The Most Underrated XFL quarterbacks

The XFL showcased some great quarterback talent, initially when the season ended three quarterbacks immediately signed with NFL teams. The league almost looked like a quarterback breeder at first with the immense talent majority of the XFL quarterbacks put on their film.

The former Houston Roughneck quarterback PJ Walker may actually get a chance to start this weekend for the injured Teddy Bridgewater.

Josh Johnson formerly of the Los Angeles Wildcats is with the San Francisco 49ers, behind current quarterback Nick Mullens.

The third was the St. Louis BattleHawk gunslinger Jordan Ta’amu who was with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.

Today, we showcase a few of the quarterbacks who did not get the spotlight, or many starts in the XFL,  but still show great potential.

 

Taylor Cornelius

The Oklahoma State Cowboys signal-caller joined the Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL. He started every game but one which was the game Aaron Murray started.

The 25-year-old, Cornelius threw four touchdowns with six interceptions, that stat may not be mesmerizing but don’t let it spoil the rest of the stat line.

In the air, he threw for 858 yards, on 123 attempts completing 63% of those. Cornelius was one of the highest in the league with an average of seven yards per pass attempts.

He landed fifth in the league with a quarterback rating of 74.5. That only had behind the three quarterbacks who signed NFL contracts and Landry Jones.

The Vipers signal-caller should have an NFL opportunity at some point. He showed flashes of dominance and a good arm. It just needs to be seen on a longer scale for more time probably.

In college, he started one year, his senior year. Cornelius passed for 3978 yards alongside 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Take it how it looks, that is a good stat line that caps off with a 144.7 quarterback rating.

 

Landry Jones

The former Pittsburgh Steelers fourth-round draft pick was one of the bigger names coming into the XFL season, he was featured in the commercials, ads for the XFL trading cards, and more.

Jones attended Oklahoma University to play as a Sooner from 2009 to 2012. In his four years of play he passed for 16,646 yards, after his freshman year, every year was over 4,000 yards passing. Topping off is his success as a Sooner he threw 123 touchdowns to 52 interceptions, that landed him a 141.5 passer rating in four years.

He had played in 18 games, five starts as the Steelers quarterback. Jones completed 63.9% of his passes, 108 for 169 for 1,378 yards. His touchdown to interception ratio was not horrible for usually coming in off the bench, eight touchdowns to seven interceptions.

Jones would be assigned to the Dallas Renegades before the XFL Draft. He would play in every game but the opener due to injury. The former Steeler looked good when he was on the field, when he went on to complete 70% of his passes for an 83 of 119 ratio. Jones would pass for 784 with five touchdowns to seven interceptions.

The interceptions are really the only downfall with Landry Jones, aside from that his stat line looks he was pretty well performed. Jones is 31, a team should look into him while he still has some time in the tank.

 

Eric Dungey

Playing behind Landry Jones, Dungey had the best quarterback rating in the entire league. He completed one of one passes for one yard, a perfect 100% completion rate.

If Dungey was given more time as a Renegade or played ahead of Phillip Nelson in game one, he would have shown why he makes the list.

Prior to the Renegades, he was a practice squad member for the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns after he went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Playing as an Orange at Syracuse in college, Dungey showed flashes of greatness and that he can compete with the best. He was a four-year starter but suffered two concussions, one in his freshman year and sophomore year which was a season-ending injury. As a junior, the injury bug still bit him hard when he suffered another season-ending injury, this time to his leg.

He ended his time with the Orange totaling 9,340 yards on 1279 attempts and completing 789 of those for 9,340 yards to compliment 58 touchdowns to 30 interceptions for a 133.4 quarterback rating.

Dungey could be perceived as a dual-threat quarterback. He ran for 1993 yards on 543 attempts averaging 3.4 yards per carry and 35 touchdowns. That is really what makes me stand out a lot is taking the ball on the run when needed.

 

Tyree Jackson

Closing things out, the next quarterback on the list is Tyree Jackson who played behind Ohio State star Cardale Jones in DC.

Jackson is a 6’7, 250 lbs quarterback which is very impressive. The big and tall quarterback is always a hot commodity in the NFL.

As a Defender, he saw time in three separate games. He completed 11 of 18 of his pass attempts for 46 yards and a touchdown.

The Buffalo University alum also showed his wheels off. He ran for 32 yards on seven attempts, which averages out to be 5.3 yards a carry. It is hard to bring down a quarterback built like a tight end.

Jackson would be a three-year starter at Buffalo as a Bull. He completed 55.9% of his passes for 6,999 yards in the air for 49 touchdowns to 24 interceptions, which left him with a 129.3 passer rating.

The Bulls signal-caller also showed he can run the ball in college too. On 201 attempts he ran for 757 yards which is an average of 3.8 yards per carry for 16 touchdowns.

Why give them a chance

These players have all showed flashes of greatness when their number is called and there placed in the game. They also looked very stellar in college and given an opportunity with an NFL squad at some point in their NFL playing time.

The XFL gave players a chance to show off their talent and get their name out there.

It would be worth it to even stash them on a practice squad the way the COVID-19 list affects players and teams having to make quick on the fly replacements weekly.