The inaugural XFL draft started on Oct. 15 and concluded on Oct. 16 as the eight teams built their rosters for the 2020 season, and a league laid their foundation as they get ready to kick off on Feb. 8, 2020.

The draft itself was a very different event both stylistically, and in format from drafts in the other major sports leagues, especially the grandeur of the NFL Draft.

The league assigned one quarterback to each of the eight franchises, and then teams filled out their rosters in five phases.On the first day, they selected skill players, offensive linemen and defensive line. On the second day, featured defensive backs and then the final phase, where coaches and general managers could target anybody from the remaining player pool.

The XFL will use a tiered contract system for signing players.

Tier 1: $25,000 to $60,000 per game, so 1 franchise player designation

Tier 2: $15,000 to $17,500 per game: 3 slots per team

Tier 3: $6,000 to $10,000 per game: 23 slots per team

Tier 4: $5,000 to $6,000 per game: 18 slots per team

The Dallas Renegades selected Landry Jones.

As previously discussed, the XFL planned on finding all the teams their QB prior to the planned XFL Draft. The league signed its first player, quarterback Landry Jones, on August 15, 2019. As expected, Jones was in fact reunited with his former head coach Bob Stoops.

The Dallas Renegades’ twitter proudly tweeted out the 30-year old’s stats while he played under HC Bob Stoops; 16,646 yards, 123 touchdowns and “a whole bunch of winning.”

The DC Defenders selected Cardale Jones.

In 2014, Cardale was third on the Ohio State Buckeyes depth chart behind Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett.

Jones came out of nowhere (like a RKO) when he was unexpectedly thrown into action during the Big Ten Championship Game, after Barrett suffered a season-ending injury. Jones delivered for The Ohio State, leading the team to a 59-0 win over Wisconsin before he led the Buckeyes to upset wins over the dynastic Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oregon Ducks on the way to the 2014 National Championship.

The Defenders will give the 27-year old Jones a chance he arguably never got in the NFL.

Los Angeles Wildcats selected Luis Perez.

The 25-year old native of San Diego, California played collegiate ball in Division II for the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions. In two seasons, Perez led the team to a 22-3 record and put 8,327 passing yards, with 78 passing touchdowns and only 16 interceptions.

Perez was not selected in the 2018 NFL Draft. Perez was invited to attend rookie mini-camp for the Los Angeles Rams and was officially signed the LA Rams as an undrafted free agent on May 14, 2018. He participated in Rams training camp and saw his first pro football action during the Rams’ final preseason game at New Orleans, he was released a few weeks later.

Perez spent sometime in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF) playing for the San Antonio Commanders and Birmingham Iron.

New York Guardians select Matt McGloin.

Once upon a time McGloin was a walk-on for the Penn State Nittany Lions, where he eventually won the starting job and would go on to record 6,390-yards, throwing a school record 46 touchdowns, and only 19 interceptions in three seasons.

McGloin was rated the 22nd best quarterback in the 2013 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com. Despite this, we went undrafted before signing with the Oakland Raiders. (There could be a QB competition in NY, more on that later)

Seattle Dragons select Brandon Silvers

In his 4 years at Troy University, Silvers passed for 10,677 yards with a 64.4% completion rating. He ended his college career with a passing rating of 135.8. Most recently, the 25-year old split time with Johnny Football himself, Johnny Manziel on the Memphis Express in the AAF.

The Houston Roughnecks select Phillip Walker.

The 24-year old played four seasons with the Temple Owls from 2013-2016. Walker completed 56.9% of his throws, recorded 10,668 passing yards, 74 touchdowns, and 44 interceptions.

Houston used their first draft pick, the second overall pick in the XFL Draft to select QB Connor Cook, a Michigan State alum and was a backup quarterback for the Oakland Raiders in 2016 and 2017. Walker and Cook are most likely headed for an interesting quarterback competition going into the 2020 season.

St. Louis BattleHawks select Jordan Ta’amu.

The youngest quarterback in the league at 21-years old.

In 2018, Ta’amu was in his senior season with the Ole Miss Rebels and he finished second to Tua Tagovailoa (who played three more games) in passing yards among SEC quarterbacks. He recorded 3,918 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions that season, and he also rushed for 342 yards and six touchdowns.

On Aug. 7, 2019, Ta’amu signed with the Houston Texans, but was released by August 30. On Oct. 15, Ta’amu was signed as the first player for the St. Louis BattleHawks. He is the only one of the league’s first eight quarterbacks to not have any professional regular season experience.

Tampa Bay Vipers select Aaron Murray.

The 28-year old is arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks in SEC history, as he currently leads the SEC career touchdown list, surpassing Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Matthew Stafford.

In his four years as the field general of the Georgia Bulldogs, Murray set the conference records as he recorded 13,166 passing yards, and threw for 121 touchdown passes.

In 2014, Murray was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs but never took a snap in the NFL.

Murray is arguably the most accomplished of the Tier-1 QBs selected prior to the XFL Draft, if not one of the most accomplished collegiate players in the entire league.

According to XFL.com, every team drafted a QB in the open phase of the draft, and that the XFL Showacases prior to the draft played a role in the draft selections.

After each team was assigned a quarterback before the XFL Draft, all but two (the Seattle Dragons and Los Angeles Wildcats) drafted a quarterback on the first day of the draft.

One day two, the Dragons selected two quarterbacks, Joe Callahan and BJ Daniels, to compete with Brandon Silvers, while the Wildcats joined them in taking two quarterbacks, Taryn Christion and Jalen McClendon. Callahan, Daniels, and Christion all attended the XFL player showcases.

Joining them in selecting XFL Showcase quarterbacks on day two were New York, who selected Garrett Fugate and Tampa Bay, who selected Vinny Testaverde, Jr.

The Guardians also selected Marquise Williams. In four seasons with the North Carolina Tar Heels, Williams passed for 7,965 yards, throwing 61 touchdowns compared to 25 interceptions. Williams spent some time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL and was a second round pick for the San Antonio Commanders of the AAF.

Every team is expected to take three quarterbacks to training camp, but so far four teams; Dallas, Houston, DC and St. Louis, currently do not have a third QB on their roster.

The first overall selection in the XFL Draft was WR Rashard Davis for the DC Defenders. He played college football at James Madison University. The wide receiver was once a duel threat as a quarterback.

Two major defensive selections

Defensive End- Shawn Oakman – LA Wildcats

Oakman redshirted as a true freshman at Penn State in 2011. In February 2012, Oakman was dismissed from Penn State for violation of team rules. In May 2012, after multiple messages by head coach Bill O’Brien, he was told that he was dismissed from the Nittany Lions football team. Oakman transferred to Baylor University in July 2012.

As per NCAA transfer rules, Oakman took the entire 2012 season off. He played in 13 games as a backup defensive end in 2013, and he recorded 33 tackles and two sacks.

In his first year as a starter, 2014, Oakman had a breakout season as he finished the campaign with 25.5 tackles and 11 sacks. He earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and was a consensus All-Big 12 selection.

Oakman was projected by some analysts and scouts to be a first round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft but instead of declaring for the draft, he decided to return to Baylor for his senior season. In 2015, Oakman was not able to match his successful 2014 season and recorded only 4.5 sacks in 2015.

Oakman was projected to be a first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated penciled in Oakman as the first overall pick in his “2016 NFL Mock Draft 1.0,” which was published a few days after the conclusion of the 2015 NFL Draft. Sadly, after a disappointing season in 2015 and his draft stock fell.

A sexual assault charge just two weeks prior to the 2016 NFL Draft led to Oakman being considered undraftable. In February 2019, a jury found him not guilty of sexual assault. The jury cited evidence for consensual sex and the lack of incriminating evidence for their decision.

Safety- Kenny Robinson – St Louis Battlehawks

The young safety had been dismissed from West Virginia due to a code of conduct violation involving academic fraud. Not to mention Robinson was not in school long enough to gain eligibility for the NFL’s Supplemental Draft this summer. Most players in such a position find themselves looking for a school to transfer to in order to continue their collegiate career, but Robinson opted for the XFL.

Robinson opted to pursue a spot in the XFL and was the only player with college eligibility in the draft pool, according to ProFootballTalk.

One notable name absent from the draft was running back Trent Richardson, who many believed would be selected by one of the eight XFL teams. The former collegiate champion and Heisman trophy finalist was once considered the next Adrian Peterson but a disappointing NFL run saw Richardson attempting to revive his pro-career in the AAF. The back looked alive again rushing for a team in Alabama and with the abrupt collapse of the AAF most sports fans assumed he would a sure thing for the XFL draft, if not as a Tier-1 player.

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