XFL 2023 Week 1 Fantasy Rankings, Schedule and Live Stream

The 2022 NFL season hasn't even been over for a full week, but many fans may already be missing their beloved football. They won't have to wait long for some gridiron action, however, as the XFL is set to launch its third iteration this weekend.

The eight-team league and its 10-week regular season will provide a little something different for fans, too.

The newest version of the XFL will feature some notable rules not found in the NFL and college games. On kickoffs, for example, only the kicker and returner will be able to move before the ball is caught or on the ground for three seconds. The XFL is also ditching the dreaded "fumble-through-the-end-zone" rule and will allow for a three-point score following touchdowns.

Additionally, fantasy football and sports betting will be integral parts of the XFL experience.

"We will be very aggressive with talking about sports betting during the game," Bryan Jaroch, ESPN's coordinating producer for football said, per The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan and Bill Shea.

Here, you'll find everything you need to get in on the XFL's Week 1 action, including scheduling information and initial fantasy rankings.

We last saw the XFL during the spring of 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to a premature end. Since then, other alternative football leagues—including Fan Controlled Football and the new-look USFL—have entered the picture.

The XFL is setting out to be a bit different with its latest incarnation. With Disney and ESPN handling the broadcasting duties, fans should expect a presentation not wholly unlike those of an NFL contest or a big-time college game.

However, game presentation won't be exactly the same, either. As Kaplan and Shea explained, the sights and sounds will be different than what many fans are used to:

"ESPN has 18 commentators dedicated to the project and will deploy a skycam for each game. The network will have access to the 15 coach-to-player communications each team will have. So what a coach is barking to a player on the field is open for ESPN. Unlike the NFL, which shuts down these communications with 15 seconds left on the play clock, there is no such cap in the XFL."

The league itself is comprised of eight teams and two divisions. The South Division is comprised of the Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians and San Antonio Brahmas. The North Division features the D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks and Vegas Vipers.

Each team will have its own home stadium and will play a 10-week season. The playoffs are slated to kick off on April 29—right in the middle of the NFL draft—with the championship game scheduled for May 13.

Saturday, February 18

Vegas Vipers at Arlington Renegades

When: 3 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: ABC and ESPN+

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Orlando Guardians at Houston Roughnecks

When: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: ESPN, FX and ESPN+

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Sunday, February 19

St. Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas

When: 3 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: ABC and ESPN+

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Seattle Sea Dragons at D.C. Defenders

When: 8 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: ESPN and ESPN+

Quarterback

1. Kyle Sloter, Arlington Renegades

2. Ben DiNucci, Seattle Sea Dragons

3. AJ McCarron, St. Louis Battlehawks

4. Luis Perez, Vegas Vipers

5. Jordan Ta'amu, D.C. Defenders

6. Deondre Francois, Orlando Guardians

7. Jack Coan, San Antonio Brahmas

8. Brandon Silvers, Houston Roughnecks

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Running Backs

1. Brian Hill, St. Louis Battlehawks

2. Abram Smith, DC Defenders

3. De'Veon Smith, Arlington Renegades

4. Jacques Patrick, San Antonio Brahmas

5. John Lovett, Vegas Vipers

6. Jah-Maine Martin, Orlando Guardians

7. Max Borghi, Houston Roughnecks

8. Adrian Killins, Arlington Renegades

9. Rod Smith, Vegas Vipers

10. Brenden Knox, Seattle Sea Dragons

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Wide Receiver

1. Josh Gordon, Seattle Sea Dragons

2. Geronimo Allison, Vegas Vipers

3. Jeff Badet, Vegas Vipers

4. Charleston Rambo, Orlando Guardians

5. Marcell Ateman, St. Louis Battlehawks

6. Brandon Arconado, Arlington Renegades

7. T.J. Vasher, San Antonio Brahmas

8. Jalen Tolliver, San Antonio Brahmas

9. Cedric Byrd, Houston Roughnecks

10. Jequez Ezzard, D.C. Defenders

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Tight End

1. Cody Latimer, Orlando Guardians

2. Sal Cannella, Arlington Renegades

3. Garrett Owens, Houston Roughnecks

4. Jovani Haskins, St. Louis Battlehawks

5. Ethan Wolf, D.C. Defenders

6. Travis Koontz, Vegas Vipers

7. Alize Mack, San Antonio Brahmas

8. Joshua Perkins, Seattle Sea Dragons

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If you've found a season-long XFL league, it may be worth diving into the depth charts of some teams. If you're planning on playing daily fantasy sports (DFS), however, it's best to stick with the starters in Week 1.

Renegades quarterback Kyle Sloter is our pick for the top Week 1 performer. He's no stranger to spring football, having played in the USFL last season. He led the league in passing at the halfway mark before a knee injury caused him to miss time.

Defenders QB Jordan Ta'amu ended up leading the USFL with 2,014 passing yards, 219 more than Sloter in one more game.

Former NFL quarterbacks Ben DiNucci and AJ McCarron should also be solid starts in Week 1. Both have big-league experience, though neither has appeared in an NFL game since 2020. McCarron made four starts in the NFL and posted a respectable 86.7 career passer rating.

Fantasy managers will have more Week 1 options at running back, where shared workloads should be commonplace.

It's hard to predict exactly which backs will be the most consistent performers before getting a look at each team's offense, each player's role and how each offensive line performs. However, Brian Hill is a player to watch.

Hill is another former NFL player who was active as recently as the 2021 season. He appeared in 16 games with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 and logged 100 carries for 465 yards and a touchdown.

Former Baylor running back Abram Smith, who logged 1,601 rushing yards in 2021, is another player who could emerge as a bell-cow back. He's expected to start for the Defenders and could see a large Week 1 workload.

Renegades back De'Veon Smith, who was a standout back at Michigan for three of his four years there, is another intriguing option.

Sea Dragons wideout Josh Gordon is arguably the biggest name in the entire XFL this season. The 31-year-old wideout has had several stints in the NFL, combined with several suspensions for violations of the league's substance-abuse policy. Before suspensions caused him to miss significant playing time, though, Gordon was a rising star.

In 2013, Gordon led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards and was both a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro. He had 720 yards with the New England Patriots in 2018 and last caught a pass in 2021 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Gordon was active for two games with the Tennessee Titans this past season. While Gordon didn't have a big impact on the NFL in 2022, he could become a star in the XFL, and his presence is part of the reason we're high on DiNucci as a fantasy QB.

Geronimo Allison is another former NFL receiver, who last played with the Detroit Lions in 2021. In 2019, he caught 34 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns with the Green Bay Packers.

Jeff Badet only had a brief stint in the NFL (Washington Commanders, 2020) but he had some solid seasons at Kentucky and Oklahoma in college. Expect him to pair with Allison to form one of the league's better WR tandems.

Tight end is another position that's hard to predict, because we don't know how active they'll be in the XFL passing game. However, Guardians tight end Cody Latimer is a name to watch and to target for Week 1.

Latimer was a second-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in 2014 and even won a ring with Denver's victory in Super Bowl 50.