The XFL has officially started to reload for what will amount to its second incarnation in 2020 by completing day one of its inaugural two-day draft on Tuesday.
Before the draft began, the fledgling league assigned one quarterback to each of the eight teams — New York, D.C., St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle — including former NFL QB’s Landry Jones, Cardale Jones and Matt McGloin.
Then, one-by-one, each of the teams began plucking names from a pool of skilled players (quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends), offensive linemen and defensive front seven players.
On Wednesday, the draft will focus on defensive backfield players followed by an open section where teams can choose special teams players and fill out their 71-man rosters by selecting players at any other position.
The D.C. Defenders made Rashard Davis, who won a Super Bowl ring while sitting on the Philadelphia Eagles practice roster in 2018, the first player to be drafted into the new XFL.
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As for the bulk of the players who have been drafted into the league you’d be hard pressed to know who they are.
For every Christine Michel, Lance Dunbar and Cameron Artis-Payne — former NFL players you may have heard of — there is a much longer list of players you’ve never heard of, like Willie Mays (no, not that Willie Mays), Craig McCorkle, Wes Saxton and Keith Towbridge.
One interesting note, former Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebacker Lucas Wacha (now a linebackers coach at Pleasant Grove High School in Texas) was selected by the Tampa Bay Vipers in the seventh round of the draft.
And that, in a nutshell, is the XFL. A place for American football players who want to make the jump to the NFL and those who are hanging on to the dream of playing the game they love.
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