On Wednesday, the XFL concluded its first draft for the reboot of the league.
We discussed the first three phases in parts one and two of this three-part series, and in the final part of the series, we will recap the final two phases and the first XFL draft.
The draft began with the Defensive Back play with the Dallas Renegades having the first pick.
Here’s the recap.
Round One:
- Derron Smith-Safety-Dallas Renegades (Fresno State)
- Jamar Summers-Cornerback-New York Guardians (UConn)
- Deji Olatoye-Cornerback-Houston Roughnecks (North Carolina A&T)
- Elijah Campbell-Cornerback-DC Defenders (Northern Iowa)
- Jack Tocho-Cornerback-Los Angeles Wildcats (North Carolina State)
- Jhavonte Dean-Cornerback-Seattle Dragons (Miami)
- Herb Miller-Safety-St. Louis BattleHawks (Florida Atlantic)
- Arrion Springs-Cornerback-Tampa Bay Vipers (Oregon)
Round Two:
- Picasso Nelson-Cornerback-Tampa Bay Vipers (Southern Mississippi)
- Will Hill-Safety-St. Louis BattleHawks (Florida)
- Chirrs Davis-Cornerback-Seattle Dragons-(Auburn)
Round Three:
- Dashaun Phillips-Cornerback-Dallas Renegades (Tarleton State)
- David Rivers-Cornerback-New York Guardians (Youngstown State)
- Trae Elston-Safety-Houston Roughnecks (Ole Miss)
Round Four:
- Jude Adjei-Barimah-Cornerback-Tampa Bay Vipers (Bowling Green)
- Dexter McCoil-Safety-St. Louis BattleHawks (Tulsa)
- Steve Williams-Cornerback-Seattle Dragons (California)
Round Five:
- Josh Hawkins-Cornerback-Dallas Renegades (East Carolina)
- Demetrious Cox-Safety-New York Guardians (Michigan State)
- SaQwan Edwards-Safety-Houston Roughnecks (New Mexico)
Rounds 6-10 nos. 4&5 picks
Round Six:
Ahamad Dixon-Safety-Los Angeles Wildcats (Baylor)
Reggie Cole-Cornerback-DC Defenders (Mary Hardin/Baylor)
Round Seven:
Rahim Moore-Safety-DC Defenders (UCLA)
Round Eight:
Jerome Couplin-Safety-Los Angeles Wildcats (Williams & Mary)
Tyree Kinnel-Safety-DC Defenders (Michigan)
Round Nine:
Carlos Merritt-Safety-DC Defenders (Campbell)
Mike Stevens-Cornerback- Los Angeles Wildcats (North Carolina State)
Round Ten:
Bryce Cheek-Cornerback-Los Angeles Wildcats (Akron)
Ladarius Gunter-Cornerback-DC Defenders (Miami)
The fifth and final phase of the draft is the Open Draft Phase, which is also called the wildcard phase because any player who hasn’t been drafted can be selected. There were 30 rounds in the fifth phase of the draft and below we will break down the top picks of this phase by the team.
Dallas Renegades
- Ryan Broyles-Wide Receiver (Oklahoma)
- Maea Teahema-Offensive Guard (LSU)
- James Folston-Defensive End (Louisiana-Monroe)
DC Defenders
- Richard Mullaney-Wide Receiver (Alabama)
- Koa Farmer-Linebacker (Penn State)
- Matt Elam-Safety (Florida)
Los Angeles Wildcats
- Shawn Oakman-Defensive End (Penn State/Baylor)
- Taiwan Jones-Linebacker (Michigan State)
- Taryn Christion-Wide Receiver (San Diego State, released by Dallas and Pittsburgh before the draft)
New York Guardians
- Garrett Brumfield-Offensive Guard (LSU)
- Garrett Fugate-Quarterback (Central Missouri)
- George Johnson-Defensive End (Rutgers)
Seattle Dragons
- Joe Callahan-Quarterback (Wesley)
- B.J. Daniels-Quarterback (Southern Florida)
- Korey Robertson-Wide Receiver (Southern Mississippi)
St. Louis BattleHawks
- Korren Kirvan-Offensive Guard (Alabama)
- Kellen Soulek-Defensive Tackle (South Dakota State)
- Elliot Fry-Kicker (South Carolina)
Tampa Bay Vipers
- Georgio Newberry-Defensive Tackle (Florida State)
- Ryan Davis-Wide Receiver (Auburn)
- Vinny Testaverde Jr.-Quarterback (Miami)
Houston Roughnecks
- Jeremiah Johnson-Cornerback (Oregon)
- Kony Ealy-Defensive End (Missouri)
- Handsome Tanielu-Offensive Tackle (BYU)
568 players were drafted in total, including former NFL players Sammie Coates, Cameron Artis-Payne, and Kony Ealy.
The eight XFL leagues will take 71 players to their training camps with them in December and each team is expected to cut their rosters down to 52 (with only 46 allowed to suit up per-week)
Regular season play will start in February, the first Sunday after the NFL Super Bowl –– and the inaugural season of the rebooted XFL will last into April.
A look back at the #XFLDraft…
🎥 https://t.co/crCtI3652d pic.twitter.com/MO5Cc6wsBb
— XFL (@XFL2023) October 18, 2019
