Last Updated: Sunday 8:12 pm ET
News Update Saturday 12:45 pm ET: Brandon Silvers (healthy scratch) is INACTIVE for Seattle today. BJ Daniels will start and there are no other QBs on the active roster. We suspect Keenan Reynolds will be the backup QB, but barring injury Daniels will get the whole game.
News Update Saturday 12:45 pm ET: De’Angelo Henderson (shoulder) is INACTIVE for Houston. Kahlil Lewis (groin) is ACTIVE.
News Update Saturday 3:46pm ET: Tanner Gentry is INACTIVE again for New York. Justin Stockton is ACTIVE after being a healthy scratch last week and Matt Colburn is INACTIVE. Stockton, an excellent pass-down back, will be the No. 3 RB behind Darius Victor and Tim Cook.
News Update Sunday 1:15 pm ET: Martez Carter is listed as questionable but responded on Twitter that he was going to play tonight for LA.
News Update Sunday 1:46 pm ET: Matt Jones and Christine Michael are both active today for St. Louis
News Update Sunday 7:54 pm ET: Nick Truesdell is ACTIVE tonight for Tampa Bay as expected. His role for tonight’s game is unknown however.
News Update Sunday 812 pm ET: Elijah Hood is INACTIVE tonight for LA. Martez Carter is ACTIVE tonight for LA along with Larry Rose and Dujuan Harris.
DFS is a game of partial information, and XFL DFS takes that to an extreme. This is a brand new league with some new rules and a slew of relatively unknown players. We don’t have reliable beat writers for each team and the injury information is spotty. This article is an attempt to provide clarity to those looking for the best plays on the XFL DFS slate. Please note that there is a lot of guesswork involved in creating this column, and we suggest you use it as a starting point and combine it with your own research and judgement.
Typically, players who make our Top Plays have a strong combination of a confirmed role with health and relative talent. Tier 1 plays we consider to be more viable for head-to-head and 50/50 contests, while lower tiers tend to be more of tournament considerations. Much of the information we consider to be of critical importance will be conveyed in this article, but we recommend monitoring our Team-by-Team Depth Charts which will also contain useful information.
Finally, we recommend that you watch or listen to our Live Show for some more context on these plays. The replay and audio download is available here. For RSS podcast instructions, click here.
Editor’s Note: DraftKings refers to the 4-game main slate. Fanduel refers to the 2-game “Saturday Only” or “Sunday Only” slates. If a player doesn’t have a Fanduel salary listed next to their name, we think their price is prohibitive on that site.
WEEK 5 NOTABLE INJURIES
Nelson Spruce O
Sammie Coates O
De’Angelo Henderson O
Kahlil Lewis ACTIVE
Landry Jones O
Kasen Williams O
De’Veon Smith P
Nick Truesdell P
Martez Carter Q
Larry Rose P
Matt Jones Q (expected to play)
Christine Michael Q (expected to play)
QUARTERBACK
TIER 1
* BJ Daniels, SEA ($7200 DK, $17 FD) — Daniels’ dual-threat ability is appetizing. He ran for 2,066 yards and 25 touchdowns in 45 games at South Florida from 2009-12. Played 27 snaps last week and ripped off 7-84-0 rushing line. Spot at Houston is brutal, but price is far too low for the floor/ceiling Daniels’ rushing ability. Brandon Silvers is a healthy scratch, leaving Daniels as the only true QB on the active roster.
Phillip Walker, HOU ($12000 DK, $23 FD) — Masterful at controls of XFL’s most pass-happy offense (68.7% throw rate). Seattle allowing 4.9 yards per play on season, second-most in league. Obvious best raw play on slate if we disregard salary.
Josh Johnson, LA ($10500 DK, $21 FD) — Johnson appears over thigh injury as he practiced full this week for first time all season. Can’t project any rushing floor given 8-11-0 line in three games, but there’s at least some upside this week. Regardless, Johnson has been excellent with his arm, leading XFL in yards per attempt (8.1) and passer rating (106.6). The loss of Nelson Spruce (knee) has been mitigated by Tre McBride’s dominance.
TIER 2
Phillip Nelson, DAL ($7500 DK, $16 FD) — Nelson is #bad at football, but the Renegades will not change their scheme with Landry Jones (knee) sidelined. They still project to throw on at least 65% of their snaps with a hyper-focus on short completions. When Nelson started Week 1, he went 33-of-42 for 209 yards with no TDs and one INT against St. Louis. This week’s home matchup against New York is a far better spot. Guardians are easily dead last in XFL in yards per play allowed. Savings go further on DraftKings.
TIER 3
Jordan Ta’amu, STL ($9700 DK, $20 FD) — As always, Ta’amu’s outlook is tied to game flow. When St. Louis imposes their will, it’s through their run game and defense. In more back-and-forth flows, Ta’amu’s elite rushing ability, plus arm and strong weaponry give him a big ceiling. Range of outcomes wide this week with Cardale Jones such an unknown.
Taylor Cornelius, TB ($8500 DK, $18 FD) — Has done more than enough to hold off Aaron Murray and get another start. Over last two weeks Cornelius has rushed 10-69-2, giving him a solid floor/ceiling combo in what we think will be the week’s best game environment. Getting TE Nick Truesdell (knee) back to pair with Tampa’s already strong WR corps can’t hurt.
TIER 4
Cardale Jones, WAS ($9000 DK, $17 FD) — The worst QB in the XFL over the last two weeks will try to get right as he comes back home. Unfortunately, the matchup isn’t ideal as the BattleHawks rank second in passing yards allowed per game. Cardale, who will be on a very short leash Sunday, is a thin GPP-only play.
RUNNING BACK
TIER 1
Cameron Artis-Payne, DAL ($8200 DK, $17 FD) — Artis-Payne is a slightly weaker play than he was last week because Phillip Nelson projects to create fewer red-zone opportunities than Landry Jones (out, knee) would have. However, he’s still averaging 13.0 carries plus 6.3 targets per game over the last three weeks. That’s elite usage.
Lance Dunbar, DAL ($7600 DK, $17 FD) — Dunbar caught six balls when Phillip Nelson started in Week 1. He leads all XFL players in receptions with 22 and also gets 7.0 carries per game. Better play on full-PPR DraftKings.
TIER 2
N/A
TIER 3
De’Veon Smith, TB ($7900 DK, $16 FD) — Timeshare with Jacques Patrick will continue, but Vipers lead XFL in offensive plays per game. That’s allowed Smith to pile up 18.0 touches per game as the lead dog in this committee.
Darius Victor, NY ($5800 DK, $14 FD) — Has moved ahead of Tim Cook last two weeks thanks to efficiency. In Week 4, Victor out-snapped Cook 35-22 and out-touched him 19-10. Low-octane offense and shaky pass-game role are concerns, but New York badly wants to win with their run game if game flow allows.
Donnel Pumphrey, DC ($6400 DK, $13 FD) — Clear-cut No. 1 RB, played on 23-of-36 snaps with Cardale Jones last week. Also has at least three targets in every game this year. If Cardale returns to the form he found in Weeks 1 and 2, Pumphrey will benefit in big way.
TIER 4
Christine Michael, STL ($5200 DK, $14 FD) — Has almost identical role to Matt Jones, but is $2100 cheaper on DraftKings. Still very TD-dependent as Michael has just three targets in four games while averaging a mediocre 11.7 carries per day.
Jacques Patrick, TB ($7000 DK, $15 FD) — As we saw last week, it’s possible for both De’Veon Smith and Patrick to pop off. But Patrick is the clear 1B and only $900 cheaper on DraftKings.
TIER 5
Matt Jones, STL ($7300 DK, $16 FD) — Price on DraftKings is very expensive for a player with three targets in four games. But Jones is ahead of Michael as a rusher — Jones averages 16.7 carries per game.
FLIER
Kenneth Farrow, SEA ($6100 DK, $15 FD) — Farrow has his nose in front of Seattle’s 3-man RBBC. Will share pass-down role with Trey Williams if Seattle is getting trucked at Houston.
WIDE RECEIVER AND TIGHT END
TIER 1
Tre McBride, LA ($9700 DK, $20 FD) — Nelson Spruce (knee) will sit again. We expect Tre McBride and his NFL-caliber talent to play roughly 100% of the snaps as the primary pass-catcher for Josh Johnson. Over last two weeks, McBride has ripped off 13-236-3 on 18 targets.
Sam Mobley, HOU ($3800 DK, $12 FD) — With Sammie Coates (hamstring) sidelined, we are projecting Mobley for an 80% snap rate floor. He very well could play 100%. That role at near-min prices on both sites in the XFL’s best passing offense is extremely appealing.
TIER 2
Jalen Tolliver, TB ($5700 DK, $16 FD) — One of the most mispriced players on DraftKings. Has played on 88% of snaps, seen 21.8% of the targets and is 10th in league in Air Yards market share. Very similar role to Dan Williams, but Tolliver is $2800 cheaper on DraftKings. On Fanduel, Williams is only $1 cheaper and therefore the better play.
Cam Phillips, HOU ($11500 DK, $21 FD) — As we saw last week, there’s always some variance in target share when there are four or five WRs on the field for Houston. But the talented Phillips still has one of the XFL’s best roles in the league’s best passing offense. Priced at his ceiling, but still a very strong play.
Adonis Jennings, LA ($3500 DK, $12 FD) — Nelson Spruce (knee) is out and Kermit Whitfield was shockingly waived on Wednesday. That leaves Jennings as the only wideout on the roster with significant slot work this season. It’s well within the range of outcomes for Jennings to play in all 3-WR sets as the slot man for one of the league’s best QBs. And he’s near-minimum priced.
TIER 3
Rashad Ross, DC ($7800 DK, $14 FD) — Role finally solidified in Week 4 as Ross played on 34-of-41 snaps and commanded a 29% target share. Has massive 24.3-yard ADOT on the season and is second in XFL with a 38% Air Yards market share. Matchup and Cardale Jones’ struggles are the issues here, but Ross has elite ceiling.
Jordan Smallwood, LA ($6200 DK, $16 FD) — Will benefit again from absence of Nelson Spruce (knee) and the Wildcats have also waived Kermit Whitfield. Smallwood may rotate a bit with Saeed Blacknall, but he’s still going to play at least 70% of the snaps and be featured in the red zone. Smallwood’s four end-zone targets are tied for second-most in the XFL.
Dan Williams, TB ($8500 DK, $17 FD) — One of XFL’s best natural talents and has elite role. Leads league in end-zone targets with five and is third in Air Yards market share. Looks expensive when compared to teammate Jalen Tolliver ($5700), but Williams is still strong. He’s just priced appropriately on DraftKings.
Eli Rogers, DC ($8200 DK, $15 FD) — Rogers has had best usage on Defenders all season and has one of XFL’s best roles. Has seen at least six targets in every game and has massive 27.1% target share. DC’s slow pace and Cardale Jones’ recent struggles keep Eli out of the top-two tiers.
Donald Parham, DAL ($9900 DK, $19 FD) — The XFL’s best NFL prospect is difficult to stop at 6-foot-8 with elite speed/athleticism. The home matchup with New York is also elite. The only problem is Phillip Nelson’s inability to push the ball down the field. Parham is priced as if Landry Jones is starting.
TIER 4
Mekele McKay, NY ($6800, DK, $15 FD) — Even with Tanner Gentry expected to make his debut, we suspect McKay’s every-down role is safe. He was one hideous drop away from breaking the slate last week. QB play and matchup at Dallas are concerns, but McKay’s raw talent and price keep him in play.
Nick Holley, HOU ($7100 DK, $17 FD) — Slot man showed last week he has a ceiling by going 8-97-1 with Dallas focused on Cam Phillips. But now price on DraftKings has jumped $2600, leaving little room for error. Still has rock solid role in elite pass game and is facing one of the league’s worst pass defenses.
* Kahlil Lewis, HOU ($8900, $16 FD) — Same every-down role as Nick Holley, but has elite 23.8% target share on season. Also better after the catch. Concerns are price and groin injury which kept Lewis limited in practice all week. He’s officially listed questionable.
L’Damian Washington, STL ($6600 DK, $14 FD) — Most solid role amongst BattleHawks pass-catchers as Washington plays on 92.8% of the snaps and sees 19.2% of the targets.
Keenan Reynolds, SEA ($6500 DK, $15 FD) — Truly elite role as Reynolds plays on 97.5% of the snaps and leads entire league in Air Yards market share. BJ Daniels is shaky as a thrower, but he can’t miss Reynolds any worse than Brandon Silvers.
TIER 5
* Nick Truesdell, TB ($4700 DK, $13 FD) — Truesdell has been out with a knee injury since Week 2. We’re not sure if he’ll be an every-down player in his return, but the good news is price has dropped from $6700 at the time of his injury to $4700. If truly 100%, this price will look cheap.
Flynn Nagel, DAL ($7400 DK, $16 FD) — Short-area slot role fits well with where Phillp Nelson will be throwing. When Nelson started Week 1, Nagel went 6-43-0 on six targets. Big problem is price, as Nagel is $2600 more than he was last week on DraftKings.
Alonzo Russell, STL ($5700 DK, $14 FD) — Strong deep threat/perimeter role with 80.3% snap rate and 25.1% market share of BattleHawks’ Air Yards. But only 14.4% target share keeps floor low. Fits well with Jordan Ta’amu stacks just in case the pass attempts spike.
Reece Horn, TB ($5300 DK, $14 FD) — Solid slot role has resulted in at least five targets each week and an average of 6.2 per game. But ADOT is a pathetic 6.0 yards.
Jeff Badet, DAL ($13 FD) — Still too pricey on DraftKings, but in play on Fanduel’s two-game slate at a bargain-basement price. Will continue to run drag routes and try to turn Phillip Nelson checkdowns into longer gains.
Brandon Reilly, STL ($3700 DK, $12 FD) — Quietly rotating evenly with De’Mornay Pierson-El. Over the last two weeks Reilly has run 26 routes and Pierson-El has run 25. Reilly isn’t as talented as Pierson-El, but is a whopping $5500 cheaper on DraftKings.
De’Mornay Pierson-El, STL ($9200 DK, $18 FD) — Exorbitant price for someone merely sharing slot snaps with Brandon Reilly. Note Pierson-El has played on just 41% of the snaps over the last two weeks. But still has strong 22% target share and significant talent. We’d only use him in GPP stacks with Jordan Ta’amu.
FLIER
DeAndre Thompkins, WAS ($4900 DK, $14 FD) — Cardale Jones wanted Thompkins benched last week, but coaches stuck with Thompkins and yanked Cardale. Price on Thompkins is cheap enough to warrant a flier.
DEFENSE
TIER 1
Houston ($4900 DK) — Roughnecks’ elite offense forces opponents into a high rate of dropbacks and uncomfortable situations. BJ Daniels’ scrambling style will lead to sacks.
TIER 2
St. Louis ($4700 DK) — The XFL’s best defense (arguably) gets to face the worst QB over the last two weeks (Cardale Jones).
New York ($3200 DK) — The best “punt” defense. Dallas will not change scheme for Phillip Nelson, meaning the former underwear model projects for a floor of 35 dropbacks. That’s a lot of opportunities to generate defense scoring.
TIER 3
Dallas ($4300 DK) — Renegades welcome Luis Perez and the non-threatening offense of the Guardians to town.
Los Angeles ($3900 DK) — Nice bounceback spot for LA. Last week they went across the country to New York on a short week for the early Saturday game. This week they are home against a Tampa team traveling cross-country and have had a long week to prepare.
