XFL Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 2: QB, RB, WR, TE Rankings and Analysis (2023)

After an exciting Week 1 of XFL football that exceeded expectations, it's time to move on to Week 2. Our rankings should get more advanced and accurate as the season moves along, but at least we have one week of data to lean on when crafting the pecking order for each position.

Our Week 2 XFL fantasy football rankings are sure to skew toward what happened in Week 1, but data points like passing attempts, total touches, target share, and overall effectiveness of the offenses we saw will play a part. Trends will emerge and studs will pull away from the rest of the field with each passing week.

These positional XFL rankings are a team effort, combing the rankings and analysis of three rankers:

• Quarterbacks - Jackson Sparks
• Running Backs - Andrew Lennox
• Wide Receivers - Brant Henson
• Tight Ends - Jackson Sparks

We hope everyone had a successful Week 1, but if not, let's get it right this week! Once you're done here, be sure to also read all our other weekly XFL fantasy football articles. Without further ado, let's dive into it!

Quarterback XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Jackson Sparks

Luis Perez had one of the most prolific debuts among quarterbacks last week, throwing for 249 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Ultimately, it was a losing effort for the Vipers, but his 36 passing attempts in the opening week is a sign of volume to come.

Brandon Silvers and the Houston Renegades scored a league-high 33 points last week, and it's too early to know whether we can chalk that up to horrid defense from the Orlando Guardians. For now, all we know is he was on the same page as Deontay Burnett (eight catches, 90 yards) and Jontre Kirklin (five catches, 71 yards). Silvers finished with 272 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in a rout of Orlando.

Jack Coan posted a respectable 207 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception and is set to face the Orlando Guardians' defense, so hopefully, he'll be more efficient with 30-plus passing attempts this time around.

Jordan Ta'amu was a popular preseason choice at quarterback, but his Week 1 performance could be problematic. His Defenders' squad ultimately beat the Sea Dragon, but Ta'amu completed just eight of his 19 passing attempts for 86 yards, zero passing touchdowns, and one interception. He did score on the ground, but D'Eriq King took eight rushing attempts and threw two passes. If Ta'amu continues to struggle, King could replace him at a moment's notice.

Paxton Lynch was benched for Quinten Dormandy, but it's unclear who will start against the Brahmas in Week 2. For that reason, but are ranked as low-end QB plays until there's more clarity on the QB battle.

King and Cole McDonald are currently being used as gadget QBs, but both are worth monitoring at least somewhat since they're seeing touches.

Running Back XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Andrew Lennox

Week 1 may not have seen any running back surpass the 100-yard rushing mark, but there were certainly a few noteworthy performances that have the potential to carry over into Week 2.

San Antonio's Kalen Ballage emerged as the top back coming out of Week 1. The Brahmas appear to be a run-dominant offense, as Ballage ran for 84 yards on 24 carries. In addition, he was targeted four times and made three receptions for 13 yards. With Week 2 around the corner, Ballage's upward trend should continue when facing the Orlando Guardians. The Guardians had a challenging start to their season, losing 33-12 to the Arlington Renegades as they encountered issues with both their offensive and defensive strategies.

Houston had three different tailbacks run the ball against Orlando. Eight of the team's 20 rushes were made by Max Borghi, who ran for 42 yards on the ground. Borghi's impact extended beyond the ground game, as he also made significant contributions in the passing game. He caught all four of his targets, totaling 32 receiving yards. As we move into Week 2, Houston is set to face Arlington, whose defense gave up just 25 rushing yards last game against Vegas. However, it's important to note that Vegas only attempted 15 rushes throughout the entirety of the game.

Jah-Maine Martin had a solid outing in Week 1 despite Orlando losing. He ran for 42 yards on nine carries. Considering the struggles of both Paxton Lynch and Quinten Dormady at quarterback, the Guardians may need to depend on their running game in Week 2. The tandem of Martin and backup Kelvin Taylor could see plenty of action should Orlando's passing game falter again this week.

Wide Receiver XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Brant Henson

We saw Week 1 dominated by a few big wide receiver games, notably Jeff Badet opening the season with a 6-81-2 line, Deontay Burnett going 8-90-1, and the Seattle duo of Jahcour Pearson (12-95) and Josh Gordon (6-74-1) showing that two receivers from the same team can both be top 5 options going forward.

Who will step up this week? Check out our Week 2 rankings:

Orlando let Brandon Silvers dink and dunk down the field a week ago. San Antonio receiver Jalen Tolliver could be due for a big game. Consider Travis Jonsen as a sleeper option. Keep in mind that San Antonio is the most run-heavy team in the league, so both of these plays are risks.

Jeff Badet shined with the big game a week ago, but look for teammate Martavis Bryant to potentially do the same this week. Josh Gordon succeeded against D.C. a week ago and has a similar build and play style as Bryant, who drew the same target share as Badet a week ago.

The game of the week is the Battlehawks-Sea Dragons Thursday night showdown. Seattle likes to air it out and Josh Gordon and Jahcour Pearson should both see plenty of opportunity, but be cautious with St. Louis receivers against a rock-solid Seattle secondary. 

High floor/low ceiling plays this week: Jontre Kirklin, Jequez Ezzard, Andrew Jamiel, T.J. Vasher. Kirklin, Ezzard, and Jamiel dazzle with their speed and offer big-play ability every time they touch the ball, while Vasher is a heaping red zone threat who benefits off of touchdowns with a low-volume share.

Slot guys are always great targets in fantasy, especially PPR formats, due to their safe floor. Some emerging “slot guy” receivers to keep an eye on: Jeff Badet, Cody Latimer, Austin Proehl, Landen Akers, Eli Rogers.

Deontay Burnett enters this week number one in the rankings. The USC product was targeted early and often by QB Brandon Silvers and is emerging as the top target in a productive offense that leans on the pass.

Tight End XFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings and analysis by Jackson Sparks

Like the NFL, some teams don't feature tight ends much, so the rankings are very shallow after the top few players. Only a handful of tight ends saw targets in Week 1, but every team except the Seattle Sea Dragons, who don't have a tight end, is featured here.

Sal Canella was labeled the "Travis Kelce of the XFL" in the preseason, and after one week, that looks to be true. Canella caught seven of his eight targets for 70 yards in the win over the Vegas Vipers. The next closest tight end in targets was Alize Mack, who saw five targets, but he posted just nine yards.

Mack's nine yards on five targets was a disappointing effort in the opening week, but since he was one of just three tight ends to draw four or more targets, he has to be ranked as one of the top players at the position early on.

Ethan Wolf only caught one of his four targets, but quarterback Jordan Ta'amu struggled mightily. If Ta'amu can be the signal-caller the team hopes he can be, Wolf should find success as one of his top pass-catchers.

Logan Carter saw three targets (fourth-most among tight ends), but only posted three yards. With the state of the tight end position after Week 1, that's enough to earn him a top-four spot in the rankings.

Garrett Owens and Brandon Dillon didn't see any targets last weekend, but both are listed as the No. 1 tight end on their depth charts, so they can be slotted in as low-floor deep tight end plays for Week 2.

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