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Dan's top quarterback Week 6 fantasy pickups (2025). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 6 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB, and Superflex leagues.
Last week was a strong week for the quarterback position, even with injuries (Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Brock Purdy) and bye weeks (Caleb Williams and Jordan Love) taking some of the big names at the position off the slate.
Nine different quarterbacks scored at least 20.0 fantasy points. Six players had 25.0 or more. Four quarterbacks threw for over 340 passing yards, and seven quarterbacks threw three or more passing touchdowns (including three players with four).
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 6 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- 63% rostered
Stafford technically meets the criteria outlined in the opening of this article, so he receives the write-up for one more week.
Stafford is on an absolute roll the last two weeks as a fantasy quarterback. He finished as the QB2 in Week 4 (27.4) and followed it up with a QB6 performance in Week 5 (25.6).
TUTU FOR 38 YARDS!
SFvsLAR on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/fVgxVVZ6Tc— NFL (@NFL) October 3, 2025
Over the last two weeks, Stafford has averaged 44.0 pass attempts per game. He has back-to-back weeks with at least 375 yards and three touchdowns. The veteran quarterback has four straight games with at least two passing touchdowns.
Stafford has four straight games with at least 15.0 fantasy points scored. He is playing at an incredibly high level right now and faces a matchup against a banged-up Baltimore defense that is coming off a game where it allowed the Houston Texans to score 44 points and C.J. Stroud to pass for 244 yards with four touchdowns.
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks- 31% rostered
Shockingly, we got a shootout from Darnold and Baker Mayfield on Sunday. Darnold completed 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns during the game, registering an impressive 27.6 fantasy points. Unfortunately, his lone interception came at an inopportune time on a pass that deflected off a defensive lineman’s helmet and ultimately cost Seattle the game.
Tory Horton gives the @Seahawks the lead!
TBvsSEA on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/VPKbqmGv4r
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
The game was a culmination of all the positives we have seen from Darnold this season in a larger sample size. The veteran quarterback was once again efficient (82.4% completion percentage) and showed a willingness to attack down the field. Darnold has consistently gotten the ball to his playmakers throughout the year, but this was the first game that had a huge impact for fantasy.
Darnold has one good matchup (Jacksonville) and one bad matchup (Houston) remaining on his schedule before Seattle’s Week 8 bye. His consistency and efficiency won’t typically lead to great fantasy results, but if he can match up with a team that can push him (like Tampa Bay did), then he can provide QB1 production.
Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers- 4% rostered
Jones was back in the starting lineup in Week 5. And while the veteran quarterback got banged up during the game (keep an eye on that throughout the week), he also delivered another excellent fantasy performance.
Jones completed 33 of 49 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns on Thursday against the Rams, scoring 22.1 fantasy points. It was another game for Jones that showed that the coaching staff has complete faith in him to execute the offense at a high level.
Jones has now made three starts with the 49ers this year. In all three, he’s attempted at least 39 passes and had over 275 passing yards. He has six touchdowns and just one interception in his three games under center.
Most importantly, head coach Kyle Shanahan stated after the game that Purdy’s toe injury was considered “week-to-week,” putting his status in doubt for the foreseeable future. Jones is guaranteed at least one more start, but could be under center for multiple weeks in a 49ers offense that will gradually start getting its weapons back from injury.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns- 4% rostered
It is easy to glance at the box score and not be overly impressed by Gabriel’s first NFL start. Gabriel completed just 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns (plus two carries for five yards). His 16.1 fantasy points were fine, but nothing special.
But when you zoom out, you realize that this was an impressive performance. Gabriel, a 2025 third-round pick, made his first NFL start in London without his starting left tackle and a starting wide receiver (Cedric Tillman) against a Vikings defense that had allowed the third-fewest passing yards (485) and an expected points added (-48.4) that was over 20 points lower than the second-best team.
Based on the eye test, Gabriel understood where the ball needed to go and made sure to get the ball out on time to his playmakers (especially at the tight-end position). That is a great sign for a young quarterback making his first start against one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL.
a beauty of a drive!#MINvsCLE on NFL Network and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/dI3Vn8fzOG
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 5, 2025
On paper, things are going to get much easier over the next two weeks. Gabriel will face off against a talented but flawed Steelers defense in Week 6. Through the first four weeks (Pittsburgh had its bye in Week 5), the Steelers had allowed quarterbacks to complete 71.7% of their passes for 781 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions. They have allowed the fifth-highest explosive pass rate in the NFL this year (15.2%).
Gabriel likely doesn’t have the pure arm talent (or offensive environment) to be considered a top-12 option in fantasy. However, he is a fine streaming option in Week 6 (with Minnesota and Houston on bye) and with a Week 7 matchup against the Dolphins on the horizon (with Buffalo and Baltimore on bye).
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers- 19% rostered
Young did not pass the first test of fantasy-friendly defenses despite securing a win for the Carolina Panthers. Young completed just 19 of 30 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. The result was a paltry 12.0 fantasy points in what could have been a smash matchup.
It was Young’s second game with multiple passing touchdowns this year. Unfortunately, it was also the fourth time that he failed to pass for over 200 yards. Given the injuries at quarterback and bye weeks, you can do worse than Young at quarterback in Week 6 in a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys have been the best matchup to target for fantasy quarterbacks in 2025, giving Young another matchup that is in his favor. The first five games of this season suggest that Young isn’t going to be a pillar of anyone’s lineup in fantasy, but he has shown the ability to have ceiling-level performances (including a 21.3-point performance in Week 2 this season) over the last two years.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Matthew Stafford, Mac Jones, Dillon Gabriel, Sam Darnold, Bryce Young. 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 Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Matthew Stafford, Mac Jones, Dillon Gabriel, Sam Darnold, Bryce Young:
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