Who Should I Start? Joe Burrow or Drake Maye

Wednesday, July 23, 10:52 AM

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that quarterback Joe Burrow will play more this preseason than ever before as the team looks to get off to a faster start than in years past. Burrow played sparingly last year, going 5-for-7 for 51 yards and one touchdown in his first action in the preseason since 2021. The Bengals got off to a slow start in 2024 that they could never recover from, so they're hoping to avoid that same situation in 2025 and come out firing in Week 1. The 28-year-old former first overall pick was excellent last year, leading the league in passing yards (4,918), completions (460), pass attempts (652), yards per game (289.3) and touchdowns (43) in 17 starts. It was a nice rebound from his injury-shortened 2023 campaign and a reminder that he's a QB1 in fantasy with perhaps the best receiving duo in the league in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Sunday, July 27, 11:22 AM

New England Patriots second-year quarterback Drake Maye notably shared that one of his top goals in 2025 is to potentially not run as much as he did in his rookie season, when he rushed for 421 yards on 54 carries for 7.8 yards per tote, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. "Remaining a passer longer when I scramble, I think that's big," Maye said. "I feel like I had times last year where I had some guys deep that I may have missed them or took off running instead." It's not exactly what fantasy managers want to hear. The 22-year-old didn't have a lot to work with in the passing game in his first year in the NFL. The Patriots have given him more weapons this year, mainly with WR1 Stefon Diggs, which could make up for fewer runs from the second-year signal-caller. Fantasy managers should target Maye as a midrange QB2 this year.