Welcome to Week 9 of the 2025 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Fantasy/True False
- WRs Reuniting With Familiar QBs
- Hot October Quarterbacks
- Hot October Wide Receivers
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: These three QBs have been fantasy starters since Week 5 in October.
- Joe Flacco: QB9 (3 games)
- Trevor Lawrence: QB11 (3 games)
- Jaxson Dart QB4 (4 games)
Pick your bet as the player who remains in the top 12 for the rest of the year?
Jason Wood: Joe Flacco is 40 years old and hasn't finished inside the top 20, much less the top 10, since 2014. In fact, in twenty NFL seasons, Flacco has only been a QB1 once, all the way back in 2010. Even that year, he barely made a fantasy dent, finishing as the No. 10 quarterback. His lack of mobility and propensity for turnovers guarantee that his current hot streak will be followed by a damning cold streak. It's Joe Flacco.
You have to really squint to see fantasy gold in Trevor Lawrence's play. Even that tiny three-game sample you cited, Matt, is barely over the threshold of usability at QB11. Despite his draft pedigree and $50 million annual salary, Lawrence isn't a good quarterback. He ranks 29th among active quarterbacks in yards per attempt, 25th in completion rate, 32nd in passer rating, and 31st in touchdown rate. He's just not that guy.
That leaves Jaxson Dart, somewhat by default. The Giants' personnel department, coaches, and fans have to be thrilled with the early returns on their rookie signal-caller. He's been electric, both as a passer and a runner. It's those rushing yards and scores that give him a fantasy floor likely to keep him in the running for relevance this season.
But he's also now without Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo, and he's getting sacked on an ungodly 11 percent of his dropbacks. That suggests he'll have a hard time sustaining his hot start against tougher competition, and his health is a legitimate concern given his rushing volume and sack totals.
Jeff Bell: Trevor Lawrence. The simplest reason is that we have seen him do it. In 2024, he was QB14 per game until an injury ended his season in Week 9. In 2022, he was QB12 at 17.9 PPG. Nothing looks pretty about what Lawrence is doing on the field at the moment, but the fun thing about fantasy is you do not actually have to watch the points being created.
I have a term, "Hot Dog Quarterback," that I have used since Blake Bortles played quarterback for the Jaguars. I have no interest in watching a documentary about how hot dogs are made, but when I am at a ballgame in July, I want one. Sometimes I do not want to watch how the fantasy points are created; I just put them in my lineup.
Lawrence is playing with the best surrounding talent of his career. We have at least some level of trust in Liam Coen as an offensive mind. Hypothetically, Lawrence should continue to grow comfortable, and the fantasy points should continue.
Gary Davenport: Were Joe Flacco not already nursing a sore shoulder playing behind a bad offensive line, he might be the pick here. If he's going to target Ja'Marr Chase 68 times a game every week, he's going to put up numbers.
I'll go Dart here—the loss of Cam Skattebo could put that much more pressure on Dart to carry the offense, and he has rushing upside that the other two signal-callers just don't. A chunk of his numbers may come in garbage time, but last I looked, those stats count the same as all the others.
Corey Spala: Joe Flacco and Jaxson Dart have favorable matchups according to our strength of schedule tool; Trevor Lawrence does not. Flacco may be able to throw the ball 40 times per game, but he would be limited if defenses are able to lock down the pass game.
Dart does not have a similar passing upside for fantasy points (total attempts), but he can gain additional points with his legs. He has four rushing touchdowns in five games and three games over 50 yards.
Dart certainly has displayed positive film for his passing ability out of structure. Dart's rushing ability and favorable strength of schedule are two main reasons he can be a fantasy starter for the remainder of the season. His passing development will be a bonus, with the hope that the Giants will acquire a trade deadline talent to help.
David Zacharias: My chips are on Jaxson Dart. In his last four games, Dart has been first in quarterback rush attempts (31) and rushing touchdowns (3), demonstrating a solid fantasy floor. In addition to his heavy involvement in the rushing game, Dart has ranked 10th in pass attempts (122) in that same 4-game stretch.
What's the wet blanket on optimism for Dart? The loss of running back Cam Skattebo for the season may permit defenses to focus more on shutting down Dart's running options. And five of the Giants' seven games in the November/December timeframe will be played outdoors in the Northeast, with weather concerns potentially capping fantasy point production.
That said, the current difference between QB4 and QB13 is a 10 percent drop in PPR fantasy point productivity. I'm not seeing that as likely, given that Dart faces the seventh-best strength of schedule for quarterbacks over his next eight games, including a particularly favorable three-game stretch starting in Week 10 (Bears, Packers, Lions).