The United Football League (UFL) is in the stretch run of its second season, and this year’s campaign marks the fourth consecutive spring we’ve been blessed with professional spring football overall when factoring in the years the USFL (2022-23) and XFL 3.0 (2023) were active as individual entities prior to merging in 2024.
Spring football brings about its own unique challenges from a betting and fantasy perspective, as personnel usage can be much less predictable than in the NFL, and teams don’t have anywhere near the same amount of offseason preparation time.
The UFL does not play preseason games, and although some year-to-year continuity is starting to develop in terms of rosters, there has still been a decent amount of turnover and player movement when looking back throughout the three- and four-year life cycle of most of the teams.
Shortly before start of the 2025 UFL season, Underdog became the UFL’s official Daily Fantasy Partner and has been offering weekly Higher/Lower picks on UFL players for all four games on the league’s weekly slate.
Best UFL Picks Today – Week 7
Below, we will highlight two of our favorite picks for Week 7.
Case Cookus Higher Than 177.5 Passing Yards
Cookus is set for another start Sunday after looking much more in sync with his pass catchers in Week 6. The spring league veteran drew his first start in Week 5 following Matt Corral’s side injury, but Cookus looked very rusty while only completing 45.5% of his 33 attempts. Another week of practice with his pass catchers seemed to do wonders, as he connected on 69.6 percent of his throws on his way to 166 passing yards in a rout of the Brahmas.
Cookus could be even better in Week 7 at home against the Roughnecks, which have allowed the UFL’s third-highest yards per attempt (6.7). Cookus has a deep collection of talented targets that includes NFL veterans Amari Rodgers and Deon Cain, the explosive duo of Marlon Williams and Davion Davis, and an athletic tight end in Jace Sternberger.
Additionally, Birmingham’s top two backs. CJ Marable and Ricky Person Jr., are each capable pass catchers out of the backfield. Cookus has played plenty over the previous three springs and hasn’t shied away from being aggressive, eclipsing this total in 16 of 22 games between his time in the USFL (2022-23) and UFL (2024-present).
Where to play: Case Cookus Higher Than 177.5 Passing Yards | Underdog
Wes Hills Higher Than 42.5 Rushing Yards
Hills made his 2025 debut in Week 6 after Showboats interim head coach Jim Turner stumped for his signing, as he was amply familiar with the versatile back from their days together with the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers in 2023. Hills once had a 191-yard, three-touchdown game for the Breakers and finished that season with 968 total scrimmage yards and 10 rushing TDs overall, so it’s no mystery why Turner sees his value.
Accordingly, Hills was thrown right into the mix in his Week 6 debut, finishing with 75 total yards on 16 touches. That type of workload right out of the gate is certainly encouraging for Hills’ prospects going forward, and the fact he’s come in with fresh legs after not having played since 2024 and that he’s had another week of practice to get acclimated both brighten his Week 7 outlook.
Hills is facing a Battlehawks team that’s been fairly effective against the run, surrendering the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game (96.2) but doing so at 4.0 yards per carry. Hils is a big-bodied back at 6-foot-1 and approximately 220 pounds who’s capable of shouldering a heavy workload, and given how much more competitive Memphis has been with Dresser Winn at quarterback the last two games, he should have an opportunity to see enough touches to eclipse this very manageable figure.
Where to play: Wes Hills Higher Than 42.5 Rushing Yards | Underdog
Comparing UFL and NFL Betting
The differences between UFL and NFL betting aren’t immediately apparent until one is familiarized with some of the unique aspects of the spring league’s scoring rules.
A touchdown in the UFL is worth six points just as in the NFL. However, there are no kicking extra-point tries in the UFL, with teams instead having the option to go for one, two or three points on plays that originate from the two, five, and 10-yard line, respectively.
With even a nine-point deficit still constituting a one-possession game in the UFL, the top four key betting numbers of three, seven, six and 10 points in the NFL don’t apply with the same frequency. For example, through the first six weeks of UFL play this season, only five of 24 games finished with one of those numbers as the margin of victory.
Another rule difference that can sometimes lead to extra production and scores is the league’s unique onside-play component.
Teams that are trailing or tied in the fourth quarter have the option of trying to convert a 4th-and-12 play from their own 28-yard line in an attempt to retain possession after a score. Since this play has a higher percentage of success over time than a traditional onside kick, it can lead to some late offense and additional production for individual players when teams manage to convert.
And, the UFL also moved up its touchbacks to the 35-yard line for the 2025 season, a development that has seemingly helped lead to a bump in offense as the season has unfolded and quarterbacks and pass catchers have developed more chemistry.
Now well into the UFL’s second season and with the USFL and XFL having been the subject of betting markets dating back as far as 2022 (as well as the XFL’s 2020 COVID-interrupted season), sportsbooks and the betting public are now much more acclimated to betting on spring football and familiar with all of the unique elements of the UFL and individual team trends and tendencies. Quarterback play and skill-position player usage are more of a known quantity as well now that some players are in their second or third seasons of spring football, at minimum, so prop betting is viable for those who follow the league closely.
