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Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Daniel Jones, Jake Browning, and Russell Wilson in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
The quarterback position is getting hit hard by the injury bug early this season.
Joe Burrow (toe), J.J. McCarthy (ankle), Justin Fields (head), Jayden Daniels (knee), and Brock Purdy (toe/shoulder) are either guaranteed or at significant risk of missing starts. Fantasy managers are scouring the waiver wire for a plug-and-play replacement.
Below, we analyze three candidates, Daniel Jones, Jake Browning, and Russell Wilson, to determine if fantasy managers should file a waiver claim for them this week.
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Daniel Jones Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickup
Rostered: 18% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in Most Leagues
Is Jones the latest quarterback to reinvent his career after leaving New York? Geno Smith and Sam Darnold went from second-string afterthoughts to starting quarterbacks for another franchise. Jones is following a similar path. It's a lot like Baker Mayfield, as well. Spend some time in an offense designed by Sean McVay and/or Kevin O'Connell and flourish.
Nobody believed the first test for Jones. The Miami Dolphins' defense may be the worst in the league. They haven't forced a turnover in two games, and opposing teams have brought out the punt team just twice. The second test is turning doubters into believers.
Jones picked apart the Denver Broncos, widely regarded as one of the best defenses in football. The 28-year-old threw for 316 yards, scored one touchdown through the air and a second on the ground. He has three rushing scores in two games and two top-10 fantasy football finishes.
The @Colts are the first team in the Super Bowl era to not punt in either of their first two games in a season 🤯#ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/SGwXuqsNpu
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 14, 2025
I understand the skepticism. We side-eyed early-season production from Darnold last season (he finished as the QB9). Smith's first season as Seattle's starter? He was QB5! We don't project it that way, but it does happen. Jones also brings something those former examples don't. He's a better runner than his Big Apple lepers, an automatic bonus for fantasy football.
Both of his boom games have been on Indianapolis turf. We'll see what happens when Jones takes to the road, but there aren't any terribly worrisome matchups for the next month. Unless you roster one of the healthy studs (Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson) or the upstart Justin Herbert, Jones is at least worth a glance.
With the state of the quarterback landscape, there are far worse options than having the 2025 version of Jones in your starting lineup.
Jake Browning Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickup
Rostered: 1% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in Deeper Leagues / All Superflex (Two-QB) Leagues
Browning may not be an elite quarterback, but he's in an excellent situation.
Browning has seven NFL starts (and we'll throw in last week since he played over two-thirds of the game) to break down. In those eight games, he's tossed 10 interceptions. But, with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins down there somewhere, he's also scored 19 or more fantasy points in six of those contests. That's a reliable streaming quarterback and a waiver wire gold mine in superflex and two-QB leagues.
Jake Browning’s mindset on the game-winning drive? “Be delusional.”
3 INTs & closes the game 9/10 passing on the game-winning drive. pic.twitter.com/xtJJwXz4pt
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) September 14, 2025
The Cincinnati defense isn't changing, and it'll remain a bottom-tier unit moving forward. It was a contributing factor to why the fantasy community loved Chase Brown, Higgins, and Burrow this season (Chase was a free square). Browning will make the mistakes a backup quarterback makes. However, he'll need to throw a ton to keep pace with opponents, and he has the weapons to make game-changing plays when the ball is in their hands.
In standard redraft leagues, Browning is a streaming quarterback. Three of the next four matchups (Minnesota, Denver, and Green Bay) are less than ideal. Games against the Lions and Steelers? Sure, he'll be in the streaming conversation.
He's a must-add in superflex and two-QB leagues, especially for Burrow managers. With Burrow expected to miss at least the next three months, Browning will serve as the QB1 for the foreseeable future. And, as we said, it's been more good than bad.
Russell Wilson Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickup
Rostered: 5% of Leagues
Baller Move: Desperation Streamer / Leave on Waivers
At the ripe age of 36, Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards - the second-highest mark of his career - in a rare moment of fantasy football excellence since he became a journeyman quarterback in the twilight of his career. But the question remains, how long will the 10-time Pro Bowler hold off first-round pick Jaxson Dart?
Brian Daboll dabbled in utilizing the rookie during the Week 2 loss to the Cowboys. Dart played three offensive snaps and rushed the ball once for -3 yards. It's only a matter of time before the future takes over the starting job, especially with the Giants' upcoming schedule.
They host a desperate 0-2 Chiefs team in Week 3 before the Los Angeles Chargers come to visit in Week 4. A 0-4 start is more likely than not. That's part of the reason why Wilson is likely a one-week wonder.
Against a good defense, the Washington Commanders, he was terrible (QB24). The Dallas Cowboys were the worst defense against fantasy football quarterbacks in 2024. They've since traded their best pass rusher, Micah Parsons, and All-Pro cornerback Daron Bland is sidelined with a foot injury. There was no resistance against Wilson's patented moon balls.
RUSSELL WILSON MOON BALL TO Malik Nabers.
GIANTS LEAD. pic.twitter.com/Chl9HdjldL
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Don't chase the points here. The upcoming schedule and constant threat of a mid-game benching should be enough to convince you to keep Wilson on the waiver wire except for much deeper leagues and desperation streamers.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pickup 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...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Daniel Jones, Jake Browning, and Russell Wilson. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pickup... all free! Make the right decisions.
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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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Daniel Jones, Jake Browning, Russell Wilson:
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