C.J. Stroud is a great pickup: Stroud offers the rare combination of being the most accomplished quarterback available, coming off a great game and having a favorable short-term schedule.
Running backs returning from injured reserve are top options:Jordan Mason and Jonah Coleman have a good chance of returning from injured reserve this week. Both rank among the top short- and long-term options at the position among available players.
Every player below — and plenty more — can be found in the new PFF Waiver Wire Tool, which turns the analysis from this article into waiver-wire recommendations tailored to your specific league.
If you sync your Sleeper, Yahoo! or ESPN league, any player already rostered will disappear from the player pool, so you see only the players you can actually add. If you haven't synced your league, you can filter by roster percentage to cut players who won't be sitting on your wire anyway.
From there, you can then narrow by position, by matchup or by PFF Tags like Great Matchup, Season-long and Handcuff. Click any player for the analysis you'll read below, plus matchup data, recent stats and a look at his upcoming schedule.
Synced leagues also get the Waiver Cheat Sheet, which puts your roster side by side with everything available in either weekly or rest-of-season order. If a player in yellow ranks above someone you planned to start, that's your move. The tool refreshes early every Monday and updates throughout the week as players get scooped up and injuries create new options. Try it today!
Jump to a position group:
Quarterback
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (Rostered in 43.6% of ESPN leagues)
Stroud is the clear top waiver-wire option this week in any league where he's still available. First, he's the most accomplished quarterback on waivers. He's averaged 19.5 fantasy points per game this season, more than any other widely available quarterback. He's coming off his best fantasy performance of the season, scoring 24 points this past week against the Jacksonville Jaguars defense. The only available quarterback who had a better week was Michael Penix Jr., but Penix has a very difficult upcoming schedule.
Stroud is also gaining reinforcements at wide receiver, with Marvin Harrison Jr. joining the lineup this past week and Tank Dell likely to return soon.
On top of that, he has a favorable matchup against the New York Giants this week. Stroud can comfortably be placed in fantasy starting lineups this week, and he's one of several quarterbacks who can be started whenever the matchup is right.
Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings (49.1%)
Murray had a slow start to the season but put up his best fantasy performance in Week 5. He completed 24 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown and added 10 carries for 51 rushing yards. The Vikings are ascending, but the main thing holding Murray back has been passing touchdowns. He's thrown only two in his three full games this year.
While he seemed to be a player on the rise, he had a bye this past week, which led to him being dropped in more leagues than he was added in over the past week. This week, he faces the Indianapolis Colts, which means it could be his best game yet. The Vikings follow that up with games against the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills, the two teams that have allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
Minnesota typically faces either top-10 or bottom-10 defenses over the rest of the season. If Murray continues to play well, he can be in fantasy starting lineups for at least some weeks over the remainder of the year.
J.J. McCarthy, New York Giants (0.9%)
The Giants made a change at quarterback with 11 minutes remaining against the New Orleans Saints, trailing by 24 points. During the final 11 minutes, McCarthy completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran twice for 26 yards. The Giants cut the deficit to seven points. It's worth noting that the Saints were playing a bend-but-don't-break defense. After the game, John Harbaugh said it was too early to name a starting quarterback.
The reason to consider a Giants quarterback is their excellent schedule over the rest of the season. They face the Houston Texans, where they'll likely need to pass, followed by a bye week. They then face the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts in a favorable stretch from Weeks 9-12. They also face the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys during the fantasy playoffs.
If Winston remains the quarterback, he'll be looking over his shoulder. If McCarthy is named the starter, he'll likely hold the job for several weeks. McCarthy is worth adding in deep leagues, even if he isn't named the starter.
Tanner McKee, Philadelphia Eagles (2.6%)
Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve, leaving McKee as Philadelphia's starter. He threw 45 times in his first start of the season, completing 26 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. He didn't have Saquon Barkley at running back to help him, and his wide receivers dealt with injuries during the game.
Ideally, Barkley will be back and the receivers will be healthier this week. That's because the Eagles are playing their division rival, the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have been an excellent matchup for fantasy quarterbacks because their offense scores a lot, forcing opposing quarterbacks to throw frequently to keep up. Their defense has also been among the league leaders in points allowed.
If you're in a deeper league with only a few quarterback options available on the waiver wire, McKee could be the best choice.
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