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Week 5 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
The bye weeks are here! As we plan for Week 5 of the fantasy football season, we will have more wrinkles than usual to factor into our lineup strategies and decisions.
For the first time this season, four teams will be like us, watching the Sunday action from the comforts of their homes. Two quarterbacks, Caleb Williams and Jordan Love, may have been your starting fantasy quarterback. It's time to find a replacement.
Are Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, or Carson Wentz worth adding off the waiver wire in Week 5? Here are the latest outlooks on each for fantasy football.
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Matthew Stafford Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickup
Rostered: 42% of Leagues
Baller Move: Consider in 12-14+ Team Leagues
The 37-year-old is still slinging. Matthew Stafford is one of two quarterbacks to rack up 1,100+ passing yards this season (Dak Prescott is the other) through four games. He's also tied for third in passing touchdowns (eight). With arguably the best wide receiver duo in football at his disposal, Stafford has crept into QB1 scoring.
An absolute DIME from Matthew Stafford!
📺 @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/7peV9WQkQi
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 28, 2025
Still, more than 100% of his fantasy points come from passing. Week 4 was the first game that he logged a run past the line of scrimmage. The rest were kneels or scrambles that went nowhere. He has -4 rushing yards on the season. At his age, with his injury history, running is the last thing Stafford wants to do. Bonus fantasy points aren't coming in that fashion.
That's what keeps Stafford from being a weekly QB1 and in the streaming category. The game script can massively impact his fantasy production.
Stafford draws division rival San Francisco on Thursday Night Football in Week 5. The 49ers are a top-five unit against fantasy football quarterbacks this year, and Stafford has a hit-and-miss history against the defense since joining the Rams.
Stafford can fill an emergency need, but he'll likely be ranked outside the top 12 this week.
Sam Darnold Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickup
Rostered: 21% of Leagues
Baller Move: Consider in All Leagues
Sam Darnold is proving the doubters wrong and playing at a high level without Kevin O'Connell mentoring him.
Darnold 🎯 JSN
The @seahawks looking to win it.
SEAvsAZ on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/mCvcq1TCRc— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2025
It hasn't always turned into fantasy football boom weeks: He's averaging 14 points per game and hasn't scored more than 18 in any game this season. However, the play has been consistent over the last three games, scoring at least 16 points in each contest.
Darnold faces the Tampa Bay defense in Week 5. The Buccaneers are a top-five rush defense, holding Bijan Robinson to 24 yards and Saquon Barkley to 43 so far this season. Seattle wants to lean on the ground game, but may need to shift more responsibilities to Darnold to win on Sunday.
The Seahawks have plenty of receiving weapons to get the job done, and Tampa Bay is managing multiple injuries in the secondary. Darnold is a high-floor waiver-wire add this week.
Carson Wentz Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickup
Rostered: 8% of Leagues
Baller Move: Only Roster in 2QB Leagues
The patchwork Minnesota offensive line couldn't protect Carson Wentz against Pittsburgh. Now, down possibly four starters, they have to hold up against the best defensive line in football, the Cleveland Browns.
Down big against the Steelers, Wentz attempted 46 passes, which resulted in 350 yards and two touchdowns. Busted coverage on a late scoring drive led to 94 extra yards and a touchdown. He also tossed two interceptions and nearly lost a fumble. Six sacks for the Steelers consistently put Minnesota behind the sticks and killed potential scoring drives.
The #Steelers communicate and cover well to give time for Nick Herbig to beat Christian Darrisaw and get a sack on 3rd down.
Notice Patrick Queen call the switch in the motion to Payton Wilson and how well the DBs are plastered downfield: pic.twitter.com/imbeInVk3r
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) September 29, 2025
Lamar Jackson is the only quarterback who has had success against the Cleveland defense. Wentz can't be trusted as a fantasy starter this week, then the Vikings have a bye week. When they return to action, J.J. McCarthy may be healthy enough to step back in under center.
Wentz doesn't need to be rostered outside of Superflex and 2QB leagues, and that may be a short-lived situation.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pickup off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pickup... all free! Make the right decisions.
2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus in on specific players - Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections and more.
Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2025. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and update it constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players that are ranked.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Matthew Stafford, Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz:
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