing the briefly relevant Kayshon Boutte and journeyman Kendrick Bourne to the periphery. 2024 second-rounder JaLynn Polk looms, though it might not matter if New England opens the season with Diggs, Williams, and DeMario Douglas as the starters. Diggs is expected to be fully recovered from an ACL tear by August, and it's too soon to know how Williams will fare. Douglas's stock takes an obvious hit because of the added competition.
Complicating things a bit more is the return of Hunter Henry (TE20) and afterthought Austin Hooper (TE55). I don't understand this wide TE disparity, and I probably don't need to understand it. In addition to a bolstered backfield, Maye will have five capable pairs of hands to target. The declining Diggs seems like a decent get at his WR42 ADP. The value gap between Williams (WR60) and Douglas (WR72) continues to widen. if Williams shows well in August, his ADP probably will climb into the top 50.
But I don't see the value in drafting Henry (or of course Hooper). Henry led all Patriots with 97 targets last year. That netted him the 15th most TE points per game. The targets will dip, and with it, any hope of semi-consistent streaming production.
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