RADIO
The USFL heads into Week 5 with the New Orleans Breakers firmly entrenched as the league's top team, sitting a 4-0 with a league-high 125 points scored. The entire USFL South has been strong, though, as the league's four highest-scoring offenses all play in that division, and only one of the league's three teams with a record under .500 is in the South.
With DraftKings offering USFL contests again this year, I'll be here every week with lineup picks for the league. It looks like the plan at DraftKings is to do one four-game slate each weekend, so that's what we'll cover here.
Below, you'll find my thoughts on the Week 5 DFS slate of USFL contests on DraftKings, which goes live on 5/13/2023 at 12:30 p.m. ET. Be sure to also read all our other weekly XFL fantasy football articles. Let's get to it, and good luck RotoBallers!
Featured Promo: Get any DFS Premium Bundle for for 10% off using code BALLER! Win more with expert advice from proven winners and exclusive DFS tools. Get instant access to RotoBaller's Lineup Optimizers, Research Stations, daily picks and VIP chat rooms across 10 sports! Go Premium, Win More!
DraftKings Quarterbacks - Week 5 USFL DFS Picks
McLeod Bethel-Thompson - New Orleans Breakers - vs Memphis Showboats - $11,000
Bethel-Thompson had his worst fantasy game of the season last week, scoring just 11.2 DraftKings points, due in large part to him not throwing any touchdown passes. But he still had massive volume, throwing 37 passes and completing 70.3% of them for 279 yards, and he has a really enticing matchup this week against the Showboats.
Memphis is one of just two USFL teams to allow over 200 passing yards per game, and they've also allowed a league-worst 340.2 yards overall per game. This is a matchup where the Breakers offense can have a field day, and I remain high on them, even after Bethel-Thompson's first let-down game of the season.
Kenji Bahar - Houston Gamblers - vs Birmingham Stallions - $8,000
Bahar is currently third in the USFL in passing yards, yet he's only the eighth-most expensive quarterback on this weekend's slate. I think the pricing feels just a little off for Bahar. He might not have the ceiling of some other guys, but he's thrown multiple touchdown passes in three consecutive games and has improved his accuracy every week, including completing a season-high 71.4% of his passes last week.
Sure, the Gamblers mixed Terry Wilson in a little, as he threw three passes and also ran nine times for 49 yards. But Bahar wasn't adding much on the ground anyway, so bringing Wilson in for run plays doesn't hurt Bahar too much, because he's still the player the Gamblers will turn to when they need to move the ball through the air.
DraftKings Running Backs - Week 5 USFL DFS Picks
Wes Hills - New Orleans Breakers - vs Memphis Showboats - $10,600
Hills has ballooned in salary, but he's just been too productive to ignore, even though he's now the most expensive running back on this slate.
Hills has now scored over 30 DraftKings points in three consecutive games. He was held under 100 rushing yards last week, but added a season-high seven receptions for 71 yards. He ended up with two rushing touchdowns, giving him eight touchdowns over the last three games.
At this point, Hills looked unstoppable. The Breakers have a really good passing game, so defenses can't just key in on stopping Hills, because then McLeod Bethel-Thompson will just find his host of top receiving options.
Mark Thompson - Houston Gamblers - vs Birmingham Stallions - $10,200
Maybe you want to fade Hills because you think he's too chalky to play in a GPP, which is definitely a fair concern. But you don't want to try to find a value running back, because you want to guarantee you get some production from the position.
In that case, give Houston's Mark Thompson a look. After not playing the first two weeks of the season, Thompson returned in Week 3 and immediately made an impact, carrying the ball 21 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns while also catching three passes for 32 yards.
Last week, he followed that up with 13 carries for 134 yards and three scores, as well as one eight-yard reception. Curiously, Shermari Jones had 13 rushing attempts too last game, but Thompson clearly outplayed him, and I'd expect to continue to see a heavy workload for Thompson going forward.
DraftKings Wide Receivers and Tight Ends - Week 5 USFL DFS Picks
Davion Davis - Birmingham Stallions - vs Houston Gamblers - $9,100
No USFL team has allowed more passing yards than the Gamblers, so I like the idea of having some exposure to the Stallions passing game. Maybe that exposure comes via Alex McGough at QB, who I didn't write about above but who is a strong play this week.
Or maybe it's via tight end, where Jace Sternberger has been one of the league's elites at the position. But last week, he was held to just five yards, giving him just 34 receiving yards over the past two games.
My favorite Stallions play this week, though, is Davion Davis, who saw a season-high 10 targets last week, catching eight of them for 71 yards and a touchdown. That gives Davis a touchdown in three consecutive games, and he's seen his receptions go up in each game. I'd expect Davis to be the top target in this passing game going forward, surpassing Sternberger.
Joe Walker - Michigan Panthers - vs Pittsburgh Maulers - $8,600
The Panthers offense hasn't been the best, as they've had the third-fewest passing yards so far. But that hasn't really mattered too much for Joe Walker, because of the volume he's gotten. Last week, for example, Walker was targeted 10 times out of the 27 pass attempts that Josh Love and Carson Strong combined for.
Walker's been targeted at least six times in each game and while he did have a couple of let-down games where those targets didn't turn into much, the volume makes him appealing against a Maulers team that allows the third-most passing yards per game.
Josh Pederson - Houston Gamblers - vs Birmingham Stallions - $2,700
Looking for some value at this spot? Then I think Gamblers tight end Josh Pederson could be that value.
Let's say you paid up at running back for Hills or Thompson. You've got to shed salary somewhere else to build a good lineup, and at $2,700 Pederson accomplishes just that. He's been targeted 11 times over the last two games, hauling in seven of those. He's also had a 20-plus-yard reception in both games. Pederson probably needs to score a touchdown to really make him worth it, but it's hard to find someone at $2,700 who'll get enough volume to even give him a chance at getting that touchdown. Pederson is that guy.
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!
Win More With RotoBaller
Be sure to also check out all of our other daily fantasy football articles and analysis to help you set those winning lineups, including this new RotoBaller YouTube video:More XFL Coverage
