USFL DFS Playbook: Week 8

Quarterback has become probably the hardest position to fill in USFL DFS as so many have been inconsistent, teams have changed starters without notice, and of course, injuries. Ta’amu has disappointed in several weeks, but I can’t ignore this matchup. The Gamblers allow the most passing yards per game in the USFL and Ta’amu threw for 255 yards with a touchdown and also ran for 30 more with a rushing touchdown against Houston in Week 3. He is the highest salaried player on the slate, but he definitely should be worth it this week. 

He was forced into action after the injury to Bryan Scott in Week 3, and Cookus has fared pretty well for himself. He has scored double digit DK points in three of his last four starts, and his best game came in Week 4 against these same Panthers. Not to mention that after a strong start to the season, Michigan’s pass defense seems to get worse by the week. Cookus threw for 189 yards with two passing touchdowns and ran for another 35 against Michigan. The Stars have thrown the ball 30+ times in three of the last four weeks, and Cookus should be well worth the discounted salary for Week 8. 

He threw for the most yards he had all season long last week with De’Andre Johnson missing the game. He still only has four passing touchdowns all season, but he has been splitting with Johnson a lot this season. Perez has completed 75% or more of his passes in each of the last three weeks. He gets a good matchup against the Maulers who he completed nearly 80% of his passes against, even though he didn’t throw a touchdown. If De’Andre Johnson misses the game again I like Perez as a GPP play to help you save salary and the Generals are going against a team they could possibly score 30 on. 

He went from the Maulers to the Panthers last week, and although he suffered a thumb injury, Love looked like a solid quarterback for most of the game and almost pulled out the win. The Panthers have more weapons to throw to than Pittsburgh did, and Love threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns back in Week 2 against the Stars. Check the news to be sure his thumb is going to allow him to play, and if not, Paxton Lynch also becomes a good option against a Philadelphia team that is allowing over 25 points per game. 

He found the end zone again last week, and Thompson continues to be a force on the Gamblers offense both on the ground and through the air. He is third in the USFL in rushing yards and is the most consistent part of Houston’s offense. He had a monster game in Week 3 against the Bandits with 147 yards on the ground and another 10 yards receiving with a score and to me he is a guy you can count on every week in your lineups. Despite the fact that Houston is behind basically every week, Thompson still averages 15 carries a week and 4.3 yards per carry. While others have higher salaries, he is someone you can count on and saves you some money along the way too. 

He has definitely taken over control of the backfield even if he still shares some with Trey Williams. The best part about Victor is he gets the short yardage and goal line work and leads the USFL with six rushing touchdowns in seven games. Even better, after being a non-factor in the pass game early in the season, he has three catches in three of his last five games, giving him a nice floor. In fact, he has scored 16 or more fantasy points in five of the last six weeks. He had ten carries for 57 yards and three catches for 21 yards with a rushing touchdown back in Week 4 against the Maulers and I expect similar production or perhaps even better this week. 

This WILL be the USFL MVP down the stretch and he has back-to-back 100-yard games since the Stallions signed him. Scarbrough has completely taken control of the carries for undefeated Birmingham, and he is very likely the most talented player in the entire league. He might not be involved in the passing game much, but that hardly matters as he has 43 carries in the last two weeks and fantastic production. Even in a tough matchup against New Orleans, Scarbrough should be in every lineup you make as I can’t believe his salary is still $2,500 lower than the top running back on the slate. 

I can’t believe Scarbrough’s salary is so low, but the USFL leader in rushing yards is actually $700 cheaper than that! Corbin had his third 100-yard game in the last five and has topped 70 in four of the last five. He hasn’t scored a touchdown in three weeks as Michigan often give Stevie Scott the ball near the goal line, but his patience and speed are tremendous. The Stars give up the most rushing yards in the league, Corbin had 154 yards rushing and a touchdown against them in Week 4, and his salary is super low. Scarbrough and Corbin should be the building blocks of every Week 8 lineup. 

After being a non-factor for the first five weeks of the season, Colburn has broken out in a big way since the injury to Paul Terry. He has 39 carries for 215 yards the last two weeks and has five touchdowns in the last three games. The Panthers are a solid run defense, but they still allow 110 yards per game on the ground and Colburn also has six catches on nine targets in the last two games. He is a super safe option if you are looking to go a little cheaper on salary and still get solid production as he has averaged over 25 fantasy points the last two games. 

He wasn’t nearly as dominant as he was in Week 6, but Jones still had control of the Breakers backfield as he ran for 34 yards and had another 33 through the air with a receiving touchdown. Jordan Ellis had just one more yard for 68 total yards in the game, but he had fewer carries and hasn’t topped 50 rushing yards in three weeks. The Breakers offense is inconsistent, and the Stallions allow just under 113 yards per game on the ground, but that is still a decent amount. Between his carries and his receptions, Jones continues to be a factor in the New Orleans offense, but his salary hasn’t caught up to his production yet and is still an attractive option for Week 8. 

You can look at his game log and see that Lenoir had exactly no catches on four targets the last time the Panthers played the Stars, but the offense has been much more efficient the past few weeks, and the team now has a better quarterback in Josh Love. Lenoir is second in the USFL with 349 receiving yards and second in targets with 59 and that was with horrible quarterbacking play for most of the season. Josh Love will have another week with the team under his belt and I expect Lenoir to be a factor in Week 8. 

Well he couldn’t keep up the pace he was on forever, and Turpin did have a rough week with just two catches for 20 yards and four carries for 13 yards in Week 7 against the Bandits. However, Tampa Bay has a pretty decent defense, and he still did score for the third time in two weeks, giving Turpin a double-digit fantasy point week. That is now five straight weeks that he has racked up double digit fantasy points, and he has 18+ in three of the last five. He gets a much easier matchup this week against Pittsburgh who gave up 26 points last week to the Stallions. Turpin is going to have another solid game and should be a no brainer for your USFL DFS lineups. 

The 6’5” receiver has been somewhat hit or miss to this part of the season as he had seven catches last week and none the week before that. However, he has six or more targets in four of the last six games, and the Stars are clicking on all cylinders with 35 points in their last two games. The Panthers pass defense has allowed five passing touchdowns in the last two weeks, and I expect Stars’ quarterback Case Cookus to have a solid game. The Stars don’t have a wide receiver that consistently leads them from week-to-week, so when they have a soft matchup like this, I want some exposure to the pass game. Give me the guy who is taller than any corner in the league, and if nothing else I like his chances for a jump ball in the end zone. 

The Breakers have two big receivers in Johnnie Dixon and Adams. Dixon has topped three catches just once in the last four weeks and hasn’t topped 50 receiving yards in that span at all. Adams has just 44 yards combined in the last two weeks, but he also has 26 targets in the last four games and three touchdowns to Adams one. It also doesn’t hurt that he is $1,800 cheaper than Dixon. He did have just one catch against Birmingham back in Week 3, but Adams has been on a touchdown tear since then and I am looking for another strong game from him in Week 8. 

The Generals pass game has been inconsistent all year, but Moore did very well last week with four catches for 69 yards. He has just one touchdown this season, but it came in Week 4 against the same Pittsburgh defense that they will face this weekend. In fact, Moore had three catches for 104 yards and that touchdown in the game. This should be another game where Luis Perez plays the majority, if not the entire game, with De’Andre Johnson banged up and Moore should get a good number of targets. His salary is very cheap, and the Generals should be able to move the ball through the air on the Maulers very well. 

The Gamblers don’t have the easiest matchup this week against the Bandits, but Redding has all of a sudden been very productive. He has seven catches in the past two games for 134 yards combined with a touchdown. He didn’t do a lot in the beginning of the season, but you can’t ignore his uptick in production, and the fact he has caught all of his targets the past two weeks. The Gamblers are going to have to throw to keep up with the Tampa offense and Redding should be good for a double-digit fantasy point game and can be a cheap option if you need to save salary if you are paying up in other places. 

He was already someone I was targeting in many weeks for his dirt-cheap salary and the fact he had 31 targets in the last four games. The Panthers also got a quarterback upgrade, in my opinion, in Josh Love which should help the offense. Ross had just two catches for 38 yards last week, but it was Love’s first week on the team, and they were facing the tough Breakers defense. This week they get one of the worst pass defense in the league in Philadelphia who allow the second most passing yards per game in the USFL. The Stars defense isn’t good, Josh Love should improve, and the Panthers seem to have a competent offense for the first time all season.