The XFL will relaunch once again this weekend with two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday to begin the 2023 XFL season. An ownership group led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson now leads the new spring football league after an attempted 2020 revival of the XFL had to be abandoned because of the global pandemic. The action begins on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET with the Las Vegas Vipers against the Arlington Renegades and concludes with the Seattle Sea Dragons visiting the DC Defenders on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
The latest Week 1 XFL odds from Caesars Sportsbook list the Dragons as 1.5-point favorites against the Defenders. The Renegades are -3.5 against the Vipers, the Roughnecks are -3.5 against the Guardians and the BattleHawks are -2.5 against the Brahmas. Before locking in any Week 1 XFL picks or predictions, you need to see what SportsLine’s Emory Hunt has to say.
Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette. He knows the game from a player’s perspective.
Now, Hunt has analyzed Week 1 of the 2023 XFL season from every possible angle and locked in his best bets for XFL Week 1. You can head to SportsLine to see his picks.
Top Week 1 XFL picks
One of Hunt’s strongest XFL picks for Week 1 is the Defenders (+1.5) at home against the Seattle Sea Dragons what Hunt views as the two strongest rosters in the new league. This coaching matchup will pit former NFL receiver and long-time HBCU coach Reggie Barlow against former NFL head coach Jim Haslett.
Haslett most recently coached inside linebackers for the Titans in 2021 but Barlow ran Division I programs at Alabama State and Virginia State from 2007-2021 while Haslett was last a head coach in 2009 with the Florida Tuskers. So Barlow will have the recency advantage and he should be able to get the most out of his mobile quarterback options after successfully running up-tempo, spread offenses in the SWAC and CIAA.
Hunt is expecting DC quarterbacks Jordan Ta’amu and D’Eriq King’s mobility to present a serious issue for Haslett and the Sea Dragons. Ta’amu rushed for 342 yards and six scores in his final year as the starter for Ole Miss in 2018 while King rushed for 2,055 yards and 32 scores in his six-year career with Miami and Houston in college. See more XFL picks at SportsLine.
How to make 2023 XFL predictions
Hunt has also released his best bets for each of the other three games on the Week 1 XFL schedule, including one on a team “built with being a bully in mind.” He’s sharing them only at SportsLine.
Who wins during Week 1 of the 2023 XFL season? And which team will have a big physical edge? Visit SportsLine now to see Week 1 XFL picks for every game of the weekend from a former college football player with a proven track record.
Week 1 XFL odds, schedule, start time
See XFL picks at SportsLine
Saturday, Feb. 18
Las Vegas Vipers at Arlington Renegades (-3.5, 36) | 3 p.m. ET
Orlando Guardians at Houston Roughnecks (-3.5, 35) | 8:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 19
St. Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas (+2.5, 36.5) | 3 p.m. ET
Seattle Sea Dragons at DC Defenders (+1.5, 36) | 8 p.m. ET
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