XFL Week 5 WR/TE FanDuel Plays – Saturday Slate

Last week I openly advocated for targeting WR/TEs over RBs for your flex spots while constructing your weekly FanDuel cash games and GPP tournaments. This week I am back to double down and I have data to back my claim. I crunched the numbers and compared the 10 scorers at both the WR/TE and RB position.

In week 4 the top flex scorer was LA Wildcats WR Tre McBride with 22.7 FanDuel points, compared to 16.8 points from Tampa Bay Vipers RB Jacques Patrick. The top 10 RBs on FanDuel average 9.04 FPPG compared to the top 10 WRs, who average 12.97 FPPG. WRs are scoring 3.93 more points per game on average. The 10th WR Jordan Smallwood outscored 7 of the top 10 RBs last week. Don’t let anyone tell you anything else, WR/TEs are still king heading into week 5 of the XFL season.

Houston Roughnecks

Cam Phillips – $21

No Cam Phillips did not complete the hat trick of hat tricks and score 3 touchdowns for the third straight game. As a matter of fact, he did not score even two touchdowns and in the end, had only a single reception for 9 yards.

The letdown was to be expected given how touchdown regression trends, but only 3 targets were still surprising given he was leading the league in receptions and targets after 3 weeks. I think that Phillips bounces back and finds the endzone in week 5. Given his $21 price tag, if he doesn’t, you probably won’t be cashing big.

Nick Holley – $17

Nick Holley finally broke out last week against the Dallas Renegades scoring 19.7 FanDuel points after being targeted 10 times, with 8 receptions for 97 yards and a score.

With Kahlil Lewis limited in practice this week, I expect Holley to have a safer floor to go along with his hiked up price. I will be featuring close to 40% Holley in my line-up builds.

Seattle Dragons

Austin Proehl – $17 & Keenan Reynolds $15

Through 4 games, both WRs have received 26 targets. Proehl has a catch rate of 50% and Reynolds is down at 44%. Currently, there is also uncertainty about who will be getting the snaps under center between starting QB Bradon Silvers and back-up BJ Daniels.

Last week Daniels entered the second half of Seattle’s game against the STL BattleHawks and sparked a late comeback attempt, mostly through his rushing ability though. The two WRs combined for 1.54 FanDuel points last week. The wait and see approach might be best until Zorn and company figure out what they are doing.

Dallas Renegades

Back to square one for Dallas after Landry Jones will miss the next few weeks with a knee injury. It does not totally derail the most pass-happy offense in the XFL. We also have data target share data from week 1 when Philip Nelson started for a then-ailing Jones.

Donald Parham, Flynn Nagel, and Lance Dunbar all tied for the team lead in targets with 6. Temper your expectations a bit for the Renegade pass-catchers as Nelson averages 1.7 fewer yards per attempt than Jones.

Flynn Nagel – $16

The last two weeks Flynn Nagel has averaged a solid 13 FanDuel points per game. It’s no secret that Parham is the top receiver on the team, but Nagel has hauled in 90% of his targets this year and has found the end zone as well. His target share is currently only 12.72% so there is definitely an opportunity to best that number this week.

New York Guardians

Colby Pearson – $14

Last week Mekale McKay may have stolen the show with his touchdown grab, but Colby Pearson quietly led the team with 6 targets for new starting QB Luis Perez. He led the Guardian in target share last week at 23.07%. With McKay prices at $15, I will have more Pearson as I look for value plays to solidify my line-ups.