Best fantasy football QB waiver wire pickups for Week 2

Welcome to the Week 2 waiver wire watch!

The 2025 NFL season is finally underway and so too are the fantasy football campaigns for managers across all kinds of different formats. Some of you are probably already looking for ways to improve your quarterback situation following Week 1 and we’ve got you covered.

We’ll go over some Week 1 QB performers that you should consider scooping off the waiver wire ahead of Week 2. We’ll classify a waiver add as someone who is rostered in roughly 60% of leagues at maximum.

The Falcons Falcon’d hard in their 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Younghoe Koo missed a last-second field goal that would’ve sent the game into overtime. The silver lining for Atlanta is that Penix looks the part of a franchise quarterback as he went 27-42 for 298 yards and a touchdown through the air, also adding a score on the ground.

That rushing TD was arguably the highlight of the game as he extended out on fourth down to give the Falcons the lead with two minutes left in the fourth. His performance was good enough enough for 24.0 fantasy points and anyone who is iffy on their QB situation coming out of Week 1 should definitely give him a look.

Week 2 matchup: @ Minnesota Vikings, 8:20 p.m. ET

Smith’s debut with the Raiders went well on Sunday as he led the team to a 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots. The 34-year-old veteran established a strong rapport with weapons like Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers right from the jump, going 24-34 for 362 yards with a touchdown and an interception on his ledger. That was good enough for 18.5 fantasy points on the day.

Something to note was the fact that he was just one of three QB’s to go over 300 yards by the end of Sunday’s slate and had the second highest yards per attempt at 10.6. There is certainly upside for Smith making big-play throws throughout the year and he should be considered for a bif off the waiver wire this week.

Week 2 matchup: vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 10 p.m. ET (Monday night)

Rodgers did his best to beat the “washed” allegations in Week 1 as he downed his former team in the New York Jets with a 34-32 victory. The 41-year-old QB looked like he jumped into a time machine back to his prime Green Bay days, earning 25.7 fantasy points by going 22-30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns.

It was one of the best performances we’ve seen from a Steelers QB in quite some time and that could spell positive things for the AFC North franchise moving forward. That could also mean him reclaiming his mantle as one of the more reliable fantasy QB’s in the entire league.

Week 2 matchup: vs. Seattle Seahawks, 1 p.m. ET

The most shocking Week 1 performance came in Indianapolis, when Jones and the Colts lit up the Miami Dolphins in a 33-8 rout. Fresh off beating out Anthony Richardson for the starting job in training camp, “Danny Dimes” lit up the Miami Dolphins by going 22-29 for 276 passing yards and one touchdown through the air, adding 26 yards and an additional two touchdowns on the ground.

When healthy, Jones has shown that he can be a sneaky serviceable fantasy add because of his running ability and that was certainly the case on Sunday. By the time the late afternoon window closed, he stood tied with Justin Fields for the top fantasy performer of the week with 29.5 points. It’s unlikely that he will go off like this every week, but the veteran at least proved that he can still be a worthwhile add to someone’s roster.

Week 2 matchup: vs. Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m. ET.