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Well, that second week of XFL action sure was interesting. We saw Luis Perez benched for Brett Hundley, and we saw another poor showing from Renegades quarterback Drew Plitt. Plitt, who played college football for Ball State, is a good story, but with Kyle Sloter behind him on the depth chart, one has to wonder if the Renegades might make a move at QB soon. (Update: in the time between me writing this intro and publishing this article, Sloter was named the starter.)
With DraftKings offering XFL 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, even when there's a game on Thursday.
Below, you'll find my thoughts on the Week 3 DFS slate of XFL contests on DraftKings, which goes live on 3/4/2023 at 7:00 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!
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DraftKings Quarterbacks - Week 3 XFL DFS Picks
Brandon Silvers - Houston Roughnecks, $9,500
Silvers threw a pair of touchdowns against Arlington last week, the second week in a row that the former Troy State passer did that. He also managed to not be picked off, which was an improvement over Week 1, when Silvers was intercepted twice. He did struggle a little more with completion percentage though, dropping from 61.9% in Week 1 to 50% in Week 2.
While Silvers gives basically nothing on the ground, the fact that he's currently second in the XFL in passing yards and tied for first in touchdowns is notable. He's set to face a Brahmas defense this week that's...hard to figure out. They held Orlando to 87 passing yards last week, but the Guardians threw a pair of passing scores. And back in Week 1, A.J. McCarron threw two touchdowns against the Brahmas as well.
So...we've got a QB who's thrown multiple touchdowns in both games, and he's facing a defense that's allowed multiple touchdowns in both games? Yeah, I think that works for me.
Kyle Sloter - Arlington Renegades, $6,000
The Renegades started Drew Plitt for the first two weeks. He was...not great, throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions while throwing for just 292 yards. Could have been worse, but it also could have been better, and that's why Kyle Sloter was named the starter. And Sloter being named the starter so late in the week means that his DFS salary is super low. Last year in the USFL, he was really solid, throwing nine touchdown passes, though he was picked off 12 times. He's probably not a super exciting play, but he's a starting QB for $6,000 on DraftKings, which, like...that alone makes him worth sprinkling into some lineups.
DraftKings Running Backs - Week 3 XFL DFS Picks
Abram Smith - D.C. Defenders, $8,200
I was high on Abram Smith coming out of Baylor, but he wasn't able to latch on with an NFL team, which led to him heading to the XFL. After a disappointing XFL debut that saw Smith average just 2.55 yards per carry, he had a much-improved Week 2 showing, running the ball 11 times for 71 yards and a score while also adding a 15-yard reception.
The Defenders are a run-heavy team, with three players getting double-digit carries last week. Smith was actually third on the team in carries behind QB Jordan Ta'amu and RB Ryquell Armstead. But Smith was more efficient than Armstead and got the rushing score out of the two of them.
Jacques Patrick - San Antonio Brahmas, $5,600
Patrick isn't finding a ton of running room, but the fact that he's got 20 carries through two games is enough to put him on my radar as a value option. While he only produced 19 yards on his 10 carries last week, the Brahmas continued to give Patrick the football, as he only had two fewer carries than Kalen Ballage.
And honestly...this play's also about how much the Brahmas run the ball. Jack Coan threw just 24 passes, while Ballage, Patrick and Jon Hilliman combined for 23 carries, and Coan added three carries of his own. I like the idea of having weekly exposure to this backfield, and Patrick is a discount over playing Ballage.
I am concerned about the fact that San Antonio plays a Houston team that shut down the Renegades rushing attack last week, with De'Veon Smith and Keith Ford both held to under 2.5 yards per carry. But if you want to punt on RB and just go pure value, there's not a lot of guys cheaper than Patrick who'll have guaranteed volume.
DraftKings Wide Receivers and Tight Ends - Week 3 XFL DFS Picks
Jahcour Pearson - Seattle Sea Dragons, $9,000
Fantasy players love Josh Gordon, and it's true that Gordon's probably the most talented player in the XFL—or, at least, is the guy in this league who was best at his peak. The reason I'm bringing up Gordon here is that the hype that always surrounds him seems to have helped price down with teammate Jahcour Pearson, who has been Seattle's best receiver so far.
In Week 1, Pearson saw 14 targets, catching 12 of them for 95 yards. He didn't have as much volume in Week 2, but he still saw plenty, with eight targets, which he turned into four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
The eight targets were the most on the team. Blake Jackson was second with six, while Josh Gordon was targeted just twice. Pearson's the WR1 on a team that throws the ball well.
Jontre Kirklin - Houston Roughnecks, $7,700
Kirklin has 127 receiving yards through two games, plus 14 targets. Only the team's No. 1 receiver, Deontay Burnett, has more targets with 16, while Kirklin leads the Roughnecks in receiving yards, yards per reception and first down receptions. I like the idea of stacking in the XFL. A lot of people will stack Brandon Silvers and Deontay Burnett, but I recommend stacking Silvers with the wideout who's actually been the team's most productive player so far. There's a little bit of an edge to gain there.
Cinque Sweeting - Vegas Vipers, $4,300
Sweeting is listed as questionable with a knee injury, so definitely keep an eye on his status ahead of Saturday's game against Seattle, but if he suits up then I think there's some major value here.
Sweeting had three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, but saw his numbers fall last week against the Defenders, catching two passes for 14 yards. But Vegas really struggled to move the ball in the air last week, benching Luis Perez and finishing with 98 passing yards from Brett Hundley. Hundley will have had a week to prep as the starter, which should help this passing attack. There's a lot of mouths to feed, but Sweeting still finished third on the team in receiving yards last week despite his poor showing. And his three targets were as many as Geronimo Allison and Martavis Bryant combined.
The Vipers are a team with some big names, at least as far as the XFL goes. But Sweeting's been just as good as those guys, and he comes at a huge discount in DFS, making him someone I'll likely go pretty heavy on this weekend.
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