ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports one of Drake Maye’s “top goals this season is to potentially not run as much.”
On one hand, this sounds like bad news for fantasy managers, as Maye’s 54-421-2 rushing line from last season provided some nice cushion for a fantasy floor that looked questionable at times due to the team’s poor offensive play. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that PFF credits Maye with 45 scrambles last season, meaning there’s not much to be cut down on as far as designed runs are concerned. Maye said of his offseason goal that he’s focusing on “remaining a passer longer” while scrambling, and points out that he missed some receivers downfield last season when instead opting to run. Whether or not he can change these instinctual parts of his game will be something to watch for when the season officially ramps up, but any noticeable decline in rushing will undoubtedly impact Maye’s 2025 fantasy outlook. For now, Maye profiles as a mid QB2 who will hopefully have more opportunities for high-end weeks in an offense that’s expected to look better than it did in 2024.