XFL Honors and Improvements for 2021
by Kyle Dvorchak, March 14, 2020Saeed Blacknall dropped a 3-78 line on seven targets in Week 5, his best outing of the short-lived season. He owns an elite 110.5 (91st-percentile among qualified wide receivers) Speed Score but never broke out while playing at a Penn State. He backed that speed up on the field with an absurd 20.1 yards per reception. He was Henry Ruggs before not having a breakout was cool.
Sammie Coates is the XFL’s Dwayne of the Week, an award named after Dwayne Bowe and his ability to underperform expectations and his own athletic ability. Houston’s offense required receivers to read defenses and exploit holes in their coverage. It placed loads of responsibility on them, but rewarded those who understood what they were seeing. Coates has proven once and for all that his only asset is athleticism and that isn’t enough to make a living even in the XFL.