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At last, a full month of games in the 2023 XFL season is in the books, and notable usage trends have taken shape. While things can change dramatically from what happened during the first four weeks of the season, we should be as prepared as ever to take down DFS contests and win weekly matchups for fantasy football.
We're back with Our Week 5 XFL fantasy football rankings to help fantasy and DFS gamers succeed as we approach the midway point of an exciting first year of the rebooted league. Touches, targets, and productivity trends will weigh heavily in our rankings. These positional XFL rankings are a team effort, combing the rankings and analysis of three rankers:
- Quarterbacks - Jackson Sparks
- Running Backs - Andrew Lennox
- Wide Receivers - Brant Henson
- Tight Ends - Jackson Sparks
There are still six more slates of games, so if you haven't hit the DFS jackpot yet, keep chugging along. We've got you covered!
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!
Quarterback XFL Fantasy Football Rankings
Rankings and analysis by Jackson Sparks
| Rank | Player Name | Team |
| 1 | Brandon Silvers | Houston Roughnecks |
| 2 | Luis Perez | Vegas Vipers |
| 3 | Ben DiNucci | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 4 | AJ McCarron | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 5 | Jordan Ta'amu | DC Defenders |
| 6 | Jack Coan | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 7 | Paxton Lynch | Orlando Guardians |
| 8 | Kyle Sloter | Arlington Rengades |
| 9 | D'Eriq King | DC Defenders |
| 10 | Cole McDonald | Houston Roughnecks |
| 11 | Brett Hundley | Vegas Vipers |
Brandon Silvers has thrown at least two touchdown passes in all four of his starts and leads the XFL with 10 touchdown throws heading into Week 5. His job is safe at this point in the year, which is more than we can say about the bottom half of our rankings. Continue to trust him in a matchup with Seattle on Thursday night.
Luis Perez looks to have won the starting QB job back from Brett Hundley, and he's a great choice at QB this week. Perez' Vipers will face the 0-4 Orlando Guardians, who have given up 29.25 points per game as the worst defense in the XFL. Any quarterback who faces them should be seriously considered in DFS contests.
Ben DiNucci is the first quarterback to surpass the 1,000-yard mark as he sits at 1,119 yards passing. He also leads the league with 161 passing attempts through four weeks, so he's a safe, high-volume fantasy option near the top of our rankings.
AJ McCarron continues to impress as he's led the team to a 3-1 start. McCarron has thrown just nine touchdowns to three interceptions and is set to face the up-and-down D.C. squad in Week 5.
Jordan Ta'amu didn't score a touchdown in the team's win over Vegas, but he passes for 177 yards and rushed for 89 yards. D'Eriq King scored three touchdowns, but as long as Ta'amu remains the starter, he'll be ahead of King in the rankings. Ta'amu could be in for a huge second half of the season if his rushing upside continues to grow and he can find the end zone more frequently.
Paxton Lynch had his best game of the season with 267 yards passing, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Orlando still lost thanks to its awful defense, but we'll have to see if this was an outlier performance or if he's going to hit his stride moving forward.
Kyle Sloter is now starting over Drew Plitt, but after a zero-touchdown, three-interception performance against the Battlehawks, that might not last long.
Running Back XFL Fantasy Football Rankings
Rankings and analysis by Andrew Lennox
As we head into Week 5, it has become clear that XFL is a passing league as opposed to rushing. Despite this, there are still talented running backs in the league who will continue to make valuable contributions to their teams' ground game.
| Rank | Player Name | Team |
| 1 | Abram Smith | DC Defenders |
| 2 | Brian Hill | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 3 | Morgan Ellison | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 4 | Max Borghi | Houston Roughnecks |
| 5 | DeVeon Smith | Arlington Renegades |
| 6 | Kalen Ballage | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 7 | Rod Smith | Vegas Vipers |
| 8 | Jah-Maine Martin | Orlando Guardians |
| 9 | Jacques Patrick | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 10 | Ryquell Armstead | DC Defenders |
| 11 | Dejoun Lee | Houston Roughnecks |
| 12 | Mataeo Durant | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 13 | Devin Darrington | Orlando Guardians |
| 14 | Brycen Alleyne | Houston Roughnecks |
| 15 | John Lovett | Vegas Vipers |
Despite Seattle's offense being focused on passing, Morgan Ellison had a solid performance in Week 4 by rushing for 69 yards on 16 carries. With a total of 239 yards on 46 rushing attempts, he leads the league in rushing yards. Nevertheless, his availability for Week 5 against the undefeated Houston Roughnecks is uncertain, as he is listed as questionable due to a knee injury.
The DC Defenders have the best running game in the league so far. In Week 4, despite Quarterback Jordan Ta'amu being the team's top rusher Abram Smith also had a solid performance on the ground by rushing for 58 yards on 22 carries. Ryquell Armstead, who has also been an effective back for DC, did not practice on Tuesday, and his availability is uncertain due to a calf injury. If Armstead is unable to play, Smith will likely shoulder a heavier workload in an important North Division matchup against St. Louis in Week 5.
With their top running back, Max Borghi, out due to a knee injury in Week 4, Houston only attempted 15 rushes. Nevertheless, this did not hinder the Roughnecks' success as they dominated Orlando's 44-16 victory. Fortunately, Borghi is not listed on this week's injury report, indicating that he should be fit to play against Seattle. In Week 3, Borghi demonstrated his versatility as a dual threat by rushing for 74 yards on 15 carries and catching four receptions for 12 yards. In Borghi's absence, Dejoun Lee and Brycen Alleyne saw action at running back.
It is unclear what went wrong for San Antonio in Week 4, but Kalen Ballage had been a reliable force at the tailback position for the Brahmas in the first three games of the season. However, against Seattle, Ballage struggled by rushing for only five yards on five carries, and the team as a whole could only amass 21 yards on 11 attempts. Even Jacques Patrick, who rushed twice for five yards, did not make much of an impact. Unfortunately, San Antonio faces another challenging task on the ground this week with Arlington.
Brian Hill supported St. Louis quarterback A.J. McCarron by rushing for 89 yards and scoring a touchdown on 18 carries, which led the Battlehawks to a 24-11 victory over Arlington in Week 4. Additionally, Hill caught two passes from McCarron for 26 yards. Hill could be a useful tool for McCarron's offense both on the ground and in the air against the undefeated Defenders in Week 5.
Wide Receiver XFL Fantasy Football Rankings
Rankings and analysis by Brant Henson
There are two juicy games on the XFL schedule this upcoming week: the league's scoring leader in the 4-0 Houston Roughnecks travel to Seattle to take on the high-flying Sea Dragons passing attack on Thursday night, while we get a rematch of Week 3's high-scoring matchup between St. Louis and D.C. There could be a lot of scoring this week and starting the right receivers will be pivotal. Let's dive in:
| Rank | Player Name | Team |
| 1 | Jahcour Pearson | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 2 | Jeff Badet | Vegas Vipers |
| 3 | Hakeem Butler | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 4 | Jontre Kirklin | Houston Roughnecks |
| 5 | Josh Gordon | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 6 | Blake Jackson | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 7 | Travell Harris | Houston Roughnecks |
| 8 | Cinque Sweeting | Vegas Vipers |
| 9 | Jalen Tolliver | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 10 | Darrius Shepherd | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 11 | Cody Latimer | Orlando Guardians |
| 12 | Mathew Sexton | Vegas Vipers |
| 13 | Martavis Bryant | Vegas Vipers |
| 14 | Deontay Burnett | Houston Roughnecks |
| 15 | Lucky Jackson | D.C. Defenders |
| 16 | Austin Proehl | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 17 | Juwan Green | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 18 | Chris Blair | D.C. Defenders |
| 19 | Jordan Veasy | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 20 | Cedric Byrd | Houston Roughnecks |
| 21 | Tyler Vaughns | Arlington Renegades |
| 22 | Charleston Rambo | Orlando Guardians |
| 23 | Geronimo Allison | Vegas Vipers |
| 24 | Damion Willis | Seattle Sea Dragons |
| 25 | T.J. Vasher | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 26 | Brandon Arconado | Arlington Renegades |
| 27 | Marcell Ateman | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 28 | Lance Lenoir | Orlando Guardians |
| 29 | Josh Hammond | D.C. Defenders |
| 30 | Eli Rogers | Orlando Guardians |
| 31 | Jequez Ezzard | D.C. Defenders |
| 32 | Ben Putman | Houston Roughnecks |
| 33 | Fred Brown | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 34 | Caleb Vander Esch | Arlington Renegades |
| 35 | Travis Jonsen | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 36 | Lujuan Winningham | Arlington Renegades |
| 37 | Travis Toivonen | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 38 | Josh Malone | D.C. Defenders |
| 39 | Andrew Jamiel | Orlando Guardians |
| 40 | Deddrick Thomas | Orlando Guardians |
While all eyes will be on the two more intriguing matchups as mentioned above, fantasy managers should be licking their chops if they roster any Vegas Viper. Orlando has surrendered over 30 points in three of four games and the Vipers should put numbers up. Jeff Badet has consistently performed as the top receiver for Vegas and has an argument to be placed number one in this week's rankings. Cinque Sweeting scored two touchdowns last week, and Mathew Sexton will see his fair share of opportunities. Former NFL receivers Martavis Bryant and Geronimo Allison are even worth a look this week despite underwhelming seasons so far.
Seattle's trio of Jahcour Pearson, Josh Gordon, and Blake Jackson will undoubtedly all be heavily targeted in Thursday night's electric matchup with Houston. With Max Borghi out, Cedric Byrd has filled in an H-back role and has seen 10 targets over the past two weeks. Houston's receiver trio of Jontre Kirklin, Travell Harris, and Deontay Burnett could make noise in the possible shootout, combining for three touchdowns and 17 targets last week.
T.J. Vasher is questionable with a shoulder injury. Look for alpha receiver Jalen Tolliver to dominate the San Antonio passing attack again this week.
With D.C. tight end Ethan Wolf out, Lucky Jackson should head the Defenders' passing game. Jackson had four catches for 89 yards on seven targets against St. Louis in Week 3. On the other side of the ball, Hakeem Butler had a 105-yard outing last time but don't discredit Darrius Shepherd. The former Packers' receiver went 5-51 in the Week 3 loss and grabbed eight receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown last week, emerging as a key target for A.J. McCarron.
Tight End XFL Fantasy Football Rankings
Rankings and analysis by Jackson Sparks
We knew the tight-end production in the XFL would be slim, but Week 3 and Week 4 were an extra-quiet slate of games for the position. For now, there are only three or four tight ends with guaranteed targets on a weekly basis.
| Rank | Player Name | Team |
| 1 | Sal Canella | Arlington Renegades |
| 2 | Alize Mack | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 3 | Ethan Wolf | DC Defenders |
| 4 | Brandon Dillon | Vegas Vipers |
| 5 | Jake Sutherland | St. Louis Battlehawks |
| 6 | Deon Yelder | San Antonio Brahmas |
| 7 | Logan Carter | Orlando Guardians |
| 8 | Nate Becker | Arlington Renegades |
| 9 | Garrett Owens | Houston Roughnecks |
| 10 | Ryan Becker | Orlando Guardians |
| 11 | Alex Ellis | DC Defenders |
Through four, Sal Canella leads all tight ends in targets (29), receptions (22), and receiving yards (181). Nothing more needs to be said, other than he remains the obvious TE1.
Alize Mack has caught 13 of his 18 targets for 113 yards and one receiving touchdown. That is mediocre production over a four-game stretch, but it's enough to place him as the easy TE2 thus far.
Ethan Wolf has a strong case to be the season-long TE3, but he missed the Week 4 game against the Vipers and could miss Week 5. If he plays, he should be viewed as the TE3. If he's out, Alex Ellis can be played as a desperation tight end play. Ellis caught his only target for 11 yards in Wolf's absence last week.
Brandon Dillon saw his first real action of the season in Week 4, catching all three of his targets for 47 yards. With the scarcity of production at tight end, that's a solid enough performance to make him enter the fantasy radar.
After Dillon, all the tight ends in the rankings have either had one or two games in which they earned fewer than one or two targets. That said, all have low floors, but they are ranked in order of upside. Unfortunately, the tight end position is even more scarce than in the NFL, so if you don't have Canella or Mack, you're going to be in a tricky situation to navigate.
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