Week 9 Waiver Wire Quarterback Priority List | Picking Between Will Levis, Sam Howell, Bryce Young, Baker Mayfield and Derek Carr
The week 9 waiver wire isn't necessarily a super strong one, but it is a pretty deep one.
Using FantasySP’s Fantasy Assistant tool and predictive adds, let’s take a look at some of the top waiver wire options at quarterback and determine how you should be prioritizing them within the position. We’ll stick with players who have a pre-waiver own percentage of below 50%.
I’ll also be doing similar stories for running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, so check back for those.
Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including predictive waiver analytics to help prioritize waiver pickups, projections, auction values, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy football trade analyzer to break down trade scenarios.
Sought After Waiver Wire Quarterbacks
When you are talking about waiver wire quarterbacks with an own percentage under 50%, the names are never going to blow you away, but with the down play at the position and a multitude of injuries, this is what we are left to fight over.
Tennessee Titans' Will Levis, Washington Commanders’ Sam Howell, Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield and New Orleans Saints’ Derek Carr all fit the criteria of this discussion and have Expected Waiver Interest (EWI) of 15% or more.
Levis is the hottest name of the bunch after his big NFL debut last week. He lit up a tough Atlanta Falcons’ defense for 238 yards and four touchdowns, while not throwing an interception.
That seems like all a coach would need to see to have that player start again the following week, but Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t ready to fully commit to Levis yet.
The Titans play on Thursday night, so it’s likely Levis will get the start. They play the Pittsburgh Steelers, which sets up as a slightly above-average matchup for Levis, if he does get the starting nod.
Most times I wouldn’t consider adding a player unless they could be a long-term asset for my team, but if Levis plays well Thursday, the starting job is likely his for the rest of the season. So in order to land Levis, you might need to make the move this week.
Howell is coming off a monster showing against the Philadelphia Eagles. He threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns, while being intercepted once.
Howell now has six 200+ yard passing games this season, and multiple touchdown passes in four contests. The interceptions are still a problem, but he’s offsetting those with touchdowns and high-yardage totals.
Young helped the Panthers to their first win in week 8, taking down the Houston Texans. Young was solid, throwing for 235 yards and a touchdown, while throwing no picks.
The rookie has been solid, with four 200+ yard passing games in six contests. He’s only thrown interceptions in two weeks, although it was two in both games. He’s thrown at least one touchdown in all but one game.
Mayfield is dealing with a knee injury, but turned in a good showing against a tough Buffalo Bills’ defense in week 8. Mayfield threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.
Mayfield has thrown for over 200 yards in five of his seven games and has at least one touchdown pass in all but one contest. He broke a four-game streak of throwing an interception.
Carr has dealt with some injury struggles of his own, but turned in one of his better games in week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts. Carr threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns while throwing no picks.
Carr has thrown for 300 or more yards in three straight games, and only has three games under 200 passing yards - which were the week he got hurt and the two following weeks. He’s thrown a touchdown in all but two games and has four games with one interception thrown.
The Priority List
Carr has been cooking of late, and if he’s available, he’s the guy I like most in this group. The injury seems behind him, and he’s got plenty of playmakers to whip the ball around too every single week.
I’d give the slight edge to Howell over Levis, simply because Howell has a lock on the starting job, but I would also be fine taking a chance on Levis second. I think Levis offers more upside, but the situation is just too shaky for me to be more confident in him.
I like Mayfield over Young based on what we’ve seen to this point of the season. Young is another guy I think has more potential, but I haven’t seen anything that suggests he’s about to turn the corner.
