Week 9 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings: Kyler Murray and Dak Prescott Rise

We’re just about halfway through the NFL season after eight weeks of action. Week 8 concluded with the Kansas City Chiefs taking care of business at home against a Washington Commanders offense missing Jayden Daniels. This was the second consecutive week that the Chiefs obliterated their opponent, the third straight week they scored 28+ points, and the defense is allowing just 8.0 points per game over that span.

Mahomes was pretty remarkable yet again, finishing with 299 passing yards, three touchdown passes, and 30 rushing yards on four attempts, though he did throw two first-half interceptions. Ultimately, the MVP candidate tallied 23.0 fantasy points, finishing as the QB10 overall in Week 8. Mahomes has now had 22+ fantasy points in seven of eight matchups this season and is the QB1 at this point of the season.

The quarterback position has produced a lot of surprises in 2025, but seeing Mahomes reclaim the top spot isn’t all that shocking, especially with Rashee Rice back in the equation and Travis Kelce playing solid football. Some other names you’ll see among the top 5 and top 10 are much more surprising. Let’s examine the top 12 signal callers across the NFL before diving into our Week 9 quarterback rankings.

Best Fantasy Football Quarterbacks in 2025

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Week 9 Fantasy Football Quarterback Strategy

As we enter Week 9, bye weeks will present a critical challenge yet again for fantasy football managers who must carefully adjust their lineups. We saw six teams out of action in Week 8 and although there are only four idle teams in Week 9, it’s not going to be easy given all the talent that won’t be in lineups. This week, two elite squads in the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off while two teams with barely any fantasy assets – the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns – will also have their bye weeks.

Fantasy managers will need to find bye-week replacements for Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Justin Fields. Hopefully nobody outside of managers in deep SuperFlex leagues was considering starting Dillon Gabriel, who is also not playing this week.

The QB landscape looks wildly different than it did on opening night, and the chaos is only just getting started. With Week 9 geared to kickoff on Thursday night with Lamar Jackson looking to make his return as the Ravens travel to Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins, let’s take a look at the best and worst quarterbacks of the week.

Waiver Wire Pickup of the Week: Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Aaron Rodgers may not be lighting up the scoreboard like vintage No. 12, but he’s quietly turned into one of fantasy football’s most dependable deep-league quarterbacks. The four-time MVP has delivered at least 12 fantasy points in every game this season and is trending upward with 18, 25, and 17 points in his last three outings.

Over that stretch, Rodgers has completed 68% of his passes while averaging 234.3 yards and 2.7 touchdowns per game—and he’s kept a clean sheet with zero turnovers in his past two.

The sky cam doing this Aaron Rodgers throw JUSTICE. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/eM7K59eRxX
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 27, 2025

This week’s matchup against Indianapolis sets up well, as the Colts have surrendered 21+ fantasy points to four of six quarterbacks not named Cam Ward. Partially due to game script, they have surrendered the second-most yards per game to opposing signal callers. With a steady floor, a talented supporting cast, and a favorable upcoming schedule that includes several bottom-half pass defenses, Rodgers profiles as a smart plug-and-play option. For fantasy managers navigating bye weeks or shaky quarterback situations, he’s not flashy—but he’s the kind of reliable vet who can keep your team afloat.

Dak Prescott Poised For Top 5 Production

Week 9 Fantasy Football Must-Start Quarterback: Dak Prescot — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) looks to throw against the Denver Broncos in the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Entering Week 9, the Cowboys have barely had a chance to enjoy home cooking — just three games at AT&T Stadium — but when they have, the fireworks have been impossible to miss. Dallas has dropped 40, 40, and 44 points in those contests, piling up 14 touchdowns and eight field goals on 36 possessions. In those home starts, Prescott has been dialed in, averaging 40.7 pass attempts, 323 total yards, and three touchdowns per game. Pure dominance.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are allowing the ninth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. They’re limiting opponents to 6.5 yards per attempt, but their high volume of completions (24.1) and attempts (38.0) allowed suggests there’s still plenty of opportunity for savvy passers to exploit.

Prescott thrives on his rhythm passing game — the quick hitters that move the chains and open up deep shots — and with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens at his disposal, he has the perfect mix of precision and explosiveness. In what could be a very high-scoring affair, Dak's floor is a top-10 signal caller, and he has QB1 overall upside in Week 9. Fantasy managers should not hesitate to fire him up.

Bo Nix Drops Out of QB1 Territory Against A Stingy Texans Defense

Week 9 Fantasy Football Must-Sit Quarterback: Bo Nix, Denver Bronco — Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) reacts in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Nix is now the fifth-ranked quarterback of the 2025 season after a 40-point explosion in Week 7 against the New York Giants followed by a four-touchdown performance against the Cowboys in Week 8 en route to 23.8 fantasy points. The second-year signal caller is now averaging 20.3 fantasy points per game but faces a tough test in Week 9 against Derek Stingley Jr. and the Houston Texans. Stingley will likely shadow Courtland Sutton, forcing Nix to find his tight end Evan Engram, and get the likes of Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims more involved.

The Texans allow the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season (10.8). While Nix surely has a higher floor than that, it’s very possible that Denver rides the running back tandem that exploded against Dallas last week. JK Dobbins eclipsed 100 rushing yards on just 15 carries and rookie RJ Harvey scored three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) with 51 all-purpose yards on eight touches. Denver is going to attempt to control the clock in a tough road environment and keep the ball out of CJ Stroud’s hands. While Nix won’t be terrible, he’s not the must-start option he’s been the past two weeks.

Kyler Murray Enters Top 10 Against Vulnerable Cowboys Defense

Murray has been sidelined since Week 6 but coming off the bye week, it finally appears he’s ready to return to action and reclaim the starting role from Jacoby Brissett. While he gets the most favorable matchup in the league against a Dallas Cowboys secondary that has surrendered the most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, Murray has yet to finish as a top 15 player at his position in 2025. He simply hasn’t put it all together. The lone game he found the end zone via his legs was the only game in which he failed to throw a passing touchdown.

A week of expected QB returns:

🏈Ravens QB Lamar Jackson at the Dolphins.
🏈Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy at the Lions.
🏈Cardinals QB Kyler Murray at the Cowboys.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2025

Murray has yet to top 220 passing yards this season and has failed to eclipse 200 passing yards in three of his five outings. There aren't a lot of underlying metrics to instill confidence outside of the Cardinals’ recent ability to get Trey McBride the ball in the red zone and a matchup against a defense that can’t seem to stop anyone. Dallas is allowing a whopping 31.3 points per game and are coming off a game in which they yielded a season-high 44 points to Bo Nix and the Broncos. Dallas has allowed 20 passing touchdowns and produced just four interceptions. They are allowing a ridiculous 419.1 yards of offense per game.

Given Murray’s dual-threat abilities, expect him to finally put together an all-around performance in which he produces elite rushing production while throwing at least two passing touchdowns. I’m not saying the Cardinals are going to win this game but they have no excuse to not light up the scoreboard. We could be witnessing a huge breakout from Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride will look to continue his scoring surge (three touchdowns in his last two games). Fantasy football managers shouldn’t hesitate to start Murray against this atrocious Cowboys defense.

Let’s examine the rest of the NFL’s quarterbacks and see where they stack up in our Week 9 rankings.