XFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Week 3

We've reached Week 3 of the XFL season, and that means we're starting to get a clearer picture of how things are likely to play out for each of the eight teams.

The XFL championship odds are starting to paint some clear favorites and underdogs, and a two-week sample is giving us a better idea of player value in XFL fantasy football.

With that in mind, here are the top XFL start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 3.

Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for XFL Fantasy Football Week 3

Start Landry Jones, QB, Dallas Renegades: Cardale Jones and P.J. Walker have emerged as the two obvious starts at QB this year. Missing Week 1 due to injury, Landry Jones fell behind. He attempted 40 passes in his debut, though, and while he only notched one touchdown, he racked up 305 passing yards. With his combination of volume and efficiency (70 percent completion percentage in his debut), the touchdowns will come. The Renegades are 5-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook this week, and there should be plenty of scoring opportunities for Dallas.

Sit Josh Johnson, QB, Los Angeles Wildcats: Josh Johnson entered the season with some hype thanks to his NFL pedigree, but the LA Wildcats are a bit of a mess. Like Jones, Johnson missed Week 1, but his debut was less impressive. A pair of touchdowns salvaged an otherwise uninspiring day, tallying 196 yards on 18-of-34 passing. Next up he draws a DC Defenders' defense that currently surrenders 9.5 points per game (PPG), which is the best such mark in the league. That's not going to do him any favors on the efficiency front.

Start Lance Dunbar, RB, Dallas Renegades: Early signs are that the XFL is not going to treat us with any workhorse RBs for fantasy. Only two backs have over 30 opportunities (carries plus targets) through two games. Targets typically generate significantly more fantasy points than rush attempts, though, so Lance Dunbar's workload is particularly interesting. He leads all RBs with 12 targets, seeing 6 in each game. He's not excluded from the rushing attack either, as Dunbar has racked up a combined 11 carries through two games.

Sit Tim Cook and Darius Victor, RB, New York Guardians: Darius Victor led the Guardians' backfield with 9 carries in Week 1, then Tim Cook saw 10 in Week 2 when Victor got banged up. Regardless of Victor's health in Week 3, it's tough to trust either one in this week's matchup against the St. Louis BattleHawks. The Guardians are huge 9.5-point underdogs in a game a with a 40.5-point over/under. That gives them an implied total of 15.5 points — 2.5 fewer than any other team. This is an offense to avoid entirely.

Start Donald Parham, WR, Dallas Renegades: Donald Parham has gotten off to an excellent start this season thanks to some impressive volume. The Renegades have been the most pass-heavy team in the XFL, and Parham leads the offense with 17 targets — the third-most for any player. With his 6-foot-8 frame, he's also a significant threat in the red zone, as we saw last week when he caught a 3-yard touchdown on his 11th target of the game.

Sit Sammie Coates, WR, Houston Roughnecks: The Houston Roughnecks passing game has been prolific, but that's been no thanks to former Pittsburgh Steeler Sammie Coates. In last week's 28-24 win over the St. Louis BattleHawks, Coates had 1 reception on 4 targets, for just 8 yards. Three Roughnecks saw more looks in that game, and he seems to be losing the trust of Walker, who went Coates' way nine times in Week 1. Coates' catch rate of just 23 percent is almost guaranteed to jump significantly, but with his struggles leading to reduced volume, that may not be enough to salvage his fantasy football value.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.