UFL DFS Value Plays: Week 4 Bargain Bin for DraftKings Including Adrian Martinez, Deon Cain, Cody Latimer, More

April 18, 2024

Juan Carlos' top UFL DFS value plays for Week 4 of the 2024 season. These sleepers are cheap on DraftKings daily fantasy football contests.

Welcome to the Week 4 edition of RotoBaller's UFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mispriced players in DraftKings' Week 4 UFL contests. Each week during the UFL 2024 season and postseason, I’ll give you my thoughts on where there may be some value spots to exploit for DraftKings' wide array of tournaments and cash games. After you're done here, be sure to also read all our other weekly UFL fantasy football articles.

The XFL and USFL had both defied the odds over the last pair of springs to complete full seasons -- one in the case of the former and two in the case of the latter -- and they've now joined forces in the hopes of forming a stable and long-lasting pro football alternative for fans that also serves as a launchpad to the NFL for as many players as possible. There's a solid degree of carryover in terms of personnel from both leagues for the 2024 season, even though several teams from each league didn't make the cut for the UFL.

DraftKings' UFL DFS rosters largely mirror that of NFL contests, with a notable exception -- there is no TE-specific spot, but rather two WR/TE spots and two additional flex spots that can be filled with a running back, wide receiver, or tight end.

UFL DFS Bargain Bin Intro

Before we go UFL DFS Bargain Bin hunting, a few particulars about format and content.

The nature of the beast with value plays is at least a modest amount (and sometimes substantially more) of risk. Therefore, the Bargain Bin may prove to be a bit more of a roller coaster ride on some slates than your typical “tout” article! Naturally, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside to be had. All of these selections are therefore suitable for GPPs and can also often serve as solid cash game plays, while often helping you accommodate multiple higher-priced studs into your lineup.

This article is by no means intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all value options for the week. Rather, it’s meant to take a deeper dive into those I feel offer some of the best combinations of savings and upside.

The goal is to recommend truly affordable players, as opposed to, say, a player priced just $300-$400 away from the highest-priced option at his position. I don’t have set-in-stone price limits in mind for each site, but I do consider legitimate affordability a very important criterion.

UFL Quarterback DFS Value Plays              

Adrian Martinez, BHAM vs. D.C. | $9,300

Martinez grabbed a hold of the Stallions' starting job in about the most remarkable fashion possible during Week 3, exploding for 33.8 DK points via a 334-yard showing through the air that he complemented with three total touchdowns. Martinez is quite the rushing threat as well, having run for at least 44 yards in each of the first three games of the season.

Now armed with plenty of confidence after his breakout performance, Martinez takes on an aggressive but vulnerable Defenders defense in Week 4. D.C. has allowed the third-highest completion percentage thus far (63.2) and second-most passing yards overall (726). The Defenders have also failed to pick off a pass and have conceded a UFL-high six touchdown passes, making Martinez all the more appealing.

ALSO CONSIDER: Reid Sinnett, HOU vs. ARL | $8,400

UFL Running Back DFS Value Plays   

Ricky Person, BHAM vs. D.C. | $6,600

Person will continue to hold a spot in this article each week as long as his production outpaces his salary, as was the case again in Week 3. The North Carolina State product turned in 15.6 DK points against the Showboats in Week 3 on the strength of 76 total yards and a touchdown, his third double-digit DK-point tally in as many games to start the season.

The versatile back continues to run as a complementary option to C.J. Marable, but he's logged no fewer than nine total touches in any of the first three games of the season. The Defenders have been relatively effective against the run while giving up only 3.7 yards per carry, but they've also faced the second-fewest rush attempts in the league. Additionally, Person is also a steady presence in the passing game, which helps stabilize his fantasy floor.

Jacob Saylors, STL vs. MEM | $6,300

Saylors seemingly took control of the Battlehawks backfield in Week 3, producing 16.3 DK points while collecting 73 total yards and a rushing touchdown. The East Tennessee product, who finished his college career by compiling 2,326 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns at 6.3 yards per carry over his final two seasons.

The versatile Saylors also added 91 receptions for 779 yards and three receiving touchdowns over his 51 total college games, making him a true two-way threat out of the backfield. Saylors now gets a crack at a Showboats defense that's given up 4.0 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns through three games, and like Person, he could certainly do enough in the passing game to shore up his floor and deliver a strong return on investment.

ALSO CONSIDER: John Lovett, SAN vs. MEM | $5,700

UFL Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays      

Deon Cain, BHAM vs. D.C. | $6,900

Cain has been a steady presence in the Stallions passing game over the first three games, but he's coming off what was clearly his best performance of the season in Week 3. The veteran wideout produced a 7-144 line that netted 24.4 DK points, his second tally of over 15 DK points in the first three games. Cain displayed excellent rapport with Martinez, certainly encouraging going into the favorable Week 4 matchup.

The Defenders' vulnerability to the passing game was already outlined in Martinez's entry, and in addition to the numbers cited there, it's also worth noting D.C. has given up a UFL-high 67 completions and 10.8 yards per completion. As such, the matchup lines up well for Cain at a salary that remains very reasonable despite last week's breakout.

🤯UNREAL THROW & CATCH🤯

With only SEVEN seconds left in the half, Adrian Martinez drops an absolute DIME to Deon Cain to steal 3 points before half 🪙

If Martinez can protect the ball, this team is going to be UNSTOPPABLE 🏈😤#UFL #GiddyUp #UFL2024 pic.twitter.com/LaeikG1xcj

— Sebastian Fearon PT, DPT, CSCS, TSAC-F, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) April 14, 2024

Tyler Vaughns, ARL at HOU | $6,100

Vaughns was another receiver to overdeliver on a modest salary in Week 3, with the Renegades star having posted a 9-109-1 line on 13 targets on his way to 28.9 DK points. The USC product is now averaging 15.7 DK points per contest, having logged at least seven targets in each of his first three games in the process.

Vaughns' rapport with Luis Perez is well-established at this point, given the two also played together down the stretch with success during the Renegades' 2023 XFL title season. With the Roughnecks already having allowed four passing TDs and 201.7 passing yards per contest, Vaughns is a good play at his salary.

Chris Rowland, D.C. at BHAM | $4,200

Rowland makes for a very intriguing play at his salary, considering he was once a 100-catch, 1,400-yard receiver at Tennessee State. Rowland also generated a serviceable 21-215-1 line for the Philadelphia Stars in the 2022 USFL campaign before adding nine receptions for 83 yards and a score in an injury-shorted three-game season a year ago.

Rowland's profile in the Defenders' air attack does appear to be growing by the week, as his target counts have been 3/4/5 over his first three contests. Rowland tallied a season-high 11.6 DK points in Week 3 against the Renegades, and the Stallions check in having surrendered a 63.1 percent completion rate and three touchdowns through the air over the first three games.

ALSO CONSIDER: Justin Hall, HOU vs. ARL | $7,300

UFL Flex DFS Value Plays  

Cody Latimer, TE - SAN vs. MICH | $6,700

Latimer makes a return to this space for Week 4 after contributing 12.8 DK points with his second straight nine-target game in Week 3 against the Battlehawks. There is a bit of bad news hanging over the Brahmas passing game going into Saturday night's contest, as San Antonio lost quarterback Chase Garbers for the season with a rib injury.

However, there's a potential silver lining for Latimer in that development, as Quentin Dormady, one of the tight end's battery mates with the XFL's Orlando Guardians in 2023, will get first crack at the job under center. Latimer posted a 27-346-2 line over a particularly productive four-game stretch last season with Dormady as his quarterback, brightening his outlook versus the Panthers.

Marcus Simms, WR - MICH at SAN | $5,600

Simms makes for a very viable value play on the other side of the Panthers-Brahmas matchup, as the West Virginia product, who finished his college career with back-to-back 600-yard-plus seasons back in the 2017-18 campaigns, posted his second consecutive tally of over 18 DK points against the Roughnecks in Week 3.

Simms and Panthers signal-caller E.J. Perry have shown good chemistry, with the latter affording the wideout 17 targets over the first three games of the campaign. Simms has a touchdown reception in each of the last two games as well, and Simms could once again play a key factor in a game that finds Michigan in yet another dome environment.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jace Sternberger, TE - BHAM vs. D.C. | $6,400

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