RADIO
Justin Carter reviews the XFL 2020 season to determine which skill position players (QB, RB, WR, TE) could find a spot on NFL rosters to provide fantasy football value.
As I'm sure you've heard, the XFL's first season is officially over due to COVID-19.
The league plans to play in 2021, but players have reportedly been given permission to sign NFL contracts, so it's safe to assume at least some of the league's best players will wind up in the NFL this Fall.
Let's try to sort through who some of those players are and -- since this is a fantasy website -- what their impact on the field might be.
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Quarterback
P.J. Walker - Houston Roughnecks
Walker would have been the MVP of the XFL if the season had been completed, and of all the quarterbacks who competed in the league, Walker feels like the one with the best chance of not only making an NFL roster but of being an NFL starting quarterback in 2020.
Walker led the league in passing yards by a large margin, throwing for 1,338 yards, 262 more than second-place Josh Johnson. He also finished third among quarterbacks in rushing yards, behind Jordan Ta'amu and Taylor Cornelius. Walker proved to be capable of making virtually any throw and of avoiding pressure, as was sacked just six times.
Keep an eye out for Carolina here. Walker played for Matt Rhule at Temple, and last week when I was driving through Waco, the local radio station was interviewing Walker, who had good things to say about Rhule. With Cam Newton's future still up in the air, the Panthers could sign Walker to back up Newton, and there's a good chance Walker gets elevated to the starting role at some point based on Newton's injury history. Walker's a more dynamic option than the other passers on Carolina's roster, and he could be a solid fantasy QB2 with upside if he's pressed into action on this team.
Jordan Ta'amu - St. Louis Battlehawks
Ta'amu was on the Texans roster last year before being cut late in the preseason, and I could see a team like Houston wanting to bring him in as a backup quarterback again this year.
Ta'amu isn't the passer that Walker is, but he's a young quarterback with great rushing ability, and could be useful in a role similar to the one Robert Griffin III held for Baltimore last year, as a backup quarterback and someone who can sub in to provide another backfield threat for a run-first team.
And as you can see above, Ta'amu's arm definitely isn't bad, as he can rifle some passes in, but his biggest value is definitely the legs. A smart offensive coordinator could make good use of Ta'amu in some kind of role, or a team like Houston or Buffalo whose starter is mobile could make use of Ta'amu as a backup quarterback who'd allow them to run their offense without significantly having to change things should the starter get injured.
Running Back
Matt Jones - St. Louis Battlehawks
Running back is probably the position where it's hardest to pick an NFL prospect because running backs tended to struggle in the XFL.
But running back is also the NFL's most disposable position, so we could see a number of players get chances. Matt Jones finished second in the league in rushing yards. He wasn't very involved in the passing game, which limits his ability to find an NFL home, but he's still relatively young and has shown the ability to be productive in the NFL in the past, so I could see Jones getting picked up by someone, though it's hard to see him having too much of a role. But if you're looking for a one-dimensional back who has a shot, I'd say it's Jones.
Nick Holley - Houston Roughnecks (RB/WR)
I'm not sure what Holley's position would officially be, as he started this season as a running back but ended up for DFS purposes being listed as a wide receiver based on his usage. But on a team that isn't running a June Jones offense, Holley probably gets used more as a passing-down back.
He'd be a nice option for a team who needed some more versatile in the run/pass game, and if you look at him the right way, you can see a light version of the Le'Veon Bell/Christian McCaffrey kind of back who can move out into the slot and win that way. Holley will never be the runner those guys are and would be pigeonholed into a reduced role, but he'd be a nice complement to a two-down lead back.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Cam Phillips - Houston Roughnecks
I would be shocked if Cam Phillips isn't playing a key role for an NFL team this year:
The thing about Phillips is that he can beat you in so many ways. Need a guy to get the deep ball? Throw it to Phillips. Need a guy to catch the ball at the three-yard line, turn upfield, and power his way into the end zone? Throw it to Phillips. Need a touchdown? Throw it to the XFL leader in touchdown receptions, who caught nine of them. (No one else had more than four, by the way.)
Walker might have been the MVP, but his top receiver was the most dominant player in the XFL. Even if we write some of it off as a scheme thing, we still have a player who was far-and-away the best wide receiver we watched this Spring.
The biggest issue for Phillips is that he's looking to rejoin the NFL during a year where the wide receiver rookie class is incredibly deep, so it's hard to know where he'll land. But wherever it is, I expect to see him on the field a lot, and he'd probably win up being a late-round fantasy sleeper.
Donald Parham - Dallas Renegades (TE)
The only tight end who I could see making an impact right away is Parham, who was the XFL's best tight end and surprisingly ended up being the best weapon for the Renegades.
With how much some NFL teams struggle to find a tight end who can make a notable impact offensively as more than just a blocker, it seems certain that Parham is getting signed somewhere. With Dallas, he was able to give Landry Jones a big target in the red zone while also being capable of making things happen in the open field. His 307 receiving yards ranked third in the XFL, and the second-place tight end is yards, Brandon Barnes, had just 133 yards.
Parham could be one of the more valuable players to come out of the XFL. So many teams -- even the team who played down the street from where the Renegades played, the Dallas Cowboys -- could use a guy like Parham to help expand the team's offensive diversity. Depending on landing spot, I'd be very interested in Parham as a late-round option.
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