ARLINGTON, Texas — The XFL, the Arlington-based pro football league, wrapped up its draft for the 2023 season on Thursday, setting the stage for a return to the gridiron.
The XFL, which folded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returns in 2023 with financial backing from co-owners Dany Garcia and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The XFL announced the eight teams that will compete in 2023:
- Arlington Renegades
- D.C. Defenders
- Houston Roughnecks
- Orlando Guardians
- San Antonio Brahmas
- Seattle Sea Dragons
- St. Louis Battlehawks
- Vegas Vipers
Oklahoma Sooners legend Bob Stoops will be the head coach for the Arlington Renegades. The team will play its games in Choctaw Stadium, formerly known as the Ballpark in Arlington.
Now, we also know who will be on each of those squads. Each team got to pick their quarterbacks first in the Quarterback Selection Show, hosted by ESPN’s Stormy Buonantony. The Arlington Renegades picked Drew Plitt out of Ball State, Kyle Sloter from Northern Colorado and Kevin Anderson from Fordham.
Then, on day one of the draft, the eight teams got 11 rounds of selections from the following positional groupings: offensive skill positions (WR, RB, TE, FB), defensive backs (CB, Safety, Nickel), defensive front seven (ILB, Edge, DE, DT) and offensive line (LT, LG, C, RG, RT). On day two, the teams were able to pick specialists (Kicker, Punt, Long Snapper), followed by open rounds for all available positions.
Here is a look at the draft selections for the Arlington Renegades:
Offensive Skill
- Round 1, Pick 7: Sal Cannella, TE, Auburn
- Round 2, Pick 10: De'Montre Tuggle, RB, Ohio
- Round 3, Pick 23: Lujuan Winningham, WR, Central Arkansas
- Round 4, Pick 26: Brandon Arconado, WR, Washington St.
- Round 5, Pick 39: Keith Ford, RB, Texas A&M
- Round 6, Pick 42: Shaun Beyer, TE, Iowa
- Round 7, Pick 55: JaCorey Sullivan, WR, Central Michigan
- Round 8, Pick 58: Alex Ellis, TE, Tennessee
- Round 9, Pick 71: Jackson Anthrop, WR, Purdue
- Round 10, Pick 74: Dexter Williams, RB, Notre Dame
- Round 11, Pick 87: Jordan Smallwood, WR, Oklahoma
Defensive backs
- Round 1, Pick 6: De Vante Bausby, DB, Pittsburg St.-KS
- Round 2, Pick 11: Josh Hawkins, DB, East Carolina
- Round 3, Pick 22: Will Hunt, DB, Florida
- Round 4, Pick 27: Robert Nelson, DB, Arizona St.
- Round 5, Pick 38: Shakur Brown, DB, Michigan St.
- Round 6, Pick 43: Cameron Lewis, DB, LSU
- Round 7, Pick 54: Delonte Hood, DB, Peru St.
- Round 8, Pick 59: Rahim Moore, DB, UCLA
- Round 9, Pick 70: Abu Daramy-Swaray, DB, Colgate
- Round 10, Pick 75: T.J. Green, DB, Clemson
- Round 11, Pick 86: Donatello Brown, DB, Valdosta St.
Defensive front 7
- Round 1, Pick 3: Otaro Alaka, LB, Texas A&M
- Round 2, Pick 14: Josiah Coatney, DL, Mississippi
- Round 3, Pick 19: Will Clarke, DL, West Virginia
- Round 4, Pick 30: Davonte Lambert, DL, Auburn
- Round 5, Pick 35: Jessie Lemonier, LB, Liberty
- Round 6, Pick 46: Bruce Hector, DL, South Florida
- Round 7, Pick 51: Ryan Mueller, LB, Kansas St.
- Round 8, Pick 62: Doug Costin, DL, Miami-Ohio
- Round 9, Pick 67: Nick Temple, LB, Cincinnati
- Round 10, Pick 78: Josh Watson, LB, Colorado St.
- Round 11, Pick 83: Isiah Graham-Mobley, LB, Boston College
Offensive line
- Round 1, Pick 2: Cameron Hunt, OL, Oregon
- Round 2, Pick 15: Garret McGhin, OL, East Carolina
- Round 3, Pick 18: Mike Horton, OL, Auburn
- Round 4, Pick 31: Darta lee, OL, UTEP
- Round 5, Pick 34: Cam Carter, OL, Murray St.
- Round 6, Pick 47: Boe Wilson, OL, Western Kentucky
- Round 7, Pick 50: Jake Stetz, OL, Boise St.
- Round 8, Pick 63: Brian Folkerts, OL, Washburn
- Round 9, Pick 66: Keene Forbes, OL, Florida A&M
- Round 10, Pick 79: PASS
- Round 11, Pick 82: PASS
Specialist
- Round 1, Pick 1: Taylor Russolino, PK, Millsaps
- Round 2, Pick 16: Antonio Ortiz, LS, Texas Christian
- Round 3, Pick 17: Marquette King, P, Fort Valley St.
A supplemental draft for players currently under contract with another professional football league will occur in early 2023.
The XFL will kick off on Feb. 18, 2023, and season ticket deposits are available online for all teams at XFL.com/tickets.
More Texas headlines: