XFL Risers and Fallers Week 8: Players With Expanding Roles Including Jalan McClendon, John Lovett, Cedric Byrd, More

April 7, 2023

Juan's look at Risers and Fallers for Week 8 of the 2023 XFL season. These players are seeing their stock either expand or narrow heading into the next XFL slate.

Welcome to the Week 8 edition of RotoBaller's XFL Risers and Fallers, where we'll aim to identify multiple players at each skill position each week that appear to be either be trending toward an expanding or shrinking role.  After you're done here, be sure to also read all our other weekly XFL fantasy football articles.

Naturally, the participation and success level of many players can vary from week to week. However, the goal will be to spotlight players that have clear-cut reasons to support a continued ascension or decline while factoring in conditions such as the offensive system they're in, injuries around them, and the roles of other teammates at their position.

One note about the general protocol I'll try to follow with the selection of players for this article – once a player has been designated as either Riser or Faller in a particular week, I'll usually refrain from assigning them the same designation the very following week. The rare exception will be when an additional factor that makes them even more of a Riser or Faller surfaces during that specific time frame.

For a look at who was featured in the Week 7 edition of Risers and Fallers, click here.

XFL Quarterback Risers         

Quinten Dormady, Guardians | Week 8 matchup: vs. Renegades (Sat.)

Dormady put on a show in the momentous Week 7 upset of the Defenders, throwing for a season-high 328 yards with three touchdowns and adding another trio of scores on the ground. However, the young signal-caller's profile had already been building since taking over as an in-game replacement for an ineffective Paxton Lynch in Week 5, as he'd thrown for 256 yards and two touchdowns in that game and 243 yards, while adding 43 rush yards, in Week 6 against the Sea Dragons.

Lynch has subsequently been claimed by the Brahmas off waivers and Dormady currently has no true competition for the starting role. With a deep group of skill-position players at his disposal and an increasing command of the playbook, the Central Michigan alum's stock has never been higher this season.

Jalan McClendon, Vipers | Week 8 matchup: @ Battlehawks (Sat.)

McClendon will get a good litmus test in Week 8 against a tough Battlehawks pass defense. However, he already passed one against what had been a tough Brahmas unit with flying colors in Week 7. After being named a surprise starter over Brett Hundley once Luis Perez was traded to the Renegades, McClendon threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns while adding 25 yards on eight carries.

McClendon is naturally a bit of a wild card with just a one-game sample size, but his upside is evident. Additionally, even though the Vipers have officially been eliminated from postseason contention, they have a deep group of skill-position players that includes proficient pass catchers such as Jeff Badet and Geronimo Allison, as well as two talented pass-catching backs in Rod Smith and John Lovett.

ON THE RADAR: Luis Perez, Renegades | Week 8 matchup: at Guardians (Sat.)

XFL Quarterback Fallers

Brett Hundley, Vipers | Week 8 matchup: @ Battlehawks (Sat.)

Directly in line with what was just noted in McClendon's entry, Hundley is a definite faller this week. The NFL veteran was thought to have the inside track to the starting job once Luis Perez was traded to the Renegades, but McClendon's surprise promotion and his strong debut performance certainly downgrade Hundley's outlook. Additionally, with the Vipers playing for nothing but pride the last three games, there's certainly a good chance McClendon is given every opportunity to succeed or fail by head coach Rod Woodson and staff.

XFL Running Back Risers  

De'Veon Smith, Renegades | Week 8 matchup: @ Guardians (Sat.)

Smith's stock was most bearish for the first five games of the season while his offensive line failed to open up holes for him with any degree of consistency. The Michigan alum averaged 2.8 yards per carry or fewer in that sample before posting 10 carries for 42 yards in Week 5 alongside a 4-49 receiving line and then one-upping himself with 61 yards and two rushing TDs on 12 carries and three receptions for 33 yards in Week 7 against the Sea Dragons.

Smith has logged double-digit carries in three straight weeks and on five occasions overall this season, and he's shown a knack for the end zone with four touchdowns. The Renegades project to remain a run-centric attack for the last three games, and if the improvement in efficiency Smith has demonstrated in the last two games is any indication, he could be in for a big finish.

John Lovett, Vipers | Week 8 matchup: @ Battlehawks (Sat.)

Lovett just received a season-high nine carries in Week 7 and continues to make some eye-catching plays through the air, earning him a Riser tag this week. The Penn State product scored a touchdown on the ground last week and was held without a catch for the first time since Week 1, but he'd produced a combined 5-101-1 line through the air in the prior two weeks.

Lovett also had a 50-yard touchdown reception back in Week 3, and although he still has to share plenty of touches with backfield mate Rod Smith, the fact he now plays with a legitimate running threat at quarterback in McClendon could certainly lead to softer defensive fronts for him over the last three games of the season.

ON THE RADAR: Phillip Lindsay | Week 8 matchup: vs. D.C.(Sun.) // Leddie Brown, Renegades | Week 8 matchup: at Guardians (Sat.)

XFL Running Back Fallers

Darius Bradwell, Sea Dragons | Week 8 matchup: vs. D.C. (Sun.)

Bradwell has averaged just 2.4 yards per carry while being given extended opportunity the last three games, and Phillip Lindsay, a 2018 Pro Bowler with the Denver Broncos and two-time 1,000-yard rusher, has been brought aboard. Bradwell's backfield mate T.J. Hammonds has also been a more efficient option than Bradwell, another ding on his prospects.

XFL Wide Receiver Risers

Cedric Byrd II, Roughnecks | Week 8 matchup: @ Brahmas (Sun.)

Byrd has been a presence in the Roughnecks' air attack all season, but he's especially stepped it up the last four games with a combined 23-144 receiving line in that span. The Hawaii product plays in a pass-heavy offense and has been able to establish rapport with both Brandon Silvers and Cole McDonald fairly quickly.

The loss of Jontre Kirklin for the season with a shoulder injury earlier in the campaign has certainly helped Byrd's cause, but he's also an accomplished pass catcher that totaled between 903 and 1,097 receiving yards in each of his last three college campaigns. Houston will continue to rely heavily on the pass the rest of the way, and Byrd's value, especially in PPR formats, should continue to rise as a result.

Chris Blair, Defenders | Week 8 matchup: @ Sea Dragons (Sun.)

Blair broke out with a 5-139-1 line on seven targets in Week 7, but he hasn't earned this designation based just on that performance. Rather, Blair has already put together a couple of other productive efforts this season, posting a combined 6-146-1 line in Weeks 3 and 4. Even in Week 6, when Blair had all of two receiving yards on one catch, he saw an encouraging five targets.

Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who's been profiled in this column previously, has been trending upwards with his passing performances, and that should continue over the last three weeks of the season. Blair's position mate Lucky Jackson has been a big beneficiary, but as the speedy Alcorn State product demonstrated last week, he's capable of capitalizing on the one-on-one matchups the defensive attention increasingly bestowed on Jackson is starting to afford him.

ON THE RADAR: Landen Akers, Brahmas | Week 8 matchup: vs. Roughnecks (Sun.) // Jordan Veasy, Sea Dragons | Week 8 matchup: vs. Defenders (Sun.)

XFL Wide Receiver Fallers

Damion Willis, Sea Dragons | Week 8 matchup: vs. D.C. (Sun.)

Willis' arrow was pointing upward after he posted a 5-61-1 line in Week 5. However, it was always going to be tough for Willis to make a consistent mark on a very deep Sea Dragons receiving corps, and sure enough, he's managed just three catches for 22 yards on six targets in the subsequent pair of contests. With several wideouts ahead of him on the depth chart, Willis may ultimately find Week 5 was the high point of his season.

XFL Tight End Risers  

Sal Cannella, Renegades | Week 8 matchup: @ Guardians (Sat.)

Cannella has been featured previously in this space, but he returns based on both his Week 7 performance and the fact there's an encouraging development at quarterback for the Renegades. Luis Perez, who was traded from the Vipers prior to Week 7, should take over as the starter beginning with Saturday's favorable matchup against the Guardians. That should only work to Cannella's benefit, and he already checks in having posted a 4-64 line on seven targets against the Sea Dragons in his most recent contest, his fourth in the last five with at least that many looks.

XFL Tight End Fallers

Deon Yelder, Brahmas | Week 8 matchup: vs. Roughnecks (Sun.)

Yelder came into the XFL with a resume that included three seasons with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. However, the big tight end has been primarily utilized as a blocker with the Brahmas and certainly hasn't played with a quarterback anywhere near the caliber of his former battery mate. With just one catch for eight yards since Week 2, Yelder has virtually no fantasy value at the moment.

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