X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

XFL Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 5: QB, RB, WR, TE Rankings and Analysis (2023)

Week 5 XFL fantasy football rankings at QB, RB, WR, TE for 2023. The top fantasy XFL players at each position (QB, RB, WR, TE) for XFL fantasy leagues and DFS lineups.

At last, a full month of games in the 2023 XFL season is in the books, and notable usage trends have taken shape. While things can change dramatically from what happened during the first four weeks of the season, we should be as prepared as ever to take down DFS contests and win weekly matchups for fantasy football.

We're back with Our Week 5 XFL fantasy football rankings to help fantasy and DFS gamers succeed as we approach the midway point of an exciting first year of the rebooted league. Touches, targets, and productivity trends will weigh heavily in our rankings. These positional XFL rankings are a team effort, combing the rankings and analysis of three rankers:

There are still six more slates of games, so if you haven't hit the DFS jackpot yet, keep chugging along. We've got you covered!

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Quarterback XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Jackson Sparks

Rank Player Name Team
1 Brandon Silvers Houston Roughnecks
2 Luis Perez Vegas Vipers
3 Ben DiNucci Seattle Sea Dragons
4 AJ McCarron St. Louis Battlehawks
5 Jordan Ta'amu DC Defenders
6 Jack Coan San Antonio Brahmas
7 Paxton Lynch Orlando Guardians
8 Kyle Sloter Arlington Rengades
9 D'Eriq King DC Defenders
10 Cole McDonald Houston Roughnecks
11 Brett Hundley Vegas Vipers

Brandon Silvers has thrown at least two touchdown passes in all four of his starts and leads the XFL with 10 touchdown throws heading into Week 5. His job is safe at this point in the year, which is more than we can say about the bottom half of our rankings. Continue to trust him in a matchup with Seattle on Thursday night.

Luis Perez looks to have won the starting QB job back from Brett Hundley, and he's a great choice at QB this week. Perez' Vipers will face the 0-4 Orlando Guardians, who have given up 29.25 points per game as the worst defense in the XFL. Any quarterback who faces them should be seriously considered in DFS contests.

Ben DiNucci is the first quarterback to surpass the 1,000-yard mark as he sits at 1,119 yards passing. He also leads the league with 161 passing attempts through four weeks, so he's a safe, high-volume fantasy option near the top of our rankings.

AJ McCarron continues to impress as he's led the team to a 3-1 start.  McCarron has thrown just nine touchdowns to three interceptions and is set to face the up-and-down D.C. squad in Week 5.

Jordan Ta'amu didn't score a touchdown in the team's win over Vegas, but he passes for 177 yards and rushed for 89 yards. D'Eriq King scored three touchdowns, but as long as Ta'amu remains the starter, he'll be ahead of King in the rankings. Ta'amu could be in for a huge second half of the season if his rushing upside continues to grow and he can find the end zone more frequently.

Paxton Lynch had his best game of the season with 267 yards passing, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Orlando still lost thanks to its awful defense, but we'll have to see if this was an outlier performance or if he's going to hit his stride moving forward.

Kyle Sloter is now starting over Drew Plitt, but after a zero-touchdown, three-interception performance against the Battlehawks, that might not last long.

 

Running Back XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Andrew Lennox

As we head into Week 5, it has become clear that XFL is a passing league as opposed to rushing. Despite this, there are still talented running backs in the league who will continue to make valuable contributions to their teams' ground game.

Rank Player Name Team
1 Abram Smith DC Defenders
2 Brian Hill St. Louis Battlehawks
3 Morgan Ellison Seattle Sea Dragons
4 Max Borghi Houston Roughnecks
5 DeVeon Smith Arlington Renegades
6 Kalen Ballage San Antonio Brahmas
7 Rod Smith Vegas Vipers
8 Jah-Maine Martin Orlando Guardians
9 Jacques Patrick San Antonio Brahmas
10 Ryquell Armstead DC Defenders
11 Dejoun Lee Houston Roughnecks
12 Mataeo Durant St. Louis Battlehawks
13 Devin Darrington Orlando Guardians
14 Brycen Alleyne Houston Roughnecks
15 John Lovett Vegas Vipers

Despite Seattle's offense being focused on passing, Morgan Ellison had a solid performance in Week 4 by rushing for 69 yards on 16 carries. With a total of 239 yards on 46 rushing attempts, he leads the league in rushing yards. Nevertheless, his availability for Week 5 against the undefeated Houston Roughnecks is uncertain, as he is listed as questionable due to a knee injury.

The DC Defenders have the best running game in the league so far. In Week 4, despite Quarterback Jordan Ta'amu being the team's top rusher Abram Smith also had a solid performance on the ground by rushing for 58 yards on 22 carries. Ryquell Armstead, who has also been an effective back for DC, did not practice on Tuesday, and his availability is uncertain due to a calf injury. If Armstead is unable to play, Smith will likely shoulder a heavier workload in an important North Division matchup against St. Louis in Week 5.

With their top running back, Max Borghi, out due to a knee injury in Week 4, Houston only attempted 15 rushes. Nevertheless, this did not hinder the Roughnecks' success as they dominated Orlando's 44-16 victory. Fortunately, Borghi is not listed on this week's injury report, indicating that he should be fit to play against Seattle. In Week 3, Borghi demonstrated his versatility as a dual threat by rushing for 74 yards on 15 carries and catching four receptions for 12 yards. In Borghi's absence, Dejoun Lee and Brycen Alleyne saw action at running back.

It is unclear what went wrong for San Antonio in Week 4, but Kalen Ballage had been a reliable force at the tailback position for the Brahmas in the first three games of the season. However, against Seattle, Ballage struggled by rushing for only five yards on five carries, and the team as a whole could only amass 21 yards on 11 attempts. Even Jacques Patrick, who rushed twice for five yards, did not make much of an impact. Unfortunately, San Antonio faces another challenging task on the ground this week with Arlington.

Brian Hill supported St. Louis quarterback A.J. McCarron by rushing for 89 yards and scoring a touchdown on 18 carries, which led the Battlehawks to a 24-11 victory over Arlington in Week 4. Additionally, Hill caught two passes from McCarron for 26 yards. Hill could be a useful tool for McCarron's offense both on the ground and in the air against the undefeated Defenders in Week 5.

 

Wide Receiver XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Brant Henson

There are two juicy games on the XFL schedule this upcoming week: the league's scoring leader in the 4-0 Houston Roughnecks travel to Seattle to take on the high-flying Sea Dragons passing attack on Thursday night, while we get a rematch of Week 3's high-scoring matchup between St. Louis and D.C. There could be a lot of scoring this week and starting the right receivers will be pivotal. Let's dive in:

Rank Player Name Team
1 Jahcour Pearson Seattle Sea Dragons
2 Jeff Badet Vegas Vipers
3 Hakeem Butler St. Louis Battlehawks
4 Jontre Kirklin Houston Roughnecks
5 Josh Gordon Seattle Sea Dragons
6 Blake Jackson Seattle Sea Dragons
7 Travell Harris Houston Roughnecks
8 Cinque Sweeting Vegas Vipers
9 Jalen Tolliver San Antonio Brahmas
10 Darrius Shepherd St. Louis Battlehawks
11 Cody Latimer Orlando Guardians
12 Mathew Sexton Vegas Vipers
13 Martavis Bryant Vegas Vipers
14 Deontay Burnett Houston Roughnecks
15 Lucky Jackson D.C. Defenders
16 Austin Proehl St. Louis Battlehawks
17 Juwan Green Seattle Sea Dragons
18 Chris Blair D.C. Defenders
19 Jordan Veasy Seattle Sea Dragons
20 Cedric Byrd Houston Roughnecks
21 Tyler Vaughns Arlington Renegades
22 Charleston Rambo Orlando Guardians
23 Geronimo Allison Vegas Vipers
24 Damion Willis Seattle Sea Dragons
25 T.J. Vasher San Antonio Brahmas
26 Brandon Arconado Arlington Renegades
27 Marcell Ateman St. Louis Battlehawks
28 Lance Lenoir Orlando Guardians
29 Josh Hammond D.C. Defenders
30 Eli Rogers Orlando Guardians
31 Jequez Ezzard D.C. Defenders
32 Ben Putman Houston Roughnecks
33 Fred Brown San Antonio Brahmas
34 Caleb Vander Esch Arlington Renegades
35 Travis Jonsen San Antonio Brahmas
36 Lujuan Winningham Arlington Renegades
37 Travis Toivonen San Antonio Brahmas
38 Josh Malone D.C. Defenders
39 Andrew Jamiel Orlando Guardians
40 Deddrick Thomas Orlando Guardians

While all eyes will be on the two more intriguing matchups as mentioned above, fantasy managers should be licking their chops if they roster any Vegas Viper. Orlando has surrendered over 30 points in three of four games and the Vipers should put numbers up. Jeff Badet has consistently performed as the top receiver for Vegas and has an argument to be placed number one in this week's rankings. Cinque Sweeting scored two touchdowns last week, and Mathew Sexton will see his fair share of opportunities. Former NFL receivers Martavis Bryant and Geronimo Allison are even worth a look this week despite underwhelming seasons so far.

Seattle's trio of Jahcour Pearson, Josh Gordon, and Blake Jackson will undoubtedly all be heavily targeted in Thursday night's electric matchup with Houston. With Max Borghi out, Cedric Byrd has filled in an H-back role and has seen 10 targets over the past two weeks. Houston's receiver trio of Jontre Kirklin, Travell Harris, and Deontay Burnett could make noise in the possible shootout, combining for three touchdowns and 17 targets last week.

T.J. Vasher is questionable with a shoulder injury. Look for alpha receiver Jalen Tolliver to dominate the San Antonio passing attack again this week.

With D.C. tight end Ethan Wolf out, Lucky Jackson should head the Defenders' passing game. Jackson had four catches for 89 yards on seven targets against St. Louis in Week 3. On the other side of the ball, Hakeem Butler had a 105-yard outing last time but don't discredit Darrius Shepherd. The former Packers' receiver went 5-51 in the Week 3 loss and grabbed eight receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown last week, emerging as a key target for A.J. McCarron.

 

Tight End XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Jackson Sparks

We knew the tight-end production in the XFL would be slim, but Week 3 and Week 4 were an extra-quiet slate of games for the position. For now, there are only three or four tight ends with guaranteed targets on a weekly basis.

Rank Player Name Team
1 Sal Canella Arlington Renegades
2 Alize Mack San Antonio Brahmas
3 Ethan Wolf DC Defenders
4 Brandon Dillon Vegas Vipers
5 Jake Sutherland St. Louis Battlehawks
6 Deon Yelder San Antonio Brahmas
7 Logan Carter Orlando Guardians
8 Nate Becker Arlington Renegades
9 Garrett Owens Houston Roughnecks
10 Ryan Becker Orlando Guardians
11 Alex Ellis DC Defenders

Through four, Sal Canella leads all tight ends in targets (29), receptions (22), and receiving yards (181). Nothing more needs to be said, other than he remains the obvious TE1.

Alize Mack has caught 13 of his 18 targets for 113 yards and one receiving touchdown. That is mediocre production over a four-game stretch, but it's enough to place him as the easy TE2 thus far.

Ethan Wolf has a strong case to be the season-long TE3, but he missed the Week 4 game against the Vipers and could miss Week 5. If he plays, he should be viewed as the TE3. If he's out, Alex Ellis can be played as a desperation tight end play. Ellis caught his only target for 11 yards in Wolf's absence last week.

Brandon Dillon saw his first real action of the season in Week 4, catching all three of his targets for 47 yards. With the scarcity of production at tight end, that's a solid enough performance to make him enter the fantasy radar.

After Dillon, all the tight ends in the rankings have either had one or two games in which they earned fewer than one or two targets. That said, all have low floors, but they are ranked in order of upside. Unfortunately, the tight end position is even more scarce than in the NFL, so if you don't have Canella or Mack, you're going to be in a tricky situation to navigate.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

TreVeyon Henderson

Signs Rookie Contract
Christian Watson

Goes on PUP List
Austin Riley

Hopes to be Activated Next Week
Ketel Marte

Lands on Restricted List After Burglary
Ricky Pearsall

Heads to PUP List
Brandon Aiyuk

Placed on PUP List
Luther Burden III

Signs Rookie Deal
Washington Nationals

Eli Willits Expected to Sign Contract on Saturday
Grayson Rodriguez

Being Shut Down Again - Will We See Him Again This Year?
Ezequiel Tovar

Activated and Back in Lineup on Friday
Max Fried

"Hopeful" to Pitch Next Week - Looks Like He'll Avoid IL Stint
Steven Kwan

Receives Injection in Wrist, Considered Day-to-Day
CJ Abrams

Back to Start Second Half
Alec Bohm

Back From Rib Injury on Friday
Trey Hendrickson

Holdout to Spill into Regular Season?
Jalen McMillan

Bucs Offensive Coordinator Not Forgetting About Jalen McMillan
Levi Onwuzurike

to Miss at Least Four Games
Nick Emmanwori

Seahawks, Nick Emmanwori Reach Agreement on Rookie Deal
Max Holloway

Set For Main Event
Brandon Lowe

Back From 10-Day Injured List
Dustin Poirier

Set For His Final UFC Fight
Roman Kopylov

Set For Co-Main Event
Paulo Costa

Returns At UFC 318
Luis L. Ortiz

to Remain on Leave for Another Month - Will he Pitch Again?
Daniel Rodriguez

Looks For Third Win In A Row
Kevin Holland

Set For His Fourth Fight This Year
Dan Ige

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
MMA

Patricio Freire Set For His Second UFC Fight
Daniel Zellhuber

Set To Open Up UFC 318 Main Card
Michael Johnson

Looks For Third Consecutive Win
Elijah Arroyo

Signs Rookie Deal
Jaydon Blue

Described as "Borderline Lazy"
T.J. Sanders

Bills Sign T.J. Sanders to Rookie Deal
Christian Wilkins

Raiders Put Christian Wilkins on PUP List
Jabari Small

Lions Add Jabari Small to Backfield
Quinshon Judkins

Remains Unsigned, Won't Report With Rest of Rookies
Mason Taylor

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Jets
Hendon Hooker

Leading Lions QB2 Battle Entering Training Camp
Ozzy Trapilo

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Bears
Tate Ratledge

Agrees to Rookie Contract with Lions
Jack Bech

Signs Rookie Contract with Raiders
Yegor Chinakhov

Requests Trade
Dakota Joshua

Maple Leafs Acquire Dakota Joshua
Lukas Dostal

Signs Five-Year Extension with Ducks
Shemar Stewart

Not Practicing With College Team
Eugenio Suárez

Eugenio Suarez Expected Back Friday
Damian Lillard

Returning to Portland
Paul Skenes

Pirates Could Preserve Paul Skenes in Second Half
Brooks Barnhizer

Grabs 19 Points, Nine Boards in Summer League Win
Jeremiah Fears

Scores 22 Points in Summer League Loss to Thunder
Isaiah Collier

Collects 17 Points In Summer League Win
Caleb Houstan

Joins Hawks
AJ Johnson

Erupts for 25 Points in Summer League Loss
Washington Wizards

Leaky Black Logs Double-Double in Loss to Jazz
Connor Norby

Undergoes Surgery, Expected to Miss 6-8 Weeks
Trey Alexander

Tallies 25 Points in Losing Effort
Johni Broome

Records Second Consecutive Double-Double
Jahmir Young

Has Historic Summer League Outing
Rob Dillingham

Plays Big Role in Wednesday's Win
Tyrese Proctor

Erupts for 35 Points Against Kings
Cody Williams

Leads Jazz to Victory Against Wizards
LeBron James

Mavs Not Interested in "Gutting its Roster" For LeBron James
Josh Hart

Undergoes a Procedure on Right Finger
Jake Burger

Goes on 10-Day Injured List With Quad Strain
Sal Frelick

Dealing With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain, TBD for Start of Second Half
Chris Sale

Plays Catch
Los Angeles Clippers

Bradley Beal Heading to Los Angeles to Join Clippers After Contract Buyout
Rayan Rupert

Scores 24 Points in Summer League Win
Derik Queen

Collects Third Consecutive Double-Double in Summer League Loss
GG Jackson II

Records 13 Points in Summer League Action on Tuesday
Johni Broome

Logs Double-Double Against Wizards
DaRon Holmes II

Records Double-Double in Summer League Loss to Raptors
Kyle Schwarber

Named All-Star Game MVP
Harris English

Takes Stellar 2025 Performance to The Open Championship
Aldrich Potgieter

Seeks Better Result in Northern Ireland
Cameron Young

Likely to Hang Around at The Open Championship
Cameron Smith

Just Trying to Make the Cut at Royal Portrush
Jordan Spieth

Is Jordan Spieth Still a Natural for Links Style Golf?
Patrick Reed

a Viable Option at The Open Championship
PGA

Sungjae Im Wants to Rebound from Last Experience at Royal Portrush
Xander Schauffele

Looks to Defend His Claret Jug at Royal Portrush
Tony Finau

Trying to Turn Tide at Royal Portrush
Daniel Brown

Seeks a Rebound at The Open Championship
Rory McIlroy

Will be the Most Watched Player This Week at Royal Portrush
Daniel Berger

Trending Poorly as The Open Championship Looms
Clayton Kershaw

Retires Both Batters In ASG Appearance
Eugenio Suárez

Eugenio Suarez Hit In Pinky In All-Star Game, X-Rays Negative
MLB

NL All-Stars Win On Tie-Breaker Home Run Swing-Off
Robert MacIntyre

Hoping to Bounce Back at Open Championship
Shane Lowry

Hopes to Repeat at Royal Portrush
Brian Harman

Hopes to Rekindle Some Magic at the 153rd Open
UTA

Michael Carcone Returns to Utah on One-Year Contract
Bowen Byram

Signs Two-Year Deal with Sabres
Morgan Barron

Jets Re-Sign Morgan Barron for Two Years
PGA

Chris Gotterup Punches Ticket to Royal Portrush With Win at Scottish Open
Bryson DeChambeau

Hopes to Reverse Links Golf Struggle at the 153rd Open
Keegan Bradley

Needs to Find The Weekend at Royal Portrush for Ryder Cup Hopes
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied For 22nd at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Jon Rahm

Finishes in Second at LIV Andalucia
Tallison Teixeira

Suffers First-Round TKO
Derrick Lewis

Scores First-Round TKO
Stephen Thompson

Loses Controversial Split Decision
Gabriel Bonfim

Wins Controversial Split Decision
Calvin Kattar

Gets Outclassed At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Extends His Win Streak
Nate Landwehr

Gets Knocked Out
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Scores Third-Round Knockout
Austen Lane

Suffers Submission Loss
Vitor Petrino

Scores First-Round Submission In Heavyweight Debut
Tuco Tokkos

Earns His First UFC Win
Chase Elliott

Charges to A Finish of Third At Sonoma
Chase Briscoe

Finishes Second With his First Career Road-Course Top-Five at Sonoma
Christopher Bell

Rollercoaster Day Ends With Top-5 Finish at Sonoma
William Byron

Maintains the Regular-Season Points Lead
Kyle Busch

Earns A Hard-Fought Top-10 Finish At Sonoma
Alex Ovechkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
PIT

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs
NHL

Nikolai Kovalenko Returns to Russia
Tyler Reddick

Evades Near Upset to Remain Alive in In-Season Challenge
Ty Gibbs

One of Three Tylers to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinals
Kyle Larson

Curiously Mediocre at Sonoma Before Late-Race Crash
NASCAR

John H. Nemechek Edges Out Teammate to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Alex Bowman

Ty Dillon Bumps Alex Bowman to Advance to In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Shane Van Gisbergen

Can Anyone Beat Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma?
Tyler Reddick

Better at Sonoma Than Record Shows
Chase Elliott

a Prime DFS Option at Sonoma
Michael McDowell

Struggling a Bit at Sonoma
NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
NASCAR

Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Ryan Preece

Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF