UFL DFS Value Plays: Week 6 Bargain Bin for DraftKings Including Danny Etling, Matt Colburn, Jace Sternberger, More

May 3, 2024

Juan Carlos' top UFL DFS value plays for Week 6 of the 2024 season. These sleepers are cheap on DraftKings daily fantasy football contests.

Welcome to the Week 6 edition of RotoBaller's UFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mispriced players in DraftKings' Week 6 UFL contests. Each week during the UFL 2024 season and postseason, I’ll give you my thoughts on where there may be some value spots to exploit for DraftKings' wide array of tournaments and cash games. After you're done here, be sure to also read all our other weekly UFL fantasy football articles.

The XFL and USFL had both defied the odds over the last pair of springs to complete full seasons -- one in the case of the former and two in the case of the latter -- and they've now joined forces in the hopes of forming a stable and long-lasting pro football alternative for fans that also serves as a launchpad to the NFL for as many players as possible. There's a solid degree of carryover in terms of personnel from both leagues for the 2024 season, even though several teams from each league didn't make the cut for the UFL.

DraftKings' UFL DFS rosters largely mirror that of NFL contests, with a notable exception -- there is no TE-specific spot, but rather two WR/TE spots and two additional flex spots that can be filled with a running back, wide receiver, or tight end.

UFL DFS Bargain Bin Intro

Before we go UFL DFS Bargain Bin hunting, a few particulars about format and content.

The nature of the beast with value plays is at least a modest amount (and sometimes substantially more) of risk. Therefore, the Bargain Bin may prove to be a bit more of a roller coaster ride on some slates than your typical “tout” article! Naturally, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside to be had. All of these selections are therefore suitable for GPPs and can also often serve as solid cash game plays, while often helping you accommodate multiple higher-priced studs into your lineup.

This article is by no means intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all value options for the week. Rather, it is meant to take a deeper dive into those I feel offer some of the best combinations of savings and upside.

The goal is to recommend truly affordable players, as opposed to, say, a player priced just $300-$400 away from the highest-priced option at his position. I don’t have set-in-stone price limits in mind for each site, but I do consider legitimate affordability a very important criterion.

UFL Quarterback DFS Value Plays              

Danny Etling, MICH vs. ARL | $8.8K

Etling was solid in his first start in place of E.J. Perry (IR-hamstring) in Week 5, having scored 15 DK points while posting 185 total yards. The mobile veteran only gained 10 rushing yards on his five attempts, but he's capable of more in that department and has now completed an impressive 25-of-35 passes over the last two weeks.

Etling gets a solid matchup at home in Week 6 as well, as the Renegades have conceded a league-high 12.0 yards per completion and seven touchdown passes. Etling should have even better command of the offense after another week of practice, and he already distributed the ball well in Week 5 after connecting with six different targets in his first start.

Danny Etling looked pretty solid in his #UFL second half action against San Antonio:

11/14
105 yards
1 TD/1 INT

With Etling slated to take over as the starting QB for the @USFLPanthers, some thoughts on his week four film:

- He's mobile enough to keep plays alive and use his… pic.twitter.com/41CbInT3vs

— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) April 25, 2024

ALSO CONSIDER: Troy Williams, MEM vs. BHAM | $8.6K

UFL Running Back DFS Value Plays   

John Lovett, SAN at D.C. | $7.7K

Lovett continued to make his mark in the Brahmas backfield in Week 5, rushing for a season-high 25.8 DK points while logging 17 total touches and two rushing touchdowns. The versatile back now has three straight double-digit rush-attempt tallies, and he's logged multiple targets in all five games this season.

Anthony McFarland Jr. is expected to remain out for Sunday afternoon's game after missing practice both Wednesday and Thursday with his shoulder injury, so the backfield should be Lovett's to helm once again. The opposing Defenders have surrendered the third-most rushing yards per game (95.0) as well, brightening Lovett's outlook further.

Matt Colburn, MICH vs. ARL | $6.5K

Colburn will continue to split carries with Wes Hills, who had an excellent Week 5 performance with three rushing TDs. However, Colburn, who'd put some good play on tape during the last two USFL seasons, flashed in his own right with 18.2 DK points on the strength of 82 total yards and a rushing touchdown.

How the workload will be split in Week 6 is difficult to predict, but Colburn is very capable of serving in a pass-catching role in addition to his work on the ground. The Renegades have also displayed vulnerability against the run, allowing a league-high 5.1 yards per carry and seven rushing touchdowns.

UFL Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays      

Justin Hall, HOU at STL | $7.8K

Hall saw a whopping 14 targets in Week 5 against the Stallions, converting them into an 11-93 line that netted 20.3 DK points. That was his third double-digit DK-point tally in the last four games, and he's clearly developed into quarterback Reid Sinnett's most trusted target after a few weeks of working together.

Hall has seen at least six targets in four consecutive contests, and he should definitely be involved heavily again in his shorter-area role against a Battlehawks team that boasts an offense sure to force the Roughnecks to remain aggressive in their own right when they have the ball on the fast track of The Dome.

Deon Cain, BHAM at MEM | $7.4K

It will be a good idea to have some exposure to the Stallions' air attack in Week 6, considering Birmingham's matchup versus a Showboats squad that's given up a league-high 112 completions. Cain has had his moments already this season, producing totals of 15.6 and 24.4 DK points in two of his first four games.

The veteran has at least six targets in four of the first five games, even though he's worked with two different quarterbacks thus far. With what remains a reasonable salary and a ceiling that clearly exceeds it, he's a consideration this week.

Keke Chism, HOU at STL | $5.2K

Chism is the second Roughnecks receiver I'm suggesting as a value option in what could be a high-scoring battle with the Battlehawks. The Missouri product, who posted a 16-244-2 line with the USFL's Houston Gamblers last season, has generated a 17-195-1 tally thus far in 2024.

Chism has drawn a combined 15 targets over the last two games and scored double-digit DK points twice over the first five weeks, so he could deliver a nice return in investment in Week 6 under the right game environment.

ALSO CONSIDER: Daewood Davis, MEM vs. BHAM | $7.3K

UFL Flex DFS Value Plays  

Jace Sternberger, TE - BHAM at MEM | $6.1K

Sternberger has started to pick up the pace in his production after a modest first two games of the season, developing some impressive rapport with the Stallions' quarterback tandem of Matt Corral and Adrian Martinez and posting tallies of 17.3 and 12.6 DK points in two of the last three games.

Sternberger has seen at least four targets in all but one game this season and should therefore have a good chance at a solid floor again in Week 6. He'll also be in a favorable matchup, as the Showboats have also yielded a league-high 71.8 percent completion rate and the second-most passing yards per game (220.6).

Adrian Martinez with a DIME to Jace Sternberger 🎯 🎯 🎯

The @USFLStallions are flying 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VIp8y5wksj

— United Football League (@TheUFL) April 28, 2024

Siaosi Mariner, WR - MICH vs. ARL | $4.1K

Mariner logged a season-high six targets in Week 5 against the Showboats, parlaying them into a 4-42 line that netted 9.2 DK points. While that's still a modest total, Mariner's salary remains very reasonable, and he's averaged four targets per contest overall in his first three games.

The Utah State product came into the UFL with some pro football experience from his two years with the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks, and he could therefore progressively carve out a role in the Panthers' air attack the more he works with Etling. The Stallions have been a tough defense but have surprisingly surrendered the league's second-highest completion rate (64.1 percent), making Mariner a viable value play.

ALSO CONSIDER: J.P. Payton, ARL at MICH | $6.2K

More Weekly DFS Analysis