Welcome to Week 5 of the inaugural UFL season, RotoBallers! The Birmingham Stallions remain undefeated, and they'll take on the Houston Roughnecks in the only matchup this week with a spread of more than three points. The 3-1 San Antonio Brahmas will face off with the winless Arlington Renegades in a Texas showdown, the 3-1 St. Louis Battlehawks will do battle with the 2-2 D.C. Defenders, and the 3-1 Michigan Panthers will square off with the 2-2 Memphis Showboats in the other matchups this week.
Below are my thoughts on DraftKings' Week 5 DFS slate of UFL contests, which goes live on 4/27 at 7:00 pm ET. I'd encourage you to read all our other weekly UFL fantasy football articles and stay on top of injury news, and roster moves to remain well-informed and ahead of the competition. Let's get to it. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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DraftKings Quarterbacks - Week 5 UFL DFS Picks
A.J. McCarron - St. Louis Battlehawks vs. D.C. Defenders - $10,900
I'm riding with the expensive St. Louis stack this weekend. A.J. McCarron has established himself as the top QB in the league, averaging 21.03 DK points per game while holding a sparkling 8/1 TD/INT ratio. He has upped his game each week, starting with 17.6 DK points in Week 1 and finishing with 24.2 DK points in Week 4. This is projected to be a high-scoring, competitive game as the Battlehawks are favored by 3.5 points in a game with a slate-high 46.5-point implied total. It also helps that the Defenders don't have a good pass defense - they allow the second-highest yards per completion (11.1) and have ceded the second-most passing touchdowns (seven). All this adds up to spending on McCarron, pairing him with one of his favorite weapons, and going cheaper elsewhere.
Quinten Dormady - San Antonio Brahams vs. Arlington Renegades - $9,000
Dormady did fine in his first start after taking over for the injured Chase Garbers. He finished with 13.8 DK points, completing 23-of-37 passes with one touchdown and one interception against the Michigan Panthers. The completion rate and TD/INT ratio don't inspire confidence, but what we have to like here is what we saw from a pass volume standpoint. More often than not, 37 pass attempts will result in great DFS days, and Dormady will have a much better chance at success in Week 5 against the Arlington Renegades. Arlington ranks last in PFF's defense and pass coverage grades, and they've permitted the highest yards per completion (13.1) and yards per attempt (7.5) this season.
DraftKings Running Backs - Week 5 UFL DFS Picks
Ricky Person Jr. - Birmingham Stallions vs. Houston Roughnecks - $7,100
John Lovett - San Antonio Brahmas vs. Arlington Renegades - $6,700
Lovett remains too cheap as the starting running back for San Antonio. He hasn't been very efficient, but we don't get fantasy points for efficiency, and he has finished with 13.4 and 11.3 DK points over the last two weeks. That will get the job done at his salary, and he could be in for an even bigger week with a favorable matchup on tap against Arlington. The Renegades have allowed a league-leading 439 yards and five touchdowns on the ground this season, and their rush defense only ranks ahead of the D.C. Defenders (per Pro Football Focus).
Jacob Saylors - St. Louis Battlehawks vs. D.C. Defenders - $7,300
This one is a no-brainer. Saylors has 16.3 and 24.2 DK points over the last two weeks and has the workhorse role to himself as he has leapfrogged former pro Wayne Gallman. As stated in the McCarron blurb, this game will likely be high-scoring, translating to additional chances for Saylors to hit paydirt and crush value in Week 5. There's no need to get cute here; differentiate your lineups in other spots.
DraftKings Wide Receivers and Tight Ends - Week 5 UFL DFS Picks
Marquez Stevenson - San Antonio Brahmas vs. Arlington Renegades - $7,100
Stevenson is my choice to pair up with Dormady against the Renegades, but you can also feel free to get to Jontre Kirklin or Cody Latimer. Stevenson is the cheapest of the bunch, but he has a bankable floor and a top-tier ceiling to match. He averages 13 DK points on 6.5 targets per game, though his 25.3 DK point explosion in Week 2 helped out his season averages. He caught 3-of-8 targets for 16 yards and a touchdown in Dormady's first start last week, and I believe he'll continue to be heavily involved as they take on Arlington in Week 5.
Tyler Vaughns - Arlington Renegades vs. San Antonio Brahmas - $6,600
Vaughns looks excellent as a runback option with San Antonio stacks or a one-off to fill out your lineups. He didn't do much last week, finishing with just 2.2 DK points while catching just 1-of-4 targets. Still, he had a tournament-winning 28.9 DK points in Week 3's shootout against D.C and a usable 13.8 DK point showing in Week 2. He's averaging just under eight targets per game as the lead pass-catcher for Arlington, and that has value for a winless team that finds itself playing from behind.
Hakeem Butler, Jahcour Pearson, Darrius Shepherd, Marcell Ateman - St. Louis Battlehawks vs. D.C. Defenders
This feels like a cop-out, but hear me out. We can get many different lineup builds this week with what we have available at running back, so we can mix and match these St. Louis receivers depending on how much salary we have to work with. Butler is in his own salary tier as the lead target-getter, but Pearson, Shepherd, and Ateman have all had big games in this offense. I like starting lineups with McCarron and getting to Saylors and one of these receivers this week due to the offense's explosive nature, the high implied total, and the favorable matchup.
Marcus Simms - Michigan Panthers vs. Memphis Showboats - $6,600
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