XFL Week 2 Fantasy Risers and Fallers from A&A Fantasy Football

XFL Week 2 was a real mixed bag, featuring a few very low scoring games. There were no huge developments on the fantasy front, but with another week of games to add to the sample size, it’s becoming easier to figure out who the top of the line fantasy options are.

In addition, we saw the Renegades and Wildcats offenses in full with Landry Jones and Josh Johnson back on the field after missing Week 1 due to injuries. It was great to see the best talent on the field, and it definitely helps to evaluate players more effectively on the fantasy side.

Remember to check back on Wednesday for A&A Fantasy Football’s Week 3 Rankings and DFS Cheat Sheets. Also, make sure to follow @aafantasyball on Twitter for all fantasy news and updates during the week. But without further ado, here are the XFL Week 3 Risers and Fallers.

Risers:De’Mornay Pierson-El: St. Louis Battlehawks (WR)

The former Nebraska Cornhusker went off on Sunday afternoon, racking up 9 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown in the Battlehawks road loss. What I liked the most about Pierson-El’s performance was the fact that he got 11 targets from QB Jordan Ta’amu, getting consistently looks all game. Offensive Coordinator Chuck Long is clearly trying to get the ball in the hands of the speedster, which is great for fantasy owners. Pierson-El got the ball on a lot of screens and quick passes, trying to give him space to make plays after the catch. With Ta’amu looking like a budding star, it’d be smart to latch on to any receivers in this offense.

Donald Parham: Dallas Renegades (TE)

With Starting QB Landry Jones coming back to the field, the Renegades offense looked vastly different than the week before and a big beneficiary of it was Tight End Donald Parham. Parham looked like a matchup nightmare, consistently getting open and being found by Jones, racking up 76 yards and a touchdown on 5 catches (11 targets). Hal Mumme’s air raid is fantastic for fantasy purposes, and going forward, this offense should only get better as they continue to gel with each other. With Jones being a pro-style quarterback, expect him to continue to look for his tight ends on a frequent basis.

Cameron Artis-Payne: Dallas Renegades (RB)

Despite being in my Fallers group last week, I did say that owners could still have some hope for Artis-Payne with Jones coming back to the field. This proved to be the case as he was the feature back on Sunday in Los Angeles. The former Carolina Panther touched the ball 19 times for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns in a huge game. With Jones throwing the ball deep and stretching the field, it created lots of running lanes for Artis-Payne, which should continue. However, Lance Dunbar isn’t going anywhere and he should continue to get plenty of touches despite Artis-Payne’s big performance. Going forward, this is definitely a backfield to monitor but you can once again have faith in the former Auburn standout.

Cam Phillips: Houston Roughnecks (WR)

Playing with PJ Walker is probably the best situation to be in right now if you are an XFL wide receiver, and nobody has benefited more than Phillips. Going into the year, he was expected to be the second or third option, but he has quickly emerged as the favorite target of Walker. He torched the Battlehawks for 3 touchdowns, adding 63 yards off of 8 catches. This Run-n-Shoot offense is looking like a career-maker for these players, with Phillips grabbing onto the opportunity and not looking to be letting go anytime soon. Continue to fire up Phillips with confidence as a WR1 in season-long leagues and DFS.

Fallers:

Matt McGloin: New York Guardians (QB)

I am not sure if it is possible to be bigger faller than McGloin after his Week 2 performance. Now, a lot of what happened between the lines was not his fault. The offensive line was absolutely horrendous, and his lead back, Darius Victor, suffered a concussion on a bad fumble in Defenders territory. However, his meltdown on the sidelines was totally unacceptable for any player, let alone an experienced veteran that is the face of a franchise. It’s safe to say that he is absolutely on a tight leash going forward, with Marquise Williams and Luis Perez waiting in the wings behind him. If there is any good news for McGloin, it’s that he doesn’t have to play the vaunted DC defense next week. Bad news: He is going to be on the road in St. Louis at the sold-out Dome. McGloin is someone to very closely monitor next week.

Austin Proehl: Seattle Dragons (WR)

After being the breakout star in Week 1, Proehl was just about invisible on Saturday. Having 4 catches for -1 yards, making it very possible that his performance against the Defenders was simply a fluke. However, Quarterback Brandon Silvers was extremely bad in this game, with only a long pass to Keenan Reynolds salvaging his day, and effectively tanking every other Dragons receiver. Be very cautious about putting Proehl in your lineups next week, as I need to see a lot better consistency before I can think about firing him up again. If you are in season-long leagues, consider trading him while he still has some value.

Sammie Coates: Houston Roughnecks (WR)

Expected to be the star wideout for June Jones’ squad, Coates has struggled so far because of the same reason he faded out of the NFL: concentration. Coates continually drops routine balls, and makes mental mistakes such as going out of bounds on a deep pass from PJ Walker. The trust is clearly deteriorating between these two, as Cam Phillips and Khalil Lewis are passing by Coates as the lead receivers in this offense. He was a consensus first-round draft pick, and has been a colossal disappointment thus far in the season, but if there is some hope, its simply that he is in the XFL’s best offense. That will always lend at least a little bit of value, but I would look at other options going forward for your lineups.