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Welcome to the Week 9 edition of RotoBaller's XFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mispriced players in DraftKings' Week 9 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're now down to the final two weeks of the regular season, and there is still one postseason spot in each conference up for grabs. Therefore, we should be in for another exciting slate with some hard-fought contests. As customary, we'll break down multiple cost-saving options at each position to consider for your DraftKings lineups.
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, ARL at DC | $8,600
Perez generated a modest 7.6 DK points against the Guardians in Week 8 during what was his first start with the Renegades, but he did amass a respectable 190 passing yards in the process despite being without Victor Bolden (hamstring) and not targeting proficient pass-catching tight end Sal Cannella a single time.
The veteran spring league quarterback should be even more comfortable with the offense going into his second game with Arlington, and he'll have a chance to upgrade his overall production versus a Defenders team that's struggled to slow down the pass all season. Reggie Barlow's crew is surrendering a league-high 254.9 passing yards per contest and have surrendered 300-yard passing performances to the Guardians' Quentin Dormady and the Sea Dragons' Ben DiNucci the last two weeks.
ALSO CONSIDER: Brandon Silvers, HOU vs. VGS | $8,700
XFL Running Back DFS Value Plays
Jacques Patrick, SAN vs. ORL | $7,700
Patrick took full advantage of his lead-back role in Week 8, turning 20 touches into 134 yards and a rushing touchdown against the Roughnecks in a performance that netted a season-high 23.4 DK points. However, that's far from the FSU product's only noteworthy fantasy effort of the season, as he'd also produced tallies of 13.0 and 10.5 DK points in the prior two games as well.
Patrick should continue to enjoy a clear-cut lead-back role in Week 9, and he'll face a Guardians team that's struggled at times to stop the run during the second half of the season. Additionally, Orlando has surrendered the third-most passing yards per game (214.9), while Patrick has at least five targets in three of the past four contests.
Phillip Lindsay, SEA at STL | $7,500
Lindsay was afforded 10 touches in his first game with Seattle, and he netted 29 yards and a rushing touchdown with that opportunity against a league-best Defenders defense. Lindsay is a two-time 1,000-yard rusher at the NFL level and a talented receiver as well, so he certainly has the ability to make a big leap in production in the right matchup and with another week of practice under his belt.
He should have a golden opportunity to do just that in Week 9, as the Battlehawks have allowed an XFL-high 132 rushing yards per contest. Additionally, St. Louis has been the league's best defense against the pass (XFL-low 162.6 passing yards per contest surrendered), which could well funnel more opportunity Lindsay's way.
ALSO CONSIDER: Rod Smith, VGS at HOU | $6,200
XFL Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays
Chris Blair, DC vs. ARL | $5,900
Blair came through in stellar fashion as a Week 8 value recommendation, and he's right back in play in Week 9 with a salary that's still a bargain compared to his upside. The speedster has put on a show for two straight games, netting 11 receptions for 299 yards and a touchdown over that pair of contests against the Guardians and Sea Dragons.
Blair's Week 9 matchup isn't the most attractive on paper, given the Renegades are only allowing a modest 190.5 passing yards per game. However, the Alcorn State alum clearly has the trust of quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, and he's coming off back-to-back seven-target tallies that corroborate his growing role as a top-2 option in the red-hot Defenders passing game.
Tyler Vaughns, ARL at DC | $4,500
Vaughns makes for an interesting option on the other side of the Renegades-Defenders matchup, considering he's quietly kept a steady role throughout most of the season and is now playing with what may be his most competent battery mate yet, Luis Perez. Vaughns has a quartet of four-catch efforts thus far, and he checks into Week 9 with a 7-77 line on seven targets over the last two games.
Vaughns only has one double-digit DK-point tally thus far this season, but what should be growing chemistry with Perez and the fact he's facing a Defenders defense that's struggled so much against the pass does combine to give him plenty of upside heading into what is a must-win game for the 4-4 Renegades.
Gary Jennings, STL vs. SEA | $3,500
Jennings should be left strictly for tournament play, considering he's a home-run hitter of a receiver who's likely to see the majority of his opportunity on lower-percentage downfield throws. Nevertheless, the big-bodied speedster has started to make a little noise of late, posting a 3-90-2 line on his three targets in the last two games.
Jennings actually has a touchdown in three straight contests -- he recorded a four-yard scoring grab against the Vipers in Week 6 as well -- and he's delivered 10.6 and 13.4 DK points in his last two games. The Sea Dragons defense gave up some big plays to the Defenders' Chris Blair and Lucky Jackson a week ago as well, brightening Jennings' prospects at his bargain salary.
ALSO CONSIDER: Mathew Sexton, VGS at HOU | $3,900
XFL Flex DFS Value Plays
Juwan Green, WR - SEA at STL | $6,100
Green faces a stingy secondary in Week 8, but the fact he plays on such a deep receiving corps could help in such a scenario by drawing some of the defense's top cover men away from him. The Albany product also happens to be coming off his best game of the season, as he racked up a spectacular 7-142-2 line against the Defenders.
Green also has four- and five-catch efforts this season, and he should have an opportunity to see his fair share of targets given the importance of the game for the Sea Dragons, which must pull out a victory to remain in the postseason picture.
Eli Rogers, WR - ORL at SA | $5,300
Rogers is in a tough matchup himself, but the veteran is also coming off a stellar Week 8 showing and has been a steady performer throughout the season. Rogers generated 10 receptions for 135 yards on 12 targets versus the Renegades in what had also been a daunting positional matchup on paper, and he's recorded multiple receptions in six straight games overall.
ALSO CONSIDER: Sal Cannella, TE - ARL at DC | $6,600
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