X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Free UFL Betting Picks - Best Bets, Odds, Predictions for Week 3

UFL RANKINGS, FANTASY FOOTBALL,

RotoBrady provides his picks and analysis for betting on every game of Week 3 of the UFL season.

The injuries have been brutal. Dean Blandino has been insufferable. The Showboats ran ashore and collapsed under the wacky 4th and 12 pressure. Birmingham continues, and probably will continue to roll. The Battlehawks are packing the venue with rowdy die-hards. The Michigan Panthers remain a quarterback (or a second quarterback) away from true contendership. Jake Bates has accomplished what few kickers in the history of professional football ever have kicking from 60+ yards. My God, what fun it has been.

Putting together these power rankings is no easy task--#2-#7 could be completely randomized and could come out in an acceptable order--but we will find out more this week, and I am very interested to see how the Houston Roughnecks might be able to compete against the Michigan Panthers this week in yet another Panthers home game.

Two weeks of UFL play are now on the books, and I ended up going 4-3-1 last week with the push on the Defenders-Roughnecks spread. Let's see where my head is at on the same weekend as UFC 300.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Power Rankings

  1. Birmingham Stallions (+190, very fair)
  2. San Antonio Brahmas (I think I have to put them here in not having lost yet. +450 to win the league? I need a bigger sample size, but that number jumped way too quick.)
  3. Michigan Panthers (+1000? You've gotta be kidding me. Let it fly.)
  4. Memphis Showboats (+750, that's alright)
  5. St. Louis Battlehawks (+425 currently to win the UFL? No way.)
  6. Arlington Renegades
  7. D.C. Defenders
  8. Houston Roughnecks

 

Week 3 Picks

D.C. Defenders at Arlington Renegades (Saturday, April 13th, at 1PM ET)

Arlington (-2.5), O/U 43

The Arlington Renegades didn't look bad in their 24-27 loss to the Battlehawks in Week 2, and that was a rowdy crowd of 40,000 people that they had to deal with in a road game where they ended up covering off of a solid performance by Luis Perez. The real revelation for the Arlington Renegades is that they need to involve Lindsey Scott Jr. more. Scott was able to cause damage on the ground for Arlington in a way that I'm not sure Perez could even if he was the only person on the field. The Renegades are now 0-2, but I definitely think that their record does not tell the real story of the quality of this team. Notably, Juwan Manigo has been providing excellent field position, leading the UFL with 250 kick return yards.

The D.C. Defenders will be without Keke Coutee today, among a slew of defensive players, but RB Cam'Ron Harris fought through the week and will be active. Last week, I ended up with a disappointing push after taking Houston +5 against D.C. in a game that the Defenders very well could have lost. Reggie Barlow has struggled to gain traction with the pieces he has to work with this year, while Spring Football veteran QB Jordan Ta'amu has thrown for alright yardage, but only 5.7 yards per attempt, two picks, and getting sacked five times seems to indicate that he does not have great protection. He is also only completing 53.2% of passes which negates the value of his 10+ yards per completion. D.C. has just one WR in the top 20 in UFL yardage (Ty Scott, 8th with 104 yards and a TD).

The Defenders defense might be a bit better than the Battlehawks, but D.C. let Reid Sinnett look like a very viable QB last week for the team that many ranked dead-last in their UFL power rankings. This Renegades offense will be tougher to stop, and I think we will see a similar result to last year's XFL Championship Game. Both teams have been slow to get their ground attacks going, but with Lindsey Scott Jr. now in the mix, as I still think the combination of De'Veon Smith and Leddie Brown is better than Cam'Ron Harris-Darius Hagans. I also think Arlington's defense looked worse than they are last week in a game designed for St. Louis to put points on the board in their home venue. This could end up being a big game for Sal Cannella, but D.C. should still compete, because I think Reggie Barlow will mold his team into a better product over time.  This line was at -1 when I started writing this, so get the Renegades while you can, and -155 on the ML isn't bad either. With a final score range of 24-21 to 31-27, I am laying the points and taking the over.

 

Memphis Showboats at Birmingham Stallions (Saturday, April 13th, at 7PM ET)

Birmingham (-7.5), O/U 40.5

Memphis should have had that game last week against the San Antonio Brahmas, but they ended up taking a tough-to-swallow 19-20 loss to Wade Phillips' crew on two key points: 1) they got too conservative with their lead, and the UFL is not a place to get conservative with the lead; and 2) there are different rules to this league whether you like them or not, and the Brahmas seem to be better designed to take advantage of these wacky rules even though I believe that the Showboats have a superior roster. So far, Memphis has combined for 131 rushing yards between Case Cookus and Darius Victor, as Cookus and the Memphis passing attack have struggled to get going even with Jonathan Adams as a target. Their Week 1 18-12 victory over the Roughnecks does look a bit better after last week though.

Having said that--once again, how much more can we think of to say about the Birmingham Stallions? So far they have won two games by a combined score of 47-27 after their 20-13 victory over the Panthers last week. Michigan's defense was able to keep that one close, but Birmingham's defense once again proved too difficult for the one-dimensional Panthers offense to overcome. The passing game for the Stallions has been a bit more big-play based, but Adrian Martinez will be getting the start over Matt Corral this week, and RB C.J. Marable with Martinez are ranked first and second in UFL rushing yards with 121 and 117. It is likely that Corral will still play, and maybe that ratio makes more sense to best utilize their ground game. We have no reason at this point to not trust Skip Holtz in utilizing two QBs. Amari Rodgers is also leading the league in punt return yardage, while NT Carlos Davis and DE Taco Charlton have combined for 6.5 sacks on the year. Of note, CB Mark Gilbert will be out for this one, I believe due to the birth of his child.

The Showboats will have Vontae Diggs back on the field for their defense, which is a huge boost. Even still, this is a USFL rivalry game on Birmingham's own turf. It even makes me briefly wish Todd Haley was still with the Showboats just for the extra bad blood element. Look--I don't think either the Renegades or the Showboats are bad teams. I think they are about even right now in terms of overall quality despite Memphis being so close to ending up 2-0. It is just that the Stallions are way better than anyone in the league right now, and with Memphis not having as strong of a defense as Michigan and the game being on the road, I don't think they will end up as close as the Panthers were. Until further notice, we lay the points with Birmingham, and I think a realistic final score is once again 27-14, with Memphis maybe being able to score more than the Renegades could in Week 1, so I am very mildly on the over here too.

 

Houston Roughnecks at Michigan Panthers (Sunday, April 14th, at 12PM ET)

Michigan (-2.5), O/U 38

Kenji Bahar is back on the Houston Roughnecks/Gamblers roster, and Mark Thompson appears to be very close to returning--Bahar is nice, but Thompson could make a monumental difference for this squad in the first moment he touches the ball. Alas, this week it will remain Reid Sinnett starting at quarterback with T.J. Pledger in the backfield. Current Roughnecks receiving leader Kirk Merritt is inactive this week at well, so Justin Hall and Keke Chism need to help make up the difference. I will say--with Jarrett Guarantano out, Sinnett was surprisingly strong under center, and Pledger had himself a much better day in the backfield in Week 2--so those are points of encouragement here. The real thing last week against D.C. was that I believed that the Roughnecks Reuben Foster-led defense was the best individual unit on the field, but that is not the case this week.

E.J. Perry is out this week, and so Danny Etling is going to be starting at quarterback for Michigan. Etling had a solid college career after transferring from Purdue to LSU in 2015, and bounced around for stints of various length with a handful of NFL teams and the CFL's BC Lions. If Mike Nolan and the Panthers still choose to throw the ball down the field with the frequency that they do, Etling could be an improvement over Perry for all we know. What we do know is that the QB position has been the biggest deficiency for the Panthers in 2024, with Wes Hills being the offensive bright spot out of the backfield with 95 yards on the year. Perry's legs should have been utilized more when he was in, but this is not something that Etling is known for, which makes me nervous for Michigan.

The individual best unit on the field in this game is going to be the Panthers defense, led by LB Frank Ginda's 19 total tackles and the damage done by safety Kai Nacua. The Roughnecks defense is really good in their own right, and the Roughnecks offense might be marginally better than the Panthers, but Wes Hills and the Panthers D alone should be able to get the job done on Sunday. Honestly, the Roughnecks ML (+124) is a bit enticing because of the QB change and more well-roundedness for the Roughnecks, because Ford Field is a place maybe to a better advantage to Reid Sinnett and Houston than it is for Etling and Nolan's team. Even still, Michigan kept it within a touchdown of Birmingham, and that is enough to give them the benefit of the doubt in this one. I think this is going to be a very low scoring game well under 38. I see a final score range of 14-10 to 18-14 for the Panthers with that extra kicking advantage that they get from Jake Bates, but if you are feeling wild this weekend, the Roughnecks are a sneaky team to watch again. When Mark Thompson comes back? This could team could start playing at a top-four level.

 

St. Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas (Sunday, April 14th, at 3PM ET)

St. Louis (-2), O/U 42

As I said in discussing the Memphis Showboats--this league might have some wacky rules that you might not like, but this San Antonio team is build to take advantage of the wackiness, and A.J. Smith is not one to get conservative in his play-calling with the game's outcome in question. Brahmas defensive pieces such as Jordan Mosley, Jordan Williams, and Jeremiah Hendy have been doing plenty of work (but that might be because they have to hit the field so often); and Wyatt Ray is the one doing some real damage in the sacks/TFL department. Anthony McFarland looked surprisingly hampered last week against Memphis, but he should probably be getting more than seven carries per game. Chase Garbers leads the league in passing TDs with five, and has netted 443 passing yards and just one pick on 73.8% passing. Marquez Stevenson, Jontre Kirklin, and TE Cody Latimer have led the way in the pass-catching department, and together make a very dangerous core.

The Battlehawks intrigue me, and this is a matchup of two teams who are looking like the 2024 version of last year's Seattle Sea Dragons (BRING THEM BACK!). The Battlehawks are the more one-dimensional team, because I don't believe at all in the defense that allowed 18 points to the Michigan Panthers and 24 last week to the Renegades in front of the St. Louis crowd, as Luis Perez was able to zip all over the field. That could very well be a problem for Anthony Becht against the prolific Brahmas offense. The counterpoint to all of this is just how many offensive pieces the Battlehawks have to work with. A.J. McCarron leads the league with 464 yards passing with four touchdowns, zero INT, and a 65.2% completion percentage. Marcell Ateman has looked like one of the best WRs in the league (best in the UFL in receiving yards and touchdowns with 174 and three), Darrius Shepherd has done considerable damage in the passing and overall return game, and Hakeem Butler and TE Jake Sutherland provide fantastic secondary options for A.J. McCarron if he is at risk of taking his seventh sack of the season. The revelation was in Mataeo Durant's 104 yard, one TD performance last week, as this is no longer a one-dimensional offense. That was the real reason they ended up beating an Arlington team that was able to keep it so close for so long.

This is going to be a higher-scoring game, as I see a final score range of 24-20 to 28-27, so I am going with the over again in a league that was dominated early by unders. The Brahmas are +110 as a ML play, and I think that is a really solid value at home in yet another environment designed to facilitate a passing offense. It is a real bummer for the Brahmas, the fans, the league, and "Deestroying" himself that he suffered such a serious injury for making the effort we all love to see from kickers on returns, and it is very possible that the Brahmas will suffer a noticeable disadvantage in the field position that their opponents are getting with his big leg out of the mix, and before he even got to attempt a FG. I think the Brahmas have the better defensive unit of the two, and this will be a pass-happy game where Anthony Becht might choose to run less if they get down early. In a close game, A.J. Smith is going for points, and he will have a real chance on a late 4th and 12, and it never hurts that this is a team that the league would like to see winning. So, I like the Brahmas +2, and that ML look is in play as well.

 



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More XFL Coverage




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Diego Ferreira

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
Quang Le

Suffers First-Round Knockout
Santiago Luna

Shines In His UFC Debut
Christopher Bell

Earns his First Bristol Cup Series Victory
Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

Collects his Third Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Ryan Blaney

Strong Top-Five Bristol Performance Advances him to the Playoffs
Corey Heim

Earns his First Career Cup Series Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Leads Greece to Bronze Medal
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Drops 28 Points in EuroBasket Finals
CFB

Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Named EuroBasket MVP
Bryce Eldridge

Giants to Promote Bryce Eldridge
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Progressing in Recovery
Jonathan Kuminga

Receives New Offer From Warriors
Kenneth Walker III

Bounces Back with Big Week 2 Performance
Bijan Robinson

Rushes for 143 Yards in Week 2
Justin Fields

Currently in Concussion Protocol
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Calling Around to Available Free-Agent Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow

to Undergo Surgery, Out at Least Three Months
Emil Heineman

Aiming to Take the "Next Step" This Season
Braeden Cootes

Good to Go for Camp
Ivan Fedotov

Blue Jackets Acquire Ivan Fedotov From Flyers
Aaron Jones Sr.

Injures Hamstring During Sunday Night Football
Darren Waller

Not Expected to Play in Week 3
Garrett Crochet

Punches Out 12 in Win
Cole Ragans

to Return on Wednesday
Jameson Williams

Records Long Touchdown in Week 2, Still Limited to Downfield Role?
George Kirby

Strikes Out 14 in Win
Jayden Daniels

Considered "Day-to-Day" with Knee Injury
Carlos Estévez

Carlos Estevez Exits with Back Tightness
Jonathan Taylor

Tops 200 Yards From Scrimmage in Week 2 Win
Joe Burrow

Could Miss Three Months if he Requires Toe Surgery
Davante Adams

Headlines Rams Receiving Corps Sunday
Wan'Dale Robinson

Explodes for 142 Yards, Touchdown in Overtime Thriller
Joe Flacco

Browns Not Considering Benching Joe Flacco After Week 2
Quentin Grimes

Still Not Close to a New Contract Agreement
Lamar Jackson

Throws for Four Touchdowns in Week 2 Win
James Cook

Scores Two Touchdowns in Rout of Jets
Joel Embiid

"Looking Slender, Spry and in Positive Spirits"
Rome Odunze

Scores Twice in Loss
Ja'Marr Chase

Snags 14 Receptions, Finds End Zone in Week 2
Russell Wilson

Throws for 450 Yards, Three Touchdowns in Loss
Jared Goff

Throws Five Touchdowns
Amon-Ra St. Brown

Scores Three Touchdowns
Ty Gibbs

Has Arguably his Best Career Drive, but Only Finishes 10th
Chase Elliott

Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
Austin Dillon

Misses Round of 12 After Extremely Mediocre Bristol Run
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Fails to Advance to Round of 12
Josh Berry

Finishes Last in All Three Round of 16 Races to Fail to Advance
Luis Arraez

Takes a Seat on Sunday With Head Injury
Adolis García

Adolis Garcia Activated, Starting on Sunday
CFB

Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
CFB

Drew Allar Plays Mediocre Game In Blowout Win
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Exits Game In Blowout Loss
CFB

DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
CFB

Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
CFB

CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
CFB

John Mateer Leads Oklahoma In Rout
CFB

Arch Manning Struggles Against UTEP
CFB

Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
Bryan Woo

Records Career-High 13 Strikeouts
Max Muncy

Exits Early on Saturday
CFB

Sam Leavitt Shines As Arizona State Rebounds From Week 2 Loss
Salvador Perez

Reaches 300 Home Runs, 1,000 RBI
Jose Altuve

Exits Early With Foot Discomfort
Trey Yesavage

Heading to Big Leagues
Will Smith

Placed on 10-Day Injured List
Ivan Demidov

Turning Heads in Rookie Camp
NHL

Calvin de Haan Signs With Swedish Team
Samuel Girard

Skates With Non-Contact Jersey
Mackenzie Blackwood

Dealing With Injury Ahead of Training Camp
Spencer Knight

Signs Three-Year Extension With Blackhawks
Chris Buescher

May have Another Solid Run at Bristol
Corey Perry

Out 6-8 Weeks Following Surgery
Kyle Busch

Should DFS Managers Roster Kyle Busch at Bristol?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Too Risky to Consider Rostering at Bristol?
Michael McDowell

Could be A Solid Value Option For Bristol DFS Lineups
Chase Elliott

Probably Won't Factor in for Bristol Win
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Not as Strong at Bristol as Other Short Tracks
Alex Bowman

Needs to Win to Make Round of 12
Ross Chastain

has Never Led at Bristol but Has Been Pretty Consistent
Austin Dillon

Richmond Speed Unlikely to Carry Over to Bristol
Josh Berry

Might Run Well at Bristol, but Almost Certainly Won't Win to Advance
Justin Haley

Bristol One of Justin Haley's Few Recent Bright Spots
Tarik Skubal

Avoids Serious Injury, Expected to Make Next Start
CFB

Austin Simmons Listed As Game-Time Decision Against Arkansas
CFB

Nico Iamaleava Struggles In Fourth Straight Loss
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Dealing With a "Tweak"
BUF

Alexandar Georgiev Joins Sabres on One-Year Deal
Corey Perry

Injured During Pre-Camp Skate
Tanner Bibee

Fans 10 in Two-Hit Shutout
Zach Neto

Dealing With Wrist Soreness
Masyn Winn

Shut Down for Rest of Season
Tarik Skubal

to Undergo Imaging on Saturday
Tyler Soderstrom

Scratched on Friday With Groin Tightness
Tarik Skubal

Exits with Side Tightness
CFB

Antonio Williams Out Against Georgia Tech
Ketel Marte

Scratched From Friday's Lineup
CFB

CJ Bailey Flashes Again in Win Over Wake Forest
CFB

Jaxson Moi a Game-Time Decision for Tennessee on Saturday
Jean Silva

A Favorite At Noche UFC 3
Diego Lopes

Set For Noche UFC 3 Main Event
Rob Font

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
David Martinez

Set For Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
Rafa Garcia

An Underdog At Noche UFC 3
Jared Gordon

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Dustin Stoltzfus

Looks To Return To The Win Column
Kelvin Gastelum

In Dire Need Of Victory
Diego Ferreira

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Alexander Hernandez

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Quang Le

Set For Noche UFC 3 Main Card Opener
Santiago Luna

Set For His Debut At Noche UFC 3
Malcolm Brogdon

Heading to Knicks on One-Year Deal
CFB

David Sanders Jr. Won't Play Against Georgia
Landry Shamet

Staying with the Knicks
CFB

Dylan Edwards Slated to Return on Friday
Adam Lowry

Aims for Early-Season Return
Charles Oliveira

Not Eyeing Retirement
CFB

Ryan Williams Expected to Play Against Wisconsin
CFB

Billy Edwards Jr. Unlikely to Play on Saturday
P.J. Washington

Officially Signs Contract Extension
CFB

David Sanders Jr. Questionable to Make Debut Against Georgia
Lauri Markkanen

Big at Both Ends as Finland Books Place in EuroBasket Semis
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Notches 39 Points in Losing Effort
NBA

Cam Reddish Expected to Move to Europe
NBA

Trey Lyles Joins Real Madrid
Charles Bassey

Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Hawks
Sacramento Kings

Terence Davis Waived by Kings
Matthew Knies

Ready for Bigger Role With Maple Leafs
Jack Eichel

Unbothered by Lack of Extension
Sidney Crosby

Not Thinking About Leaving Pittsburgh
SJ

Michael Misa Signs Entry-Level Contract With Sharks
Rutger McGroarty

Nursing an Injury
Cameron Champ

the Ultimate Wild Card at Procore
Cameron Young

Looks to Extend Momentum in Napa
Davis Thompson

Searching for a Spark at Procore
Sahith Theegala

Looking to Reignite Form at Procore
Mackenzie Hughes

Aims for Another Strong Showing at Procore
Luke Clanton

Brings Ball-Striking Upside to Napa
Seamus Power

Looking to Overcome Poor Course History at Procore
Joe Highsmith

Hoping to Find Form in Napa
Kristaps Porzingis

Reportedly Still Not Completely Healthy
Kelly Oubre Jr.

Reportedly on the Trade Block
Andre Drummond

Future in Philadelphia in Doubt
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Helps Greece Reach Semis at EuroBasket
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Posts Historic Triple-Double
Joel Dahmen

Finishes Tied For 15 at Wyndham Championship
Bud Cauley

Finishes Tied for 33rd at BMW Championship
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied for Seventh at Tour Championship
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Tied for 25th at Tour Championship
Collin Morikawa

Finishes Tied for 19th at Tour Championship
Keith Mitchell

Misses Cut at Wyndham Championship
Ben Griffin

Finishes Tied for 10th at Tour Championship
Patrick Cantlay

Finishes Tied for Second at Tour Championship
Gary Woodland

Could Hang Around at Procore Championship
Karl Vilips

Ready for Napa Valley This Weekend
Taylor Montgomery

Heating Up at the Right Time
Jackson Koivun

May Be a Little Rusty at Procore Championship
Doug Ghim

Looking to Rise Up at Napa Valley
Shakir Mukhamadullin

Joins Informal Skate
William Eklund

Skates With Sharks
Owen Power

Back at 100 Percent

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP