The XFL has fallen quiet during the early stages of the NFL’s 100th season, with the only significant announcement being that former NFL quarterback Landry Jones opted to sign with the upstart league.
The XFL will be making some noise next week, with a two-day draft that will allow the eight teams to fill out 71-man rosters. The draft happens on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 15 and 16.
Quarterbacks won’t be drafted, at least not all of them. One quarterback -- presumably a perceived starter -- will be “assigned” to each team by the XFL. The draft then will proceed with five phases: (1) skill-position players; (2) offensive linemen; (3) defensive front seven; (4) defensive backs; and (5) open draft, for all positions and specialists. The first four phases will result in teams choosing 10 players each; the last phase will continue until the 71-man rosters are filling.
Teams will have only 90 seconds to make their picks, via video conference with the XFL’s main office in Connecticut.
Already, 1,000 players have accepted an invitation to particopate in the draft. The draft pool will be announced on Friday.
The XFL’s second inaugural season begins in February 2020, with teams in Dallas, Houston, D.C., Tampa, Seattle, L.A., New York, and St. Louis. Unlike the AAF, the XFL appears to have the funding to survive for multiple years. Whether it survives long enough to be profitable remains to be seen.