Top Week 9 Quarterback Pickups - Best Fantasy QB Adds, Streamers Include Bo Nix, Kirk Cousins, Malik Willis, and more

November 2, 2026

Dan's top quarterback Week 9 fantasy pickups (2026). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 9 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB and superflex leagues.

Week 8 had some truly impressive quarterback performances. Whether it was Joe Burrow (462 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions) and Cam Ward (304 yards and two touchdowns) dueling it out in a shootout or Kirk Cousins (247 yards, three passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown) putting up another big week, quarterbacks once again produced.

That said, it was also another week of disappointments as well. Lamar Jackson returned and played just one snap before suffering a potential season-ending injury. Jacoby Brissett was also benched, and Daniel Jones may be on his way to that same outcome as well.

Thankfully, we get a small reprieve from bye weeks with just two teams (Pittsburgh and Tennessee) out of action. In this article, I will be focusing on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).

Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Yahoo: 65% rostered

Starting Bo Nix in fantasy has been a losing proposition for most of the 2026 season. Nix has as many games with fewer than 10.0 fantasy points as he does games with over 13.0 fantasy points (four). He has shown the ability to provide league-winning scoring (24.1 points in Week 3 and 30.1 points in Week 7), but those performances are few and far between.

Week 8 started out as another bad week for the Broncos’ offense, but the team found their footing in the second half. That includes Nix, who had single-digit fantasy points in the first two quarters before finishing with 19.2 points by the end of the game thanks to 222 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Nix is a player worth taking a shot on in Week 9 with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers on the horizon. The Panthers were down their top three cornerbacks going into Thursday’s matchup against the Packers and lost rookie Will Lee in the contest.

The Panthers may get some of that talent back, but their top corners (Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson) are on the injured reserve and will miss this game. If anything can get the Broncos back on track, it could be a matchup against a defense with significant injuries in the secondary.

Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Yahoo: 41% rostered

We won’t know how Sam Darnold’s Week 8 performance will stack up to some of the other names on this list until later tonight, but his performance tonight also doesn’t have much bearing on him being a strong streaming option at quarterback in the coming weeks.

Darnold has struggled to replicate his strong 2025 season in Seattle with a new offensive coordinator, but his connection with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba remains undeniable. Darnold has thrown for 535 yards over his last two weeks (284 to Smith-Njigba), but has just one touchdown and three interceptions to show for it.

The veteran quarterback has a friendly matchup tonight against the Bears (that won’t help fantasy managers much), but also has several fantasy-friendly quarterback matchups on the horizon against the Cardinals (Week 9), Raiders (Week 10), Cowboys (Week 13), Giants (Week 14) and Eagles (Week 15).

Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins

Yahoo: 20% rostered

From a fantasy perspective, Malik Willis’s performance against the New England Patriots in Week 8 was unremarkable. The veteran quarterback had 14.6 fantasy points, completing 65.6% of his passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also had a season-low one carry for two yards.

Still, it was the third straight game where Willis had at least 14.0 fantasy points and the fifth time he hit that mark this season. More importantly, it was encouraging he was able to produce that fantasy stat line despite a lack of rushing production.

Things will get better for Willis and the Dolphins’ offense starting in Week 9 with a matchup against the Detroit Lions. From there, the Dolphins will face off against the Colts (Week 10), Bills (Week 11), Jets (Week 12), Broncos (Week 13), and Bears (Week 14).

There are several defenses in there that give up plenty of points against quarterbacks.

Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders

Yahoo: 56% rostered

There were initially reports that the Raiders could start looking to get 2026 first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza a look under center during a four-game losing streak. As the week went on, reporters clarified that the Raiders felt that Cousins’ play wasn’t the source of the team’s issues and that the Raiders were comfortable with him under center until the team was eliminated from playoff contention.

Cousins backed that report up with another stellar performance against the Jets in Week 8, leading the team to their first victory since Week 3. Cousins was efficient as a passer, completing 17 of 22 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns and zero interceptions while adding three carries for three yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Kirk Cousins has the Raiders back on top in a high-scoring game

LVvsNYJ on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/jQI5vkJ8Xb

— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

It was a season-high 27.6 fantasy-point performance for Cousins and the sixth time in seven games where he’s scored at least 20.0 fantasy points. Cousins has thrown for multiple touchdowns in seven games this season and four games with three touchdowns thrown (just one since Week 3).

The veteran quarterback remains a locked-in fantasy starter with the Raiders, even with difficult matchups on the horizon against the 49ers, Seahawks, Broncos, and Browns in the four weeks leading to the Raiders' Week 13 bye.

Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes

J.J. McCarthy, New York Giants

Yahoo: 9% rostered

J.J. McCarthy led the New York Giants to a 27-21 win over the Houston Texans in Week 7 before heading into the team’s bye week. McCarthy was efficient in the game (20 of 28 passing for 252 yards), but his lack of touchdowns led to a middling 10.1 fantasy point performance.

New York had an opportunity to self-scout their offense during their bye week and find ways to bring out the best in McCarthy with Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely, which means we could continue to see growth from the young quarterback.

McCarthy has multi-week fantasy appeal over the next two weeks with matchups against the Eagles and Commanders, but has a very difficult stretch of games after that. He’s worth streaming the next two weeks until we see how the offense looks with him under center.

Tanner McKee, Philadelphia Eagles

Yahoo: 6% rostered

Jalen Hurts isn’t expected to return to the field in 2026. That leaves veteran backup Tanner McKee as the team’s starter for the remainder of the season.

By no means should we expect the same fantasy production from McKee that we have become used to from Hurts. McKee isn’t a rusher as a quarterback; he’s navigating through change in the offensive line, and the offense is battling injuries at wide receiver and running back.

However, he can overcome those limitations thanks to a strong run of defenses for fantasy quarterbacks. The Eagles face off against the Giants before their Week 10 bye, and then have fantasy-friendly matchups against the Cowboys in Week 12, Cardinals in Week 13, and Colts in Week 14.

The Eagles pass catchers should continue to get healthy (especially with an upcoming bye week), making McKee an intriguing streaming option at quarterback in the coming weeks.

Gardner Minshew II, Arizona Cardinals

Yahoo: <1% rostered

Jacoby Brissett’s struggles against the Dallas Cowboys’ defense led to his benching in Week 8. Brissett was replaced by Gardner Minshew in the game, and the offense immediately found a spark.

Minshew led the offense to an overtime victory over the Cowboys,  completing 17 of 23 passes for 188 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. His 19.5 fantasy points were the seventh most of any quarterback who played on Thursday night or the 1 pm window on Monday.

MINSHEW MAGIC OH MY! https://t.co/KCtTmz4Av4

— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

There’s no reason to believe that Minshew is a long-term starter, as the Cardinals have indicated they want to give 2026 third-round rookie Carson Beck an opportunity this season. But Week 8 showed that he can operate the offense and get Arizona’s primary pass catchers, Trey McBride and Michael Wilson, going in the passing attack.

Anthony Richardson Sr., Indianapolis Colts

Yahoo: <1% rostered

Something has to change in Indianapolis. The Colts have already traded left guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. Running back Jonathan Taylor and wide receiver Josh Downs are expected to be next, though nothing is guaranteed.

Beyond that, Daniel Jones continues to struggle returning from the Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season. Jones has just two games this season with more than 250 passing yards. He has more games with multiple interceptions thrown (2) than games with multiple passing touchdowns (zero). He’s yet to break 14.0 fantasy points in a single week.

At some point, it makes sense for the Colts to see if one of their backup quarterbacks can provide a spark to the offense. Veteran Anthony Richardson won the backup job in training camp and would likely get the first chance.

Richardson has never been good at the NFL level, but he has a big arm and the rushing upside we covet in fantasy football. He’s worth a speculative add now in case the team decides to see if he can salvage a lost season in 2026.

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