XFL Draft Pool Released

[SW_Mustang]

As I understand it, this is a list of XFL draft-elidgible players. There are a few D2 guys sprinkled in there. It's hard to make a list from my phone, so here is the full list:

https://www.xfl.com/en-US/articles/xfl-draft-pool

[BlazerLady]

4 Blazers are on the list so far.

[KleShreen]

This league is going to be absolute garbage. Just like the AAF. Again. Why do none of these fledgling leagues learn from all the others' mistakes? They all just keep trying to do the same thing over and over again. Nobody wants to watch Zach Mettenberger vs Connor Cook. Nobody. Not a single person.

[CalifOKRA]

This league is going to be absolute garbage. Just like the AAF. Again. Why do none of these fledgling leagues learn from all the others' mistakes? They all just keep trying to do the same thing over and over again. Nobody wants to watch Zach Mettenberger vs Connor Cook. Nobody. Not a single person.

I love these leagues; I want to see these young men continue to play a sport they love, if they so choose. I'm all for these leagues popping up and continuing to give players opportunities.

Any alternate league is going to be "garbage," as you would put it. The best players are playing in the NFL, so the talent on the field for these other leagues just won't be there. However, like I said, I'm all for it. It gives players more opportunities to accomplish life long goals. Especially players from small schools like the schools we love so much in the D2 world.

[Wildcat Khan]

I love these leagues; I want to see these young men continue to play a sport they love, if they so choose. I'm all for these leagues popping up and continuing to give players opportunities.

Any alternate league is going to be "garbage," as you would put it. The best players are playing in the NFL, so the talent on the field for these other leagues just won't be there. However, like I said, I'm all for it. It gives players more opportunities to accomplish life long goals. Especially players from small schools like the schools we love so much in the D2 world.

They also have a better media contract than those other leagues, more like what the USFL which was successful as spring football. I've also seen interviews where they said they'd like to develop the fringe NFL talent so that they have a chance by playing to make NFL rosters more like a developmental league. It is also Vince McMahon backing it, not the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes which got rid of the GM that got him a Stanley Cup shortly after it doing the financial backing.

Add on, the initial teams like in Seattle have NFL fields that they will be playing on.

[KleShreen]

I love these leagues; I want to see these young men continue to play a sport they love, if they so choose. I'm all for these leagues popping up and continuing to give players opportunities.

Any alternate league is going to be "garbage," as you would put it. The best players are playing in the NFL, so the talent on the field for these other leagues just won't be there. However, like I said, I'm all for it. It gives players more opportunities to accomplish life long goals. Especially players from small schools like the schools we love so much in the D2 world.

There's only one way another football league is going to work. And it is as an alternative to the NCAA. Not an alternative to the NFL. Nobody wants to watch a bunch of guys cut from NFL teams play games. But go out and have Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa playing against each other in a pro league right now, and you're going to get viewers. Pay 100k, 200k, and 300k for three years of playing in your league instead of going to college for three years. Get all the 5-star high school recruits to come play in your league, mix in some cut NFL guys here and there to fill rosters. But nobody is going to watch a bunch of NFL has-been's throwing lame duck passes all over the field and piss poor OL play. They're going to be out of business within three years, just like every other league that has just tried to put on games with a bunch of bad professional football players like the UFL and AAF. Your league isn't going to survive if it isn't a good product, and none of these players are good products that people want to watch. If they were, they'd be playing in the NFL. The talent level in the NFL is already paper thin, and these leagues are just crap sandwiches.

[Gliac_fan10]

As I understand it, this is a list of XFL draft-elidgible players. There are a few D2 guys sprinkled in there. It's hard to make a list from my phone, so here is the full list:

https://www.xfl.com/en-US/articles/xfl-draft-pool

That is quite the list, took me down the rabbit hole for a good hour. There are definitely some interesting names on it. I hope a number of the D2 guys get a good shot,

[crixus]

I'm a fan of two D2 teams, Alderson Broaddus and Western Oregon. But I didn't see any players from either school listed. I doubt the XFL will last more than a year or two, but I hope it does for the jobs it creates.

[Nick - Shep '05]

This league is going to be absolute garbage. Just like the AAF. Again. Why do none of these fledgling leagues learn from all the others' mistakes? They all just keep trying to do the same thing over and over again. Nobody wants to watch Zach Mettenberger vs Connor Cook. Nobody. Not a single person.

I thought the AAF was getting better quality of play towards the end.

[SW_Mustang]

This league is going to be absolute garbage. Just like the AAF. Again. Why do none of these fledgling leagues learn from all the others' mistakes? They all just keep trying to do the same thing over and over again. Nobody wants to watch Zach Mettenberger vs Connor Cook. Nobody. Not a single person.

The XFL is interesting because it is the only one of these leagues to "try again." The original XFL's demise is well-documented, and I think Vince learned a lot of lessons from it. I already see some major differences. I will agree with you, I don't think this league will last very long. That being said, I am very curious to see how it unfolds. As much as it pains me to say this, if anyone can actually be successful at this, it's probably McMahon.

And while you are right, I am not exactly interested in that matchup, I'm very much interested in watching Carter Kirk play professional football. It's the only sport in the Big 4 to not have a viable minor/development secondary option, unless you want to count the CFL. He didn't make the NFL cut, and his career would otherwise be over. Imagine if the MLB didn't have the MiLB, it'd be a real mess. I know football is fundamentally different, but I believe there is a market for a secondary league...

Ironically, the same logic has worked against McMahon in the wrestling business - he just so happened to make the right people angry.

[KleShreen]

The XFL is interesting because it is the only one of these leagues to "try again." The original XFL's demise is well-documented, and I think Vince learned a lot of lessons from it. I already see some major differences. I will agree with you, I don't think this league will last very long. That being said, I am very curious to see how it unfolds. As much as it pains me to say this, if anyone can actually be successful at this, it's probably McMahon.

And while you are right, I am not exactly interested in that matchup, I'm very much interested in watching Carter Kirk play professional football. It's the only sport in the Big 4 to not have a viable minor/development secondary option, unless you want to count the CFL. He didn't make the NFL cut, and his career would otherwise be over. Imagine if the MLB didn't have the MiLB, it'd be a real mess. I know football is fundamentally different, but I believe there is a market for a secondary league...

Ironically, the same logic has worked against McMahon in the wrestling business - he just so happened to make the right people angry.

The difference in wrestling is that McMahon keeps shooting his own company in the foot with idiotic decisions. The NFL is not able to do that. It is recession-proof and its fanbase is a stone cold lock no matter what.

[SW_Mustang]

That is quite the list, took me down the rabbit hole for a good hour. There are definitely some interesting names on it. I hope a number of the D2 guys get a good shot,

I found out about it because SMSU tweeted about Carter Kirk being on the list. He was a basketball player for us who used his 5th year of eligibility to play football. In doing so he got a little bit of NFL attention, but nothing came from it.

It makes me wonder what would happen if he had some extra time to develop his skills... I think that's something that's really lacking in football. Makes me wonder what the NFL landscape would be like with a development system.... something between what the NHL and NBA have.

[SW_Mustang]

The difference in wrestling is that McMahon keeps shooting his own company in the foot with idiotic decisions. The NFL is not able to do that. It is recession-proof and its fanbase is a stone cold lock no matter what.

The NFL shoots itself in the foot so often and with such magnitude that it makes the WWE's so-called "bad business decisions" quite mild by comparison. It's honestly kind of silly to think that they are immune from doing so, even though the repercussions are quite small.

It's an apples to oranges comparison, sure. The NFL is exponentially larger than the WWE, with a vastly deeper entrenched fan base. That being said, both of them are going to exist for a very, very, very long time.

EDITED to add: I am not saying the XFL has a realistic chance of competing with the NFL, I'm saying there's definitely some profitable marketshare to be had in the world of professional football, and if a guy is going to do grab it, it's going to be Vinnie Mac.

[crixus]

I thought the AAF was getting better quality of play towards the end.

These AAF players went on to the NFL. The article is five weeks old, so some of them may have been released by now.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ng-in-the-nfl/

[Wildcat Khan]

These AAF players went on to the NFL. The article is five weeks old, so some of them may have been released by now.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ng-in-the-nfl/

Nothing like the last successful league in the USFL. which can be seen at https://www.usflsite.com/nflplayers2.php and was more than I had thought. Several were all pro the year after the USFL folded in the NFL.

If done like the USFL which is what the XFL seems to be leaning towards maybe they can put out a decent product.