“Bye-mageddon” has come and gone, but Week 10 still features it’s fair share of difficulties at the QB position in season-long formats. Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott have the week off, while Jayden Daniels (arm) and CJ Stroud (concussion) both left Week 9 with injuries of varying degree. The point is, many people will be scouring the waiver wire to pick up a quarterback to stream on Sunday.
Allow me to assist with that process. Here are the three QBs you should be spending the FAAB bucks on this week. I’ll even put them in a list for you. I’m such a nice guy.
Week 10 Waiver Wire QB Rankings
1. Sam Darnold, Seahawks vs. Cardinals | Yahoo! Rostered: 50%
Darnold is the talk of the town after a dominating performance against the Commanders on Sunday Night Football, but the fact of the matter is that the former first-round pick has been fantastic for the entirety of the season. Darnold actually leads all quarterbacks in EPA + CPOE composite and air yards per pass attempt (10.3), while he sits seventh in the NFL in FPTS per drop back (0.57) — ahead of household names like the aforementioned Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Matthew Stafford. Heck, Darnold literally threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns a month ago against the Buccaneers, but he remains unrostered in 50% of Yahoo! leagues because, well, he saw ghosts that one time. The man is a fringe MVP candidate and, at this point, he deserves to have a home in all fantasy formats.
2. J.J. McCarthy, Vikings vs. Ravens | Yahoo! Rostered: 29%
Before we get too optimistic about McCarthy’s Week 10 prospects, I need to make one thing clear about the Ravens. While I could sit here and tell you that Baltimore has surrendered the fourth-most FPTS per game to opposing QBs (20.7), or that the team has allowed the fifth-most opponent passing yards per contest (250.0); I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this unit is getting healthier and better every single week. Both Tua Tagovailoa and Caleb Williams were unable to register a passing touchdown against the Ravens in the past two contests, while Matthew Stafford was held to only 181 passing yards in Week 6. That said, McCarthy possesses more upside and skill than your typical QB on the waiver wire, and he’s really only this available due to a lengthy injury absence. In Week 9 against the Lions, McCarthy averaged 0.62 FPTS per drop back and a very robust 10.7 air yards per pass attempt. Remember this is a guy who gets to throw to Justin Jefferson. That’s a boost to anyone fantasy value.
3. Dillon Gabriel, Browns at Jets | Yahoo! Rostered: 3%
I can’t lie. There’s nothing particularly alluring about the way that Gabriel has performed in his rookie campaign. He’s a check-down machine that has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in three of his four starts. While Gabriel did have a knack for finding the end zone on scrambles in college, he’s yet to showcase much dual-threat ability at the NFL level. He also isn’t exactly surrounded by offensive weapons on the Browns’ roster. That said, he’s facing the Jets this weekend. That alone is worth a look in deeper formats. New York is simply a poor defense. The Jets have surrendered 27.6 points and 335.4 yards per game, both easily ranking in the lower-half of the league. By EPA per play, New York is tied with Tennessee for the fifth-worst pass defense through nine weeks, and that was before it traded corner Michael Carter II last week. If Gabriel can’t put up some stats in Week 10, it might actually be time to give Sheduer Sanders a look. At least make ESPN happy, you know?
