Week 7 is almost here, and there are some big-time quarterbacks on a bye week. Fantasy owners will be without Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Jaden Daniels, and, mercifully, Justin Herbert. This will have fantasy football owners scrambling for a starting quarterback on the waiver wire this week.
There are two quarterbacks who should be available and could be very interesting fantasy football options, both long- and short-term. JJ McCarthy could be taking over the starting job for the New York Giants, and Baker Mayfield is expected to return this week for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fantasy owners will have to decide if they want to roll the dice on the unproven young quarterback with upside, or the proven quarterback, who had been struggling and is coming off an injury.
JJ McCarthy vs Baker Mayfield
QB JJ McCarthy, New York Giants
McCarthy replaced a struggling Jameis Winston in the fourth quarter of Week 6 and helped lead the Giants back on what would have been a 24-point comeback. While he did fall short, the Giants scored 17 points in McCarthy's five drives after scoring just 10 points in the entire game prior.
He finished the game completing 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Winston went 14 of 26 for 152 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. This has led to the logical speculation that McCarthy could replace Winston and take over as the starting quarterback moving forward.
While he is expected to be named the starter this week, he is not a lock to be the starter for the rest of the season. If the Giants were falling out of the playoff mix, it would make sense to throw McCarthy in there even if Winston was better, to see what they have in him.
That won't likely be the case anytime soon, as they are two games up in a terrible NFC East. The Giants are going to be trying to win games, and they will start whichever quarterback gives them the best chance to do so.
Next week, the Giants play the Houston Texans. Houston is allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After an outstanding 2024 campaign, Mayfield was in the MVP conversation in the first quarter of 2025, but he has really fallen off a cliff since then. This season has not been much better. Through three games, he has thrown for 615 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Still, Mayfield is still just 31 years old and at worst competent. He has proven he can be elite, and McCarthy has been generally awful almost every time we've seen him play.
While we are hoping McCarthy will be better with a fresh start, we are less than two years removed from Mayfield throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. Both quarterbacks bring similar rushing value, and their weapons are on par with each other.
In Week 7, the Bucs play the Carolina Panthers, who are allowing the 12th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Both quarterbacks have solid matchups if you're looking for a one-week starter. Just be sure to monitor Mayfield's availability for Week 7. He's expected to play but is not guaranteed to return.
Verdict
Whether it's for just one week or long-term, we are going with Mayfield here. It's hard to believe in McCarthy after flopping in Minnesota, where they have consistently gotten the most out of their quarterbacks.
We don't particularly like either option; nevertheless, McCarthy was a bad prospect and has been even worse in the NFL. Mayfield has proven he can be great when healthy.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Debate: JJ McCarthy Vs Baker Mayfield.