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Dan's top quarterback Week 9 fantasy pickups (2025). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 9 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB, and Superflex leagues.
Week 9 was not a banner week for fantasy quarterbacks. Just 10 players scored 20+ fantasy points. Only three had more than 25.0 points. The position struggled through injuries and a massive six teams on bye.
Four teams are on bye, three of which have fantasy-relevant quarterbacks. Fantasy managers who have tried to be patient with Lamar Jackson (hamstring), Kyler Murray (foot), and Brock Purdy (toe) will hope that their starters can return to the field next week. Still, there are plenty of teams that will need to dip into the waiver wire.
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 9 below. All roster percentages will be from Yahoo fantasy leagues.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals- 62% rostered
Two weeks of being inactive due to an injury, plus a bye week, have helped Murray fall below the 65% threshold required for this article. If he’s available in your league, he should be a priority add.
Murray was off to a respectable start in 2025, completing 68.3% of his passes for 962 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions in five games. More importantly, he was showing comfort as a runner again, racking up 29 carries for 173 yards and a touchdown.
The veteran quarterback had five straight games with at least 14.0 fantasy points but failed to score more than 19.0 points in any game this season. Murray was averaging 16.2 fantasy points per game in his first five weeks.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon has made it clear that Murray will be the team’s starting quarterback once he’s healthy. There is a very real chance that will happen in a Week 9 matchup against the best matchup against quarterbacks in fantasy this season, the Dallas Cowboys.
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals- 61% rostered
Week 8 was the third time this season that Joe Flacco had fewer than 45 pass attempts, and the second time he had fewer than 35 attempts. Still, Flacco was able to post a season-high 26.3 fantasy points against the Jets.
Joe Flacco to Tee Higgins 44-yard TD!
NYJvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/LvyYhM9lZC
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Flacco continued his streak of clean football with the Bengals, posting his third straight game with at least two touchdowns and zero interceptions. The veteran quarterback was able to get there in fantasy thanks to a tush push rushing touchdown.
The Bengals held a lead for most of the game, which capped Flacco’s overall attempts. In Week 9, the Bengals will face the Chicago Bears, who have the weapons to push the game script but have struggled in recent weeks. Flacco should once again be on the radar as a QB2 with a low-end QB1 ceiling.
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks- 36% rostered
Sam Darnold went into Seattle’s bye week on a down note, throwing for 213 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against the Houston Texans’ defense. His 9.6 fantasy points were the QB24 on the week.
Darnold to JSN for 41 yards!
SFvsSEA on FOXhttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/PhajQwtIbs
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
Before that game, Darnold had put together five straight games with at least 16.0 fantasy points. From Weeks 2 to 6, Darnold was the QB8 in points per game, averaging 19.8 points.
Darnold has sufficiently proven that his 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings was not a fluke, putting together a strong, efficient campaign (1,754 yards, 12 touchdowns, and four interceptions). The veteran quarterback will come out of his bye week with an excellent matchup against a Commanders secondary that has struggled to stop quarterbacks this season.
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars- 42% rostered
Many expected 2025 to be the season in which Trevor Lawrence finally took a step forward. The Jaguars made additions to the offensive line, traded up in the NFL Draft for a playmaking weapon at wide receiver (Travis Hunter), and added a top-of-the-line offensive mind at head coach (Liam Coen).
Instead, fantasy managers have gotten more inconsistency from the former first overall pick. The veteran quarterback had completed just 58.7% of his passes for 1,620 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions through Week 7. Thankfully, increased rushing production (30 attempts for 113 yards and two touchdowns) has helped him be a low-end QB1 (QB12).
The Jaguars had a bye in Week 8, giving them a chance to get the passing attack back on track through self-scouting. The Jaguars face the Raiders in Week 9, a good opportunity to show growth.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings- 23% rostered
After suggesting J.J. McCarthy as an add for the last few weeks, we finally know that he will return to the field in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions. McCarthy was uneven in his first two games of the season before getting injured, but he did have flashes in the midst of inconsistent play.
The second-year quarterback returns to an offense that has its full complement of pass catchers and an offensive line that is finally getting healthy. His Week 9 opponent, the Detroit Lions, is also coming off their bye week and has an offense that can put up massive numbers to force the Vikings into a negative game script.
If McCarthy can play within the offense and lean on his playmakers, then he can put up a strong fantasy performance without needing to be a superhero. Week 9 is set for him to have a big week in fantasy based on volume.
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints, 1% rostered
The Saints may have finally transitioned to 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough under center.
Most would admit that second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler played better than anybody expected. He completed 67.7% of his passes for 1,450 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions in his first seven games.
Unfortunately, he was too loose with the football, leading the team to just one win. He didn’t do enough to hold off Shough on a team that will have a high enough pick to take a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft as well.
Shough’s final stat line wasn’t great (56.7% completion percentage, 128 yards, and one interception) with missed throws, but that won’t matter much going forward. Shough is set to take over the starting quarterback role in New Orleans as the team tries to understand its future.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:
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2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Tyler Shough, J.J. McCarthy, Joe Flacco. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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.
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 updates them 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 who are ranked.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pick Up
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Tyler Shough, J.J. McCarthy, Joe Flacco:
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