Full list of Week 5 XFL rankings for daily fantasy football

We now have four weeks of XFL games under our belt and we’re starting to get a little better handle on which teams are good and which aren’t quite there. But, that also means there is plenty of parity between those scrambling below the Top-2 teams, the Houston Roughnecks and St. Louis BattleHawks.

Getting a better handle on these teams should help us rank players more accurately as we move forward. Below we have our Week 5 rankings for each position and their price for daily fantasy football. At DraftKings, you start a QB, an RB, two wide receivers, two flex players, and one defense/special teams unit. This league is extremely quarterback and wide receiver focused, as quarterbacks have thrown for 42 touchdowns while running backs have rushed for 16 through 32 games.

Quarterbacks

P.J. Walker remains the highest priced quarterback at DK, and for good reason, as he’s been the most consistent and highest-scoring signal-caller as well. Getting consistency from XFL quarterbacks is something you must cherish for fantasy, as there are very few quarterbacks who fit that bill.

Walker faces a Dragons defense at home this weekend that has allowed the third-most passing yards, second-highest yards per attempt and worst completion percentage. Walker shouldn’t have any trouble finding open receivers this week.

The safest quarterback plays will come from the two top teams, but the Wildcats, who are 1-3 have Josh Johnson, who has been as consistent as Walker and the BattleHawks’ Jordan Ta’amu. This week he faces a Vipers defense that gave up three touchdowns and over 300 yards to Walker on their home turf and now they head to LA to face Johnson. A similar outcome wouldn’t be crazy.

Running Backs

We finally saw a 100-yard rusher last week while also getting a second one, both from the Tampa Bay Vipers, as De’Veon Smith and Jacques Patrick topped the century mark against the hapless Defenders. This week the duo get a good matchup in LA, as the Wildcats have allowed the most rushing yards at the second-highest yards per carry. The trouble will be game script, as the Vipers won’t shutout the Wildcats at home, likely pushing them to throw more.

Dallas will be without Landry Jones, so we will see Philip Nelson take the lead. Nelson was a dink-and-dunker in his Week 1 star which should keep Cameron-Artis Payne and Lance Dunbar flush with targets, but the overall offense will likely take a hit.

Houston should be able to handle the Dragons at home and are considered -13.5 favorites, which means we could see a bigger workload for James Butler. We can’t expect much more than 10-15 touches, but if he gets into the higher end of that, he’ll be a strong value.

Wide Receivers

The loss of Nelson Spruce along with Tre McBride’s big workload and production has shot McBride to the top of the list. Spruce didn’t practice on Tuesday and didn’t practice all last week, which makes him iffy to go this week. Cam Phillips topped 190 yards and caught three touchdowns against the Vipers in Tampa Bay two weeks ago. McBride has that ability.

I haven’t given up on Cam Phillips quite yet. His one reception for nine yards last week was a reminder that the Roughnecks deploy four receivers or more on each play, so if teams take Phillips away, there are plenty of other options. Last week, Nick Holley led the way in production, while Khalil Lewis led in targets. Both have value, but Phillips remains the No. 1.

The Vipers will need to throw more this week and Dan Williams has been their go-to guy this season. Williams ranks second in targets and fourth in yards while creating seven missed-tackles according to Pro Football Focus, which leads all receivers. Getting the ball to him and letting him create is the plan and in a game where they will likely trail, he should see plenty of usage.

Defense/Special Teams

At this point, it is difficult to call any teams a top defense, but there are bad offenses to target. The Roughnecks are one of the teams you can lump into the good side of XFL defenses, as they lead the league in sacks and interceptions and are second in tackles for a loss. They have allowed the third-most yards and are tied for most points allowed, which cuts their upside, but the pressure they give a quarterback leads to turnovers and this week they face a poor Dragons offense.

The Wildcats have shown sparks of defense and had their best effort at home two weeks ago against the Defenders. This week they get a Vipers team traveling cross country after their first win of the season. The Vipers won’t be able to give two separate backs 20+ carries this week, so Taylor Cornelius will be forced to throw the ball more often than they’d like.