Inside the League hosted another session with XFL SVP of Player Personnel Doug Whaley and Senior Director of Player Administration and Officiating Operations Russ Giglio Thursday night, discussing multiple topics.
Most of the topics we discussed revolved around the XFL Draft scheduled to occur between November 15th and the 17th. Other questions that were addressed included player contracts, players after the draft, and training camp.
XFL Draft, Supplemental Draft, and Beyond
The XFL Draft will occur at the Las Vegas, Nevada, UFC APEX facility. It all begins on Tuesday, November 15th, with the quarterback selection show hosted by ESPN’s Stormy Buonantony. This time will be made with XFL head coaches will announce their quarterbacks.
On the 16th, the draft’s first day will begin with offensive skill positions, defensive backs, defensive front sevens, and offensive linemen being picked. There will be 11 picks per grouping and about 60 players selected.
The first round will be five minutes, and each round afterward decreases the time teams have to select their player of choice. ESPN will have cut-ins throughout the days where draft picks will be announced by owners Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia.
Day two of the draft will have specialists and open rounds for all drafts. No trades will be allowed in the draft.
Each player will receive a call or some notification from the director of player personnel and head coach once they are selected. Roughly 450 players will be drafted in total, with about 1,700 players’ names in the draft pool.
According to Giglio, an estimated 725 players are in the pool from the 2022 NFL Draft class, 115 players from the 2021 NFL Draft class, and 275 players from the 2020 NFL Draft class. Players will have until December 26th to commit to the XFL after being drafted by the league.
Those who the XFL doesn’t draft will be eligible for the supplemental draft that will take place in early January. That supplemental draft will include those who weren’t drafted, NFL players who were just cut, and other players who are added to the draft pool.
Even if players aren’t drafted, they could still be signed as injury replacements on rosters. The league plans on having in-season workouts with players, with Whaley tentatively planning on those occurring in Arlington, Texas, once every two weeks.
Training Camp Latest
One comment that was made was regarding mini camps, as it was originally planned to happen in late December. Now it appears, according to Whaley, that the league might be moving away from having mini camp.
They will instead focus on the NFL Alumni Academy and those workouts for players. Any player participating in sessions three and four of the NFL Alumni Academy will be available for the supplemental draft in January.
Training camp is planned to begin in early January, with players arriving on January 8th. During the first week, players will be focused on getting set up and signing all necessary documents to prepare them for training camp and the season.
Preseason will essentially be a jamboree event that is tentatively planned for the last week of January. During this time, teams will potentially have just one-half of football to get back into the flow of a football game. This time will also be used for ESPN to practice their broadcasts to prepare for when games start in February.
During training camp, teams will also be able to start making trades. Giglio mentioned that a trade deadline will be implemented, but no word on when the deadline will be. Finals rosters will be at 50 players, where 45 will be active for games, and five will be inactive for games.
Teams will have the ability to sign plays through in-season workouts and through the league’s partnership with the Indoor Football League.
More announcements and news will be released on Friday or Monday discussing the XFL Draft.
