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Dan's top quarterback Week 5 fantasy pickups (2025). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 5 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB and superflex leagues.
Week 4 was not a banner week for the quarterback position in fantasy football. Only five quarterbacks scored more than 20.0 fantasy points on the week, headlined by Matthew Stafford (27.4) and Patrick Mahomes (27.3). They were also the only two quarterbacks to have more than two passing touchdowns.
Week 5 is the beginning of bye weeks, meaning fantasy managers will need to be more active on the waiver wire. Unfortunately, that means that fantasy managers who roster Michael Penix Jr., Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, and Aaron Rodgers will need a one-week streaming option.
In this article, I will focus on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered). Let’s look at who you should consider picking up for Week 3 below. All roster percentages will be from Yahoo fantasy leagues.
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams- 42% rostered
Matthew Stafford continues to produce at a high level despite missing most of the summer due to a back injury. Week 4 was Stafford’s best game of the season, racking up 375 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions against the Indianapolis Colts.
Rams put six on the board with a Stafford to Davante Adams TD to cap off a 96-yard drive
INDvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/RwfRDvoIjF
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
Stafford was the QB2 in fantasy after Sunday’s games with 27.4 points. Over the last three games, the veteran quarterback has scored at least 15.0 fantasy points thanks to multiple passing touchdowns. He’s also had at least 33 attempts during that time, with a season-high 41 attempts against Indianapolis.
The Rams have three good matchups on the horizon in the 49ers (without Nick Bosa), Baltimore, and Jacksonville. Depending on your team’s bye situation, Stafford is a player you can add to your lineup and stream at any point in those three weeks. The Rams offense is at its best when Stafford is moving the ball through the air.
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants- 23% rostered
Jaxson Dart’s first start in the NFL was a resounding success. Dart completed 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown and added 10 rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Most importantly, Dart secured a victory over the previously undefeated Los Angeles Chargers.
Every Jaxson Dart Throw/Run in Debut v. Chargers
13/20 111 yards 1 TD 0 INT
10 runs 54 yards 1 TD
5 Sacks pic.twitter.com/DSiRlhLVwa— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) September 28, 2025
The 2025 first-round pick was used heavily as a runner on designed rushes, which is fantastic for his future fantasy value. However, Dart was banged up during the game and took five sacks, some of which were on him for holding the ball too long in the pocket.
One of the key reasons to be optimistic about Dart was the presence of Malik Nabers in the passing game. Unfortunately, Nabers was lost due to a presumed torn ACL, leaving the rookie without his best pass-catching weapon. It was encouraging that Dart was able to still put together over 19.0 fantasy points against a strong defense without him.
The loss of Nabers is significant, but the Giants do still have intriguing pass-catching options in Wan'Dale Robinson and Theo Johnson. Players like Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt have the speed to break big plays down the field. Those pieces, combined with Dart’s rushing ability, make him a high-end QB2 going forward.
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks- 21% rostered
Sam Darnold continues to be a steady force at the quarterback position in fantasy. Darold posted his third straight week with at least 15 fantasy points, including two consecutive 16.0+ performances.
Darnold hasn’t flashed a very high ceiling (in both real life and fantasy), but has been an effective and efficient quarterback with the Seahawks this season. Darnold has just one game with more than 26 pass attempts this season, yet he has surpassed 200 passing yards in three consecutive games. He’s also had zero interceptions in three of four games this year.
The veteran quarterback has demonstrated that his improved play in 2024 was no fluke on a new team. Darnold is completing 70% of his passes in a new offensive scheme. The only thing holding him back is the lack of pure passing volume this season.
During bye weeks, the goal is to find a quarterback who can provide some, if not all, of your typical quarterback’s fantasy production. Darnold has proven to be that this season. Over the next three weeks, the Seahawks will have matchups against the Buccaneers, Jaguars, and Texans. Two of those matchups are considered positive for quarterback fantasy production.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints- 3% rostered
The Saints' offense is far from good. But they do follow two very important rules for fantasy production: run a lot of plays and do it quickly. The Saints are currently third in total offensive plays per game (129.7) and first in seconds per play (25.6).
Nobody will confuse Spencer Rattler with a top-end quarterback, but he has also done enough to avoid being benched for 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough. In four games, Rattler has thrown for 639 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He also has 16 carries for 53 yards, with at least four carries in three of four games this season.
The fantasy production has been far from stellar, with just one game over 14.0 fantasy points, but the passing volume (at least 34 carries in three of four games) offsets that to a degree. It also helps that Rattler is surrounded by a cast of strong receiving weapons in Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson, and Alvin Kamara.
New Orleans has matchups against the Giants, Patriots, Bears, Buccaneers, Rams, and Panthers on the horizon before the Saints' Week 11 bye. There is some risk to his long-term job security, given that the Saints used a second-round pick on Shough and Rattler has never won an NFL start. But if he continues to execute the offense and lean on his playmakers, he should be on the field.
Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns- 1% rostered
The Cleveland Browns are as bad as expected. The team snuck a Week 3 victory over the Packers somehow, but the results have been far from good. Cleveland has yet to score more than 17 points in a game this season. They have two games with 13 points or fewer.
The hope coming into the season for fantasy was that Joe Flacco would be able to elevate pieces of Cleveland’s passing attack through sheer volume. On one hand, Flacco has attempted at least 34 passes every game (including back-to-back 45 attempt games to start the season). Unfortunately, the results have been quite poor.
Flacco has just one game (Week 1) with over 200 passing yards this season. The veteran quarterback has at least one interception in every game (including two in Weeks 1 and 4) and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Week 2. He has three straight games with fewer than 10.0 fantasy points.
At some point, the Browns need to explore their quarterbacks of the future. It is unlikely that we see that in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings, but a change would make sense after that. From Weeks 6 to 8, the Browns have matchups against the Steelers, Dolphins, and Patriots. None of those defenses has been consistently good against the pass this season.
If the Browns do choose to move on from Flacco, rookie Dillon Gabriel would likely be the first one to get a shot. Gabriel played three snaps against the Lions in Week 3 and was consistently mentioned as the QB2 throughout training camp. Gabriel completed 67.6% of his passes for 272 yards and a touchdown (with one interception) in preseason action this summer.
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