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Dan's top quarterback Week 8 fantasy pickups (2025). The best QB fantasy waiver wire pickups to add and Week 8 QB streamers for 1QB, 2QB, and Superflex leagues.
Week 8 is our first “Byemageddon” situation in fantasy football in 2025. Six teams will be on bye, considerably thinning out the quarterback position in fantasy. Add in some potential injuries and a benching, and things will be ugly at the quarterback position in Week 8.
Thankfully, there are still some good options on the waiver wire, especially in a situation where all hands are on deck to field a full starting lineup. There are also some players who will have multi-week appeal, considering there will be another four teams on bye in Week 9.
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.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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- FLEX fantasy football rankings
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- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Single-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants - 42% rostered
It didn’t take long for us to arrive at a place where Jaxson Dart needs to be rostered in all formats. Dart continues to put up strong fantasy production each week, regardless of his matchup, thanks to his ability to attack defenses down the field, combined with the Giants’ willingness to utilize him as a rusher.
DART TO BELLINGER. 44-YARD TD!
NYGvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/FqW9r7hKju
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
Dart had his best fantasy performance in Week 7 against arguably the best defense in the NFL, scoring 32.4 fantasy points thanks to a combination of passing (283 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception) and rushing (five carries for 11 yards and a touchdown).
The rookie quarterback has been able to be a consistent producer in fantasy football despite losing his best weapon, Malik Nabers (knee), in his first start. Over the last four games, Dart has seven passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He has three games with at least 50 rushing yards (two of which also had a touchdown) and an additional game with a rushing score.
Since being elevated to the starting role, Dart is averaging 21.8 points per game in fantasy. He has matchups against the Eagles (he scored 23.6 in their first matchup), the 49ers, and the Bears over the next three weeks, giving him multi-week appeal.
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons - 24% rostered
Michael Penix Jr. has had some highs and lows in his first season as a full-time starter. Penix has put together two games with 18.0 or more fantasy points, but also has two games with fewer than six fantasy points scored.
Despite the inconsistencies, Penix is a must-start in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins. From Weeks 1-6, the Dolphins gave up an average of 25.3 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position.
They had their best performance of the season in Week 7 against Dillon Gabriel (5.8 points), but that is more of an indictment of Cleveland’s passing attack than Miami’s defense.
Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers- 28% rostered
The 2025 version of Aaron Rodgers is a far cry from the MVP-level quarterback of his prime, but he has still been usable for fantasy. Rodgers has four games with multiple passing touchdowns this season, including two games with four. He scored over 22.0 fantasy points in both of those games.
AARON RODGERS YOU'RE KIDDING.
68-YARD TD TO FREIERMUTH FOR THE LEAD.
PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/G657L0t6MG— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025
Rodgers has been playing his best football since the Steelers’ Week 5 bye. The veteran quarterback is completing 68.8% of his passes while throwing for 484 yards and six touchdowns and zero interceptions. That has helped him score at least 17.0 fantasy points per game in the last two weeks.
Expect Rodgers to continue to throw the ball at a high level in Week 8 when he matches up with the Green Bay Packers. The Packers have an offense that can force the Steelers to pass the ball, but Rodgers will also have extra motivation in a revenge matchup for his former team.
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals - 11% rostered
Joe Flacco’s strong start with the Cincinnati Bengals continued in the team’s upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7. Flacco completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Since joining the Bengals, the veteran quarterback is averaging 46 passing attempts and has thrown for 561 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions.
Look at Flacco, man. pic.twitter.com/2k3KTryez9
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025
Flacco has back-to-back weeks with 18.0+ fantasy points since being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals despite playing behind a porous offensive line against two teams with strong pass rushes (Green Bay and Pittsburgh). Of course, it certainly helps when all you have to do is get the ball to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the perimeter.
More importantly, the Bengals have an abysmal defense that opposing offenses have had no problem exploiting consistently all year. Flacco will continue to throw the football because the Bengals will need to keep pace with offenses, regardless of who they have under center.
The Bengals have two excellent quarterback matchups before their Week 10 bye against the Jets and Bears. Flacco will be fantasy relevant, especially with 10 teams on bye the next two weeks.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Pickups and Stashes
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings - 26% rostered
J.J. McCarthy wasn’t able to make it back to the field after Minnesota’s bye week, but he is close. The second-year quarterback was listed as the team’s emergency third quarterback on Sunday, meaning the team would have at least been comfortable with him in a worst-case scenario situation.
Carson Wentz drew another start in Week 7 against the Eagles, but once again struggled with consistency. Wentz completed just 61.9% of his passes for 313 yards and two interceptions in a loss to Philadelphia.
The veteran quarterback has now made four starts this season, completing 66% of his throws for 1,072 yards and five touchdowns with four interceptions. He hasn’t done anything to wrest the job from McCarthy. McCarthy will be the starter once he returns to the field.
Minnesota needs to see McCarthy under center and get their 2024 first-round pick experience. Whether he is healthy enough to start in Week 8 against the Chargers or Week 9 against the Lions, we are not far from him being back. If he’s available in your fantasy league, he is worth rostering with matchups against Detroit, Baltimore, and Chicago from Weeks 9 to 11.
Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders - 1% rostered
Jayden Daniels suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys that will require an MRI on Monday. The fact that Daniels left the game in the third quarter and was quickly ruled out does not inspire much confidence in his availability in Week 8, and possibly longer.
If Daniels is forced to miss time, then Marcus Mariota would once again be the starter for the Commanders. Mariota made two starts for Washington earlier this season, posting back-to-back games with 16.0+ fantasy points against the Raiders and Falcons.
Mariota could be a solid contributor in fantasy, especially if wide receivers Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) and Deebo Samuel Sr. (heel) are able to return from the injuries that kept them out action in Week 7.
It is hard to put Mariota much higher on this list because we don’t have clarity on the severity of Daniels’s injury, but if he is out, Mariota has shown the ability to execute Washington’s offense at a high level over the last two seasons.
Tyrod Taylor, New York Jets - <1% rostered
Last week, New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn criticized a reporter who asked him if Justin Fields was secure as the Jets' starting quarterback after Fields had -10 net passing yards against the Denver Broncos. That vote of confidence for Fields didn’t last long after the quarterback was benched after another subpar effort against the Panthers in Week 7.
After the game, Glenn did not commit to a starting quarterback for Week 8’s matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. There is a chance that the team gives Fields one more chance to show positive momentum in an easy matchup against the Bengals before the team’s Week 9 bye. However, that is far from certain.
Tyrod Taylor is worth grabbing and stashing with so many bye weeks on the horizon. Taylor has made one start this season, throwing for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception (plus eight carries for 48 yards) against the Buccaneers in Week 3.
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 - Jaxson Dart, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Michael Penix, Marcus Mariota, Tyrod Taylor. 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!
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