Drake Maye vs Jayden Daniels: Who Should You Start?
Two quarterbacks who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. Drake Maye (New England Patriots) finished the 2025 season averaging 21.1 fantasy points per game in 17 games. Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) came in at 16.8 PPG over 7 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
Drake Maye carries a 4.3-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Drake Maye offers meaningful rushing upside with 450 yards on the ground in 2025, which separates his floor from a pocket passer like Jayden Daniels (1262 passing yards, 8 touchdowns). In games where the passing matchup looks ugly, that rushing production can be the entire difference on a start/sit call.
One thing to note: both players share a Week 14 bye. That means you need a backup plan at quarterback for that week, especially if one of these two is your starter.
