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Week 10 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Marcus Mariota in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
The quarterback position is ironically one of the most forgiving position in fantasy football in that you can draft a serious under-performer and still be fine. Many of the league's top-10 scoring QBs at the end of the season were unrostered at some point.
This has already been proven true this year, as New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is currently one of the NFL's best fantasy football QBs and he wasn't even drafted in most leagues. He's the fifth-highest scoring QB in fantasy football over the span of the games he's actually started in.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, and Washington Commanders signal-caller Marcus Mariota are three (currently) starting QBs that you might consider picking up, so let's dive into waiver wire outlooks for each!
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Sam Darnold Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 62% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in All Leagues
Darnold made a statement in Week 9, demolishing the vulnerable Washington Commanders secondary by completing 21 of his 24 passes for 330 yards, four touchdowns, and only one interception. He got the ball into the end zone twice to WR Tory Horton, once to TE Elijah Arroyo, and once to WR Cody White.
Darnold has had some consistency issues, but he's been an overall excellent QB. He now has six games with 16 or more PPR fantasy points. It's been the lack of depth of his WR room that's been an issue, which is why it would be nice if they'd stop giving so much playing time to aging wideout Cooper Kupp (heel, hamstring).
Every Sam Darnold pass attempt from the first half
(hint: they're all completions 👀) pic.twitter.com/usKWatD8ip
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2025
He's clearly playing at a high level in a well-schemed offense and appears to be getting more comfortable as the year goes on. The Seahawks also acquired deep threat Rashid Shaheed from New Orleans, adding another weapon to their pass-catching room.
He should be added in all leagues.
J.J. McCarthy Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 25% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
McCarthy's third game as as pro came against the Detroit Lions in Week 9. He wasn't particularly efficient and didn't pass for high volume, but he managed to help his team squeak out a win, and his stats weren't all that bad at the end of the day.
He completed 14 of 25 passes for 143 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and rushed nine times for 12 yards and another score. Minnesota's offensive line has been getting healthier, but they've still had struggles, and McCarthy was sacked five times, losing 27 yards.
This angle of JJ McCarthy’s rushing TD 🔥
🎥: @UKVikings via IG pic.twitter.com/7dj7KQT1MY
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) November 2, 2025
He should continue to improve as he develops. He missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, so he's understandably rusty. Doesn't help that an injured ankle kept him out of every other game since Week 2. He has plenty of rushing upside, which helps pad his scoring stats in fantasy football despite his low passing volume.
He's worth an add as your backup QB in 12-team leagues.
Marcus Mariota Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 10% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in 2QB/Superflex Leagues
Mariota will be the starter for the Commanders after Jayden Daniels (elbow) suffered a dislocated elbow in his team's blowout loss to the Seahawks. That doesn't mean Mariota should be started in 1QB leagues, though. Washington's offense is in shambles.
They have very little semblance of a run game, with rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt being a complete non-factor. Mariota does have some rushing upside, but without WR Terry McLaurin (quad), things could be pretty rough. The passing game is almost non-functional without him.
After review...
Mariota finds Terry McLaurin for the incredible toe-tap TD!WASvsKC on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/vJMwIneTed— NFL (@NFL) October 28, 2025
At age 32, he's still one of the better backups in the league. I don't know if I'd snag him just yet, though. When McLaurin comes back, Mariota has enough upside to be considered in 1QB leagues if you need help at the position and can't get other good players.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up 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...
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2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Marcus Mariota. 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.
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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 Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Marcus Mariota:
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