The 2023 XFL season is here. For those of you who can’t get enough fantasy football action, we’ve got you covered with our Week 3 XFL start/sit plays. Be sure to also check out our full Week 3 XFL rankings.
Week 3 XFL Fantasy Football Start ’ems
Brian Hill, RB, | STL at DC
Given how new the XFL is, fantasy managers justifiably need to be reactionary. If we see a player’s usage increase, it’s probably worth chasing that usage the following week.
Last week, Mataeo Durant operated as the Battlehawks’ lead running back, with Brian Hill unexpectedly absent due to a hamstring injury. The short week definitely played a role, but Hill is expected back in Week 3.
Fantasy managers learning an entirely new group of players may not have realized Hill wasn’t playing. I can’t say this for sure, but I am reasonably confident Durant did not take Hill’s job.
Durant carried the ball 13 times for 24 yards and added three receptions for 21 more. He was hardly the pinnacle of efficiency.
I fully expect Hill to go right back into the RB1 role. He carried the ball six times for 55 yards in Week 1 while adding 26 yards on three receptions. Hill may very well have the most complete role among XFL running backs.
Blake Jackson, WR | SEA at VEG
The XFL is a wild and interesting place. There are some teams where we don’t want to start any wide receivers. In Seattle, we want to start many of them.
Josh Gordon remains the most well-known player in the XFL, but he really only plays in three-receiver sets. Jahcour Pearson has established himself as the best fantasy receiver. But don’t sleep on Blake Jackson.
The Sea Dragons’ WR2 is second in the XFL in targets with 17 through two weeks. While he’s only turned his 13 receptions into 78 yards, that’s tremendous volume.
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The Sea Dragons throw a ton with their top two receivers (Pearson and Jackson) top two in targets. Gordon is tied for seventh.
There’s a lot of volume to go around, and I like this spot against a Vipers team that should be better with a full week of Brett Hundley as the starter. This could sneakily be a high-scoring game, which bodes well for all Seattle receivers.
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Week 3 XFL Fantasy Football Sit ’ems
Jah-Maine Martin, RB | ORL at ARL
It’s admittedly difficult to bench any starting running back in the XFL. After all, there are only eight of them. But don’t expect much from Jah-Maine Martin this week.
The Orlando Guardians are the worst team in the XFL by a very, very wide margin. This week, they travel to Arlington to play what is probably the second-best team in the league behind the Houston Roughnecks.
Here is what lead running backs have done against the Renegades this season. In Week 2, Max Borghi ran the ball 12 times for 27 yards. In Week 1, Rod Smith carried the ball five times for one yard. Yes. One.
The Guardians are the biggest underdog of the season thus far. It’s a theme I think we will see for the remaining eight weeks.
Martin has been effective on the ground despite the constant negative game script, carrying the ball nine times in each of his first two games for 41 and 46 yards, respectively.
The problem is he’s a zero in the passing game with just a single reception for one yard, and he’s on a team that is very likely to be the lowest-scoring team in the league. Martin just has no ceiling.
Martavis Bryant, WR | VEG vs. SEA
Conventional wisdom suggested that former NFL players would be the best players in the XFL. For some guys, like Brian Hill and A.J. McCarron, that’s been true. For others, well, there’s a reason these guys couldn’t make it in the NFL.
One of those guys is Martavis Bryant. Despite being viewed as the Vipers’ WR1, Bryant has just four catches for 28 yards on nine targets through two weeks.
Perhaps things will improve with Hundley under center, but right now, Bryant is sharing a WR2 role with Geronimo Allison on a low-volume passing offense. Jeff Badet is the clear WR1. Until something changes, Bryant needs to ride the bench.