The 2023 XFL season is here. For those of you who can’t get enough fantasy football action, we’ve got you covered with our Week 2 XFL start/sit plays. Be sure to also check out our full Week 2 XFL rankings.
Week 2 XFL Fantasy Football Start ’ems
Max Borghi, RB, | HOU vs. ARL
Max Borghi went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and was unable to make an NFL roster. He now might be the most valuable fantasy running back in the XFL.
Through one week, the Roughnecks sure look like the best team in the XFL. Borghi was not only their lead back but was used as a dual threat, excelling both on the ground and through the air.
Borghi carried the ball eight times for 42 yards and a touchdown while adding four catches on four targets for 32 yards. Get him in lineups.
Landen Akers, WR | SA at ORL
It’s difficult to know who to recommend as starts because who the obvious starts are isn’t as clear in the XFL as it is in the NFL. In Week 1, Landen Akers led the Brahmas with seven targets, catching all of them for 35 yards. He also added a 1-yard carry.
While Akers’ production wasn’t great, the team clearly views him as their top playmaker, making extra efforts to get him the ball. That’s really all we can ask for.
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I do worry about Jack Coan at quarterback, as Coan is a bottom-three starter in this league. However, Akers is a volume play against what should be a quality Battlehawks offense that should force the Brahmas to throw.
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Week 2 XFL Fantasy Football Sit ’ems
Eli Rogers, WR | ORL vs. SA
One of several former NFL players in the XFL, Eli Rogers is a name football fans likely remember, at least to some degree. Rogers had a decent Week 1, catching four of seven targets for 40 yards.
My concern with Rogers is two-fold. First, Cody Latimer looked like the clear lead option in this passing attack. While there will be plenty of teams supporting multiple fantasy-relevant wide receivers, I’m not sure if the Guardians are one of them.
That brings me to my second concern: The unquestioned worst starting quarterback in the XFL — Paxton Lynch.
I’m not even sure Lynch will start this week. He was benched for Quinten Dormady, who was a person I definitely knew existed prior to last week. But the way I see it, any quarterback who can’t win a competition against Lynch has to be exceptionally poor.
The Guardians look like the worst team in the XFL and one that will struggle to move the ball. Fade Rogers and this entire offense, except maybe Latimer.
Lucky Jackson, WR | DC at VEG
Fantasy managers should rightly be looking at the WR1s on every XFL team. For the Defenders, at least last week, that was Lucky Jackson. But as the WR1, he caught four of five targets for 25 yards.
Therein lies the concern. The Defenders were the most run-heavy team in the XFL in Week 1. And that was with Jordan Ta’amu playing nearly all the snaps for the first half or so.
In the second half, to spark some offense, the Defenders turned to D’Eriq King. He only attempted two passes, but he carried the ball eight times. For the Defenders, King has tremendous utility to win games in a league like this. They are right to implement him.
For fantasy purposes, the Defenders pulling their quarterback to run a glorified option offense is not doing the wide receivers any favors. I would not start any Defenders’ pass catchers this week.