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The NFL season may be over, but we did have some fun Week 1 of XFL DFS on DraftKings! XFL DFS looks here to stay and we have got a whole bunch to recap of the weekend here to keep you ready to go into next week on DraftKings. We finally have a sample size to work with, so it will be interesting to see whether things remain trending from Week 1, or Week 2 is just full of more surprises. These leagues were made for offenses. Let’s dive back into the four games from XFL DFS Week 1. For all stats on the games, you can click here.
Seattle Dragons @ D.C. Defenders (-8) – XFL DFS Week 1 Review
31-19 D.C. over Seattle
After a slow start for both teams in the first half, things started to heat up after the break. Both quarterbacks came out slinging and combined for five passing touchdowns. However, Brandon Silvers definitely showed his inexperience with two interceptions and he averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt with a 53 percent completion percentage. Cardale Jones faired much better connecting on 62 percent of his passes for 291 passing yards and no turnovers. Jones consistently made things happen with his arm and legs. The Dragons offense seems very focused on running the ball and taking strikes down-field.
Dragons
For the Seattle running backs, this is definitely a strong unit on their offense, but it is essentially a three-headed monster with Trey Williams, JaQuan Gardner, and Kenneth Farrow. For rushing, Farrow led the way with seven carries for 41 yards with a long of 19. That was followed by Gardner who went nine for 36, and Williams was three for 16 rushing yards. The biggest impact for these running backs was their impact in the passing game though. Williams and Farrow combined for eight receptions on nine targets with Williams getting the TD reception. Farrow is the most expensive back at $6,000 in Week 2.
Wide receiver Austin Proehl garnered 10 targets from Silvers, catching five for 88 yards and finding the end zone twice, including a 57-yard catch-and-run. He was the best receiver on the field and Silvers looked his way often. He also serves as the team’s primary punt returner so he has dual value heading into Week 2. His price is way up in Week 2 at $9,200. Keenan Reynolds did not have a great game; second on the team in targets (7) but he finished with just two catches for five yards. Saw two targets from the start, as the team looked like they tried to get him going. His price dropped to $6,200 for next week.
Dontez Byrd finished with five targets but saw most of his targets downfield. At the receiver position, the three starters on the depth chart did indeed see the most work. Running back followed the same patter with Gardner getting the start and most carries. However, no targets. The Dragons when trailing used more of Farrow and Williams, especially on third-down. Kasen Williams would be the name to monitor over Byrd if he is healthy next week. He is at $5,900.
Defenders
As for the D.C. run game, they could not much to happen on the ground. Starter Pressley led the team with 12 carries for just 31 yards. He still saw three targets in the passing game, so at least we can put 15 touches confidently in his projections for Week 2 where he is $7,000. I would anticipate that in a game where D.C. would be trailing they would use much more of Donnel Pumphrey who was heavily involved in jet sweeps and the passing game.
Eli Rogers was my cash-play for Week 1 out of the slot and he delivered with six receptions for 73 yards catching all six of his targets. He was the only receiver with more than five targets and the only that did not catch one of the few bombs Jones threw. Rogers also returns punts. He is at $9,900 for Week 2. Overall these teams both needed big-plays to score because they both were horrible on third down. Dragons went 4-15 and Defenders 5-15.
Los Angeles Wildcats @ Houston Roughnecks (-6) – XFL DFS Week 1 Review
37-17 Houston over LA
Quarterback Phillip Walker and the June Jones led offense did not disappoint in Week 1. Well as long as you played Kahlil Lewis over Sammie Coates as I told you in the DraftKings preview article. It all started out with a quick strike to Cam Phillips. All three of these receivers are priced way up in Week 2 with Phillips the cheapest at $8,400.
Wildcats
My biggest miss was not being higher on Nelson Spruce who was the target magnet in this game. A whopping 15-targets for 11 receptions, I overlooked him because of his athletic profile. Spruce is the most expensive non-QB in Week 2. The only other receiver who saw any action was Jordan Smallwood who has a huge size and had seven targets. He also caught the lone touchdown from Chad Kanoff along with a point after play. His price is pretty good at $6,700. He will be a red zone guy all season for the Wildcats.
Depth chart-wise Smallwood, Spruce, and Adonis Jennings were the three starters and that was accurate in terms of overall usage outside of Jennings. He saw mixed usage alongside Kermit Whitfield and Saeed Blacknall. None of those guys will be as relevant if the team gets Tre McBride healthy next week. McBride is just 4K next week.
James Butler saw a lot of usage in the red zone and was the clear number one running back with nine carries versus Andre Williams who had just two carries. He offers much more in the passing game so Butler should be the one to roster in Week 2. Butler also returns kicks for the Houston so again another chance for him to get additional touches. Butler is $6,300 next week.
Sunday XFL DFS Games
Tampa Bay Vipers @ New York Guardians (+3) – XFL DFS Week 1 Review
23 – 3 New York over Tampa Bay
This game was a disaster for the Vipers. They had numerous chances inside the 30-yard line, but they were unable to generate any offense when they got close to scoring. Aaron Murray was an utter disaster completing just 47 percent of his passes, and tossing two interceptions. The Vipers offense saw the most explosiveness when Quinton Flowers entered the game at quarterback in the second half. With Flowers at quarterback, you could also see that it opened bigger holes in the run game for De’Veon Smith who rushed for a Week 1 high 79 rushing yards on 16 carries. Both quarterbacks dealt with a ton of pressure from the New York front seven. Smith is at $7,500 in Week 2. If Flowers sees more action at QB, that makes me like Smith much more.
Tampa Bay
At the receiver position despite Seantavius Jones being priced the highest he was a backup on the depth chart and saw zero targets. Dan Williams led the team with nine targets for six receptions for 123 yards. He was consistently moving the chains for both Murray and Flowers. If this offense is to turn it around, I have to imagine it will involve Nick Truesdale who flashed as a freak tight end breaking tackles and making one-handed catches.
The main deep target was Jalen Tolliver for the Vipers. He was second on the team with eight targets with a team-high 44-yard reception. He also saw heavy usage near the red zone. His price makes no sense on DraftKings for Week 2: $3,900. He had over a 24% target market share in Week 1. The Viper’s cornerbacks seemed to be also very one-sided as well. Kelly had three passes defended while cornerbacks J.Collins and Lewis were getting consistently burned.
Guardians
On the New York Guardians side, Joe Horn was always getting fed targets with from quarterback Matt McGloin. Horn is super-cheap too in Week 2: $3,400 At running back for New York Darius Victor was the clear more explosive back with Tim Cook‘s role mostly being used near the goal line on point after conversion plays. Victor is priced below Cook at $4,100 in Week 2. One of their most explosive receivers is Mekale McKay had three receptions but caught a 45-yard bomb. He is clearly the most talented wide receiver they have on the outside. He is very expensive in Week 2 at $10,200.
St. Louis BattleHawks @ Dallas Renegades (-9.5) – XFL DFS Week 1 Review
So it looks like Christine Michael is not going to be a thing in the XFL, with Matt Jones leading the way with 85 rushing yards on 21 carries. Jones is $5,300 for Week 2 versus Houston. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu utilized his legs like I thought he would rushing for 77 yards on nine carries to go along with 209 passing yards, and a 74% completion percentage. This kid’s ceiling is truly unknown and I think he is a value in a shootout versus Houston in Week 2. He is the seventh-most expensive quarterback at $8,900.
For the St.Louis receivers, the targets were distributed pretty evenly with Marcus Lucas leading the way. However, DraftKings priced up Pierson-El for some reason all the way to $8,000 when you can get Lucas for $4,600 or Washington at $4,400.
Dallas
As for Dallas, they could not run the ball and Lance Dunbar saw the bulk of work with the Renegades trailing. Dunbar was heavily involved in the passing game with six receptions on six targets. Quarterback Philip Nelson struggled to get the ball down the field, but with Landry Jones, back hopefully in Week 2, their offense can improve. Dallas pass-catchers will be a buy-low in Week 2 when the team squares off versus the Wildcats defense; who by the way just fired their defensive coordinator Pepper Johnson.
Overall depth charts for receivers for all XFL teams were spot on. The wide receivers that were atop depth charts continued to dominate and received the majority of their team’s targets. These are names to target for sure in Week 2. The two biggest standouts in terms of pricing are Horn and Tolliver for sure. Both are sub-4k receivers in Week 2.
