When it comes to dynasty fantasy football draft prep and advice, the offseason can be one of the most exciting times of the entire season, especially for those perpetual rebuilders in your league (don’t be them). The problem can be keeping up with all of the changes in rosters across the league. Let’s take a look at the AFC East Dynasty Draft Primer.
Luckily, the FantasyPros team is here to help with their dynasty draft advice, diving into each division and telling you exactly which players you should not only keep an eye on but should be looking to acquire in your dynasty leagues as you prepare for your drafts.
- Dynasty Draft Primers: AFC North
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Dynasty Draft Advice
We dive into the AFC East division and examine the dynasty draft outlook for each team. Let’s get into it.
New England Patriots
Names to Know
- QB: Drake Maye
- RB: Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson
- WR: DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker
- TE: Hunter Henry, Jaheim Bell
The Patriots say goodbye to Bill Belichick and enter a new era of New England football. After finishing last season 4-13, one thing became crystal clear: Mac Jones needed to go. Luckily for the Patriots, they were able to land Drake Maye as the third pick in the NFL Draft. Maye has some dangerous and foolish gunslinger moments, but with that comes some of the most tantalizing upside we have seen in a quarterback prospect in some time. He is my QB2 of the 2024 class and currently my dynasty QB13.
In many rookie drafts, Maye is falling as far as 1.08 in SuperFlex (SF) drafts, and you should capitalize on that kind of value everywhere you can.
Now, let’s talk about skill players. The Patriots lack superstars, but they do have some quality starters and welcome a couple of rookies who are poised to make a significant impact as early as week one. The running back room has two names of note: Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. Stevenson had a down year in 2023 as he battled injury and became the focus for opposing defenses. 2024 should relieve some of that pressure with Drake Maye at the helm and some intriguing pass catchers, but one thing we may see less of is his receiving work.
Gibson has never been used the right way in Washington, but he is a weapon as a receiver out of the backfield, and he looks to fill that role in New England. If Gibson does step into this role, we could see Stevenson, who has averaged 4.8 targets per game over the last two seasons, drop to around three targets per game. That might not seem like a big difference, but it makes a season total of 82 targets drop to only 51. That would bring him down to my RB17 in dynasty leagues. Gibson is more of a vital handcuff at this point in his career as my RB50.
The Patriots’ pass catchers present a similar situation regarding how they rank for dynasty and the value you should be looking to invest in them. The names you will recognize coming back for the 2024 campaign are Hunter Henry and Demario Douglas. For dynasty purposes, moving on from Hunter Henry is safe unless you have a very deep bench. He currently ranks outside my top 32 TEs (37). He could also cede some playing time to rookie Jaheim Bell, an unrefined prospect with good athleticism and the traits to win at the next level.
Demario Douglas, on the other hand, provides an interesting evaluation. He doesn’t profile as a WR1 in the NFL, but he may be asked to fill that role early in the season. Douglas sits as my WR55 in my dynasty rankings. He may see a small spike in value in the first few weeks of the season while Javon Baker and Ja’Lynn Polk acclimate to the NFL game. If and when that happens, you should be looking to trade Douglas away to capitalize on the jump. Baker and Polk, in that order, are going to eventually be the top pass catchers for Drake Maye and Co., and any of your league mates who don’t know that yet should be trade partners for you before the end of week two.
Both are good route runners with frames that should hold up well in the NFL. Not only that, but they also have a skill set that matches their rookie signal-caller well. It may be a bit of a slow burn to get them adjusted to the Patriot’s scheme, but both present tremendous value in rookie drafts and will fight to lead this team in targets this year. Javon Baker is my sleeper pick for this season, and New England fans and fantasy managers everywhere should be going out of their way to acquire them where they can.
Dynasty Draft Advice
- Fitz’s Dynasty Draft Primers
Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
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