Fantasy Football Week 16 Waiver Wire Debate: Marcus Mariota vs JJ McCarthy

Marcus Mariota and JJ McCarthy are both starting quarterbacks on struggling teams. However, one player has a much better matchup in Week 16.

Dec 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

There is always good reason to checkout the waiver wire and determine if anybody is a lucrative addition to your team. The best managers consider all options available to them, whether they provide to be necessary, or not. This leads us to checkout some interesting quarterbacks on the waiver wire — Marcus Mariota and JJ McCarthy. Are they worthwhile additions? Let's find out.

The Case for Marcus Mariota

Sources: The #Commanders have decided to shut down QB Jayden Daniels for the final 3 games, turning his focus to supporting Marcus Mariota.

Daniels was re-evaluated today & not yet cleared. With him expected to be medically ruled out vs. the #Eagles, then facing a short week vs.… pic.twitter.com/hTu3Sv5wpw

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2025

Mariota has started 7 Games for the Commanders this season. In those games, Mariota is averaging 217 Yards per Game with 10 Touchdowns and 5 Interceptions. This is purely average output, but worthwhile in a crunch. Mariota is also rushing for 37 Yards per Game 1 Rushing Touchdown.

What we ought to best do here is weigh the upside of Mariota. In Week 16, Mariota will be facing the Eagles. They rank 5th versus Quarterbacks, so it will not be easy on Mariota. On the upside, the Eagles are 30th in Quarterback Rushing Yards Allowed T-22nd in Rushing Touchdowns Allowed.

The other upside here will be that Mariota is likely to enter a pass script as they are (6.5) point underdogs. The Eagles are 11th in Takeaways, so we are only moderately worried about that factor.

Mariota has a moderate matchup. His rushing ability will be his best road to success.

The Case for JJ McCarthy

McCarthy has played 8 Games this season for the Vikings. He is averaging 168 Yards per Game with 11 Touchdowns and 11 Interceptions. McCarthy is also rushing for 19 Yards per Game and 3 Rushing Touchdowns. In Points per Game, McCarthy is the QB28 in Fantasy Football.

JJ McCarthy the last two weeks…

-447 yards
-6 touchdowns
-1 interception
-8.7 air yards per attempt
-118.6 passer rating pic.twitter.com/12WZPFnGG9

— 𝙆𝙖𝙨𝙚 (@verysadvikings) December 15, 2025

In McCarthy's last two games, he has played much better. He has passed for 413 Yards, 5 Touchdowns, and 1 Interception. Granted, it came against the poor Commanders and Cowboys defenses, but success is good, and he had it.

We must look at the upside of McCarthy in Week 16. He will face the Giants on the road. The Giants stand 30th versus Quarterbacks, so McCarthy will have his third straight game against a bottom-4 unit. Perhaps this can aid his upside as it had done over the last two weeks.

Waiver Wire Debate: Marcus Mariota vs JJ McCarthy

As we review the Week 16 Waiver Wire, it is important to realize that long-term value is irrelevant. We are playing for the now as the playoffs are underway. That considers the upside in the short-term to be of utmost importance.

McCarthy has the clear better matchup in Week 16. Mariota surely has the Yards per Game edge, but McCarthy has shown success over the last two games that aids our optimism.

If I had any conifdence of either player to record 2+ Touchdowns and 250+ Total Yards, it would be McCarthy against the Giants. He is very much a risky player, given his woes through much of the season, but we have some reason to expect good upside in Week 16.

Pickup JJ McCarthy in a much better matchup, following recent success.