Fantasy Football Week 15 Waiver Wire Debate: Shedeur Sanders vs Marcus Mariota

Shedeur Sanders and Marcus Mariota both have favorable outlooks as longshot pickups on the waiver wire. One player may have higher suggested upside.

Nov 30, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) runs with the ball as Denver Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers (98) and Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) attempt a tackle during overtime at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Week 14 Waiver Wire is definitely spread thin at the Quarterback position, but it is not spread unusable. In Week 14, Shedeur Sanders finished as the QB2 in surprising, comforting fashion. Down in Washington, luck was not as nice as Jayden Daniels may be sidelined for the remainder of the season. What that means is that Marcus Mariota becomes a viable asset, once again. Today, we will debate these two free agency targets.

The Case for Shedeur Sanders

Sanders has now started three games for the Browns. Each game has seen great improvement from Sanders. In Week 14, Sanders threw for 358 Yards, 3 Touchdowns, and 1 Interception. We can argue that he benefited from a bad Titans team, but they are actually 21st versus Quarterbacks — poor, but not bad.

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski says Shedeur Sanders will start rest of season. pic.twitter.com/ThYtIPrY9L

— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2025

It has been proven that Sanders is a big-play threat. He ranks 14th (Out of 67) in Yards per Attempt. If we discount Week 13, Sanders would rank in comfortably in the Top-10. This will favor Sanders as a higher upside option.

There are multiple reasons to pick up Sanders, both for the short and long-term. We will first look into the short-term.

The Browns will face the Bears in Week 15. The Bears are 26th versus Quarterbacks, and Jordan Love put that on display in Week 14, throwing for (3) Touchdowns. Sanders will be high upside play, and honestly, worth a start if need be.

In the long-term we can expect Sanders to be on his way to becoming the 2026 starter for the Browns. If they can keep building up this offense, Sanders will have great upside as young, stout pocket-passer. It is risky to expect his upside, but it is worth the reward as a bench-stash into next season.

The Case for Marcus Mariota

Mariota has started 6 Games for the Commanders this season. He is averaging (216) Yards per Game, (9) Touchdowns, and (3) Interceptions. He has also added (33) Rushing Yards per Game and (3) Rushing Touchdowns. This would slot Mariota in a lower end option, and mostly a bench piece.

Marcus Mariota balled out on SNF despite the loss 📺

28/50
294 Yards
2 TD
1 INT pic.twitter.com/FfUT27IBiU

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 1, 2025

If we wanted to use Mariota, we would be best to do it in chasing upside. He needs a good matchup, so do we get any?

The Commanders will be facing the Giants in Week 15. The Giants are 31st versus Quarterbacks. To Mariota's aid, he has Terry McLaurin back, and the Giants are also 28th versus Wide Receivers. By no means is Mariota a high-level Quarterback, but he could be worth a start of moderate upside.

Waiver Wire Debate: Shedeur Sanders vs Marcus Mariota

Both of these Quarterbacks have rather good matchups in Week 15. It will about chasing upside. In this case, both players honestly have similar upsides. The 300+ Yard upside that Sanders has is battled on with Mariota's rushing ability.

In this case, we should then look to which offense is better, and which teams projects for a higher scoring output.

The Browns are projected to score (17.0) Points, according to the oddsmakers. Given their efficiencies, they would score less than (2) Total Touchdowns.

The Commanders are projected to score (22.5) Points. Given their efficiencies, they are likely to elpase (2) Total Touchdowns.

When we consider these factors, Mariota is the better short-term option in Fantasy Football.

Pickup Marcus Mariota as the slightly better short-term option.