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Welcome to the Week 6 edition of RotoBaller's XFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mispriced players in DraftKings' Week 6 XFL contests. Each week during the XFL 2023 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 XFL fantasy football articles.
We begin the second half of the season with an intriguing four-game ledger that stretches from Saturday to Monday night. The main event of the slate is the Roughnecks-Defenders closer, but there are also plenty of intriguing value options across the weekend's other three contests.
DraftKings' XFL 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.
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XFL DFS Bargain Bin Intro
Before we go XFL 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 rollercoaster 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.
XFL Quarterback DFS Value Plays
Luis Perez, VGS vs. STL | $8,600
Perez starred in the Week 5 win over the Guardians, throwing for 269 yards and three touchdowns on his way to 25.7 DK points. The Texas A & M-Commerce alum had also exceeded 20 DK points in Weeks 1 and 4 -- the latter as an in-game replacement for an ineffective Brett Hundley -- giving him no shortage of upside heading into Week 6.
The Battlehawks have been much more effective against the pass than the run, but Perez has an impressive array of weapons to work with. That not only includes one of the best wideouts in the first half of the season, Jeff Badet, but Geronimo Allison, who bounced back with a three-catch effort in Week 5, as well as big-play threats Cinque Sweeting and Mathew Sexton, as well as Martavis Bryant (knee). Given his body of work thus far, Perez should have a solid chance of once again delivering a nice return on investment this week.
ALSO CONSIDER: Quinten Dormady, ORL vs. SEA | $6,000
XFL Running Back DFS Value Plays
Morgan Ellison, SEA at ORL | $7,300
It's tough to find true value plays at running back this week, so we'll go out on a limb just a tad with Ellison. The Southeastern Louisiana product surprisingly carried just six times for 15 yards in Week 5 against the Roughnecks while backfield mate Darius Bradwell logged three more rush attempts, as well as a short touchdown.
Nevertheless, Ellison had recorded three straight double-digit carry tallies prior to the game against Houston, and with some extra rest afforded by the fact Seattle last took the field last Thursday, he should be line for a solid workload Saturday. The Guardians have been vulnerable to varying degree against the run and pass, and Orlando comes in allowing
Rod Smith, VGS vs. STL | $6,600
The Vipers' offense is now under the purview of veteran NFL coach and playcaller Ray Sherman, and if Week 5 is any indication, Smith could be a primary beneficiary. Deployed in a true lead-back role for the first time this season, Smith toughed out 62 yards and a pair of short touchdowns on 18 carries in Week 5 against the Guardians.
That performance led to a season-high 21.2 DK points for Smith, who now gets to take aim at a Battlehawks defense that was just decimated by the Defenders 248 rushing yards at 7.1 yards per attempt. St. Louis is now allowing the second-most rushing yards per contest (133.8), and Smith also can contribute through the air (7-40 receiving line in first four games). With what still qualifies as a very reasonable salary, Smith is definitely in play in Week 6.
ALSO CONSIDER: De'Andre Torrey, VGS vs. STL | $3,000
XFL Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays
Travell Harris, HOU at DC | $6,300
Harris put together another solid performance in Week 5, posting 10.8 DK points on the strength of a 5-58 line on six targets. The Washington State product also recorded 23.3 DK points in Week 4 via a 3-83-2 tally and is now in line to see an even bigger role with the season-ending shoulder injury suffered by speedy position mate Jontre Kirklin in the loss to Seattle.
Harris is already averaging just over six targets per game, a figure that could hit the 8-to-9 range beginning in Week 6 if quarterback Brandon Silvers begins to lean more often on the sure-handed Harris. The Defenders make for good targets as well, considering they're allowing an XFL-high 228.2 passing yards per contest and just gave up a 9-86 line to the Battlehawks' Hakeem Butler in Week 5.
Justin Smith, HOU at DC | $4,100
Having just made a case for Harris, Smith also certainly bears consideration at a salary that's over $2K lower. The Norfolk State product had already flashed with a 25-yard reception in Week 3, but he stepped to the forefront in Week 5 after Kirklin went down and produced a season-best 3-63-1 line.
The performance netted an impressive 15.3 DK points and included a clutch touchdown catch in the fourth quarter on which Smith showed off his considerable speed. With Kirklin having been Houston's most prominent downfield threat, Smith could now be set to step into that role on an offense that is always aggressive through the air.
Damion Willis, SEA at ORL | $3,700
Willis is another receiver on a pass-centric offense with a deep pass-catching corps that made a splash in Week 5. Willis, who garnered 10 games of NFL experience with the Bengals back in 2019 and posted a 9-82 line on 16 targets, recorded five receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown in the upset victory over the Roughnecks in Week 5.
Willis' season-best effort generated 17.1 DK points, an excellent return on a salary that clocked in at $3K last week. With that figure only $700 higher in Week 6 and a matchup against a Guardians defense that's given up big plays through the air all season -- Orlando is conceding the third-most passing yards per contest (213.8) -- Willis could be set to deliver once again as a cost-savings tournament play.
ALSO CONSIDER: Lucky Jackson, DC vs. HOU | $5,700
XFL Flex DFS Value Plays
Cody Latimer, TE - ORL vs. SEA | $7,000
Latimer continues to be one of the most dependable week-to-week fantasy assets at any position. The veteran has scored 12.6 to 29.4 DK points in four of the first five games of the season, topping out at 29.4 in Week 5 versus the Vipers in a narrow loss. Latimer's 8-124-1 line in that contest was a season-best tally, and his connection with new signal-caller Quentin Dormady was highly encouraging.
The Sea Dragons certainly don't shape up as an appealing matchup on paper, but Dormady is a quarterback the Sea Dragons don't have much film on yet and he's already shown a willingness to stretch the field. Latimer hasn't logged less than six targets in any game and at least eight in three of them, affording him what should be a stable floor.
Steven Mitchell Jr., WR - STL at VGS | $4,300
Mitchell became the latest Battlehawks receiver to step up his game, as he came through with a 50-yard touchdown reception and two-point conversion grab that netted 14.1 DK points. The USC product, who also has 10 receptions across 10 NFL games on his resume, boasts plenty of speed and had also posted a tally of 12.7 DK points back in Week 3.
The Vipers make for appealing targets through the air, having allowed the second-most passing yards per game (223.4). Vegas was beaten for several big plays through the air by the Guardians in Week 5 as well, including 25- and 45-yard touchdown grabs by Orlando's Charleston Rambo and Cody Latimer, respectively.
ALSO CONSIDER: Lance Lenoir, WR - ORL vs. SEA | $3,700
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