XFL Season Preview – Renegades, Sea Dragons, & Battlehawks Oh My!

Week 1 of the 2023 XFL betting season is set to kick-off the weekend following Super Bowl LVII. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his business partners hope the third time will be the charm for this reiteration of the league with prior versions failing to stick due to a lack of interest and a pandemic. The second reboot was able to gain some solid traction from both fans of football and sports bettors. Unfortunately, the season was cut short five weeks in due to COVID. While many of the players that made impacts that season are now on NFL rosters, there are some holdovers. Guess again if you think the caliber of athlete in this third reboot is laughable! A total of 69 USFL players were drafted or signed by XFL teams in the offseason; 14 were just cut with all eight teams making their final roster cuts. The Dallas Renegades, Seattle Sea Dragons, and St. Louis Battlehawks are all currently lined co-favorites to win it all at BetRivers Sportsbook heading into the opening weekend of the season.

Bet XFL Futures Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

The league is broken down into two divisions: the XFL North and XFL South. The former is comprised of the Seattle Sea Dragons, Vegas Vipers, St. Louis Battlehawks, and DC Defenders. The latter is made up of the Arlington Renegades, San Antonio Brahmas, Houston Roughnecks, and Orlando Guardians. Of note is that two teams from the North – St. Louis and Seattle – are currently installed co-favorites of to win the XFL Championship while Arlington is considered to be the cream of the South crop.

Bob Stoops returns as head coach of the Arlington Renegades. His QB room is comprised of Kyle Sloter, Drew Plitt, and Kevin Anderson. Sloter is the QB1 entering the regular season after leading the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers to the playoffs while finishing second in the league in passing yardage. Arlington also has some solid experience in the defensive secondary where former NFL players Will Hill and Rahim Moore will reside.

The San Antonio Brahmas replace the Los Angeles Wildcats from the 2020 reboot. Hines Ward takes over the reins as head coach, so it only comes natural that the Brahmas will pimp the black and yellow of his former team – the Pittsburgh Steelers. Former Wisconsin Badger Jack Coan is expected to lead the offense into battle, and he will have another familiar name in the backfield to hand the ball off to in the form of Kalen Ballage.

The third team located in Texas – the Houston Roughnecks – has the look of a defensive minded team with former Cowboys, Bills, and Broncos head coach Wade Phillips at the helm. Oddsmakers at BetRivers aren’t too keen on this club, and it likely stems from an uninspiring QB room comprised of Kaleb Eleby, Cole McDonald, and Brandon Silvers. Do keep an eye on RB Max Borghi though!

Rounding out the XFL South are the Orlando Guardians who enter the 2023 XFL betting season the biggest underdog on the board to win it all. Florida State bust Deondre Francois is set to navigate the offense. The kid showed glimpses throughout his stay in Tallahassee before flaming out and wrapping his collegiate career at Hampton. He might not be asked to do a ton offensively however so long as head coach Terrell Buckley can mold his defense into the ball-hawk he proved to be throughout his 14 years in the NFL. Should he fail to get the job done, you know NFL Draft bust Paxton Lynch will get a shot!

The St. Louis Battlehawks were one of the league’s standout teams back in 2020. Anthony Becht takes over the coaching reins with the hope that A.J. McCarron can resurrect his professional pigskin career after failing to make any sort of impact at the next level after tearing things up in Tuscaloosa. He will however get the benefit of throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the XFL with Austin Proehl back for another go-round after impressing with Seattle in the second reboot. Running the ball might be what butters the offense’s bread however with Kareem Walker, Mataeo Durant, and Brian Hill a very attractive threesome!

Reggie Barlow will call the shots for the DC Defenders, but it’s DC Gregg Williams that most everyone will seek out with the oft spoken defensive play caller having his day in the sun in the NFL. Even so, XFL bettors are going to want to pay attention to the offense with it led by standout QB Jordan Ta’amu who shined in 2020 as the Battlehawks QB and then led the USFL in passing yardage last season as a member of the Tampa Bay Bandits. RB Ryquell Armstead also has NFL experience, so it goes without saying that DC will trot out one of the league’s best offenses onto the gridiron every passing week.

The Seattle Sea Dragons look to have a formidable roster and excellent coaching staff entering the regular season. Former NFL coach Jim Haslett will overlook the entire team, while June Jones will call the shots for the offense and former Florida Gators coach Ron Zook leading the defense. Ben DiNucci – formerly of the Dallas Cowboys – will lead the offensive charge and his primary target to sling the pigskin to comes in the form of the infamous Josh Gordon. Now in his age 31 season, the Sea Dragons are hoping this likely final chance to showcase his skills is taken seriously to allow Seattle to live up to its lofty expectations.

Though not reflected in the Vegas Vipers odds to win the XFL title, there’s some talent on Sin City’s addition to the league. NFL Hall of Famer Rod Woodson attains head coaching duties for the first time in his career, and he’s got what I think is a much better roster than prognosticator’s think. It starts under center with former UCLA standout and NFL backup QB Brett Hundley. If he takes this gig seriously, Hundley could be the best dual-threat in the league. If not, the serviceable Luis Perez will be more than happy to take over. Either way, both will have some NFL experienced wide receivers to get the ball to in the forms of Geronimo Allison and Martavis Bryant. The defense even has some high draft NFL picks on it looking to make amends for not living up to their draft stock. And don’t sleep on RB DeAndre Torrey – the kid lit the gridiron up in North Texas!

Bet XFL Futures Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook