XFL Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Seattle Dragons vs DC Defenders

If you're already craving more fantasy football just days after the Super Bowl, the XFL has you covered. This weekend marks the arrival of XFL fantasy football.

The eight teams all have championship aspirations as Week 1 of the XFL season kicks off this weekend. The Duel has already got you covered with Week 1 start 'em, sit 'em and XFL fantasy football rankings, and now let's get even deeper into fantasy picks for each game.

First up is the Seattle Dragons vs DC Defenders.

XFL Fantasy Football

Start Cardale Jones, QB, DC Defenders: Cardale Jones never stuck in the NFL, playing in just one game after being drafted in 2016. He was the second QB off the board in the 2020 XFL Draft, though, and he's one of the league's most exciting QBs. It's hard to predict much about these Week 1 games with the unique rosters and league rules, but most sportsbooks have the Defenders favored by at least a touchdown, meaning Jones and his offense are a decent bet to be one of the week's most productive units.

Start Keenan Reynolds, WR, Seattle Dragons: On the other side of things, efficiency could be a concern for the underdog Dragons. Something that's true across all types of football, though, is that playing from behind often leads to increased passing volume. Keenan Reynolds, a former option QB at Navy, projects as the Dragons' top wideout (they still haven't released a Week 1 depth chart) as of this writing, so that volume should mean plenty of looks go Reynolds' way.

Sit Donnel Pumphrey, RB, DC Defenders: Donnel Pumphrey is a really interesting player for the season, but as the Defenders' RB2 (behind Jhurell Pressley), his role is still up in the air. There's certainly something to be said for rolling the dice on the unknown in Week 1, but for now Pressley (after being drafted five rounds ahead of Pumphrey) is the play in the Defenders' backfield.

Sit Brandon Silvers, QB, Seattle Dragons: On the same line of thinking that makes Jones a strong play under center for DC, Brandon Silvers is one of the weaker QB options for Week 1. The second-biggest underdog QB on the slate, the former Troy QB is likely to be fighting an uphill battle in his XFL debut.

Be sure to also check out or fantasy picks for the rest of the XFL Week 1 matchups: Los Angeles Wildcats vs Houston Roughnecks, Tampa Bay Vipers vs. New York Guardians and St. Louis BattleHawks vs. Dallas Renegades.

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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.