Former Seattle Dragons quarterback Brandon Silvers is now part of a deep Houston Roughnecks quarterback room. (Wikimedia Commons)
On Thursday, XFL teams set their initial 51-man rosters. These rosters can and will change during the season, and perhaps even before week one. But for now, here is my ranking of each team’s offensive position groups as they stand today, with some comments and analysis to go along with it. Defense will come in a future column, as well as a total team power ranking based on the spots they occupy for each position group.
Quarterbacks
Houston Roughnecks – Cole McDonald, Brandon Silvers, and Kaleb Eleby make for the deepest QB depth chart in the league.
Seattle Sea Dragons – The NFL pedigree of Ben DiNucci and potential of Steven Montez is hard to beat. Third QB Harrison Frost is an unknown quantity to most.
Vegas Vipers – The late addition of Brett Hundley strengthed Vegas’s offense. Luis Perez is a starting-level backup.
DC Defenders – Jordan Ta’amu is back for his second XFL stint, and was one of the top QBs in the league in 2020. D’Eriq King is intriguing, but untested. I’d expect the Defenders to have a package of plays per game to involve King’s athleticism.
Arlington Renegades – All-USFL QB Kyle Sloter will likely start. Drew Plitt was briefly in Cleveland Browns camp last summer.
San Antonio Brahmas – There’s not an obvious starter here among the three. Jack Coan has done a lot of meet-and-greets for San Antonio, so that may signal that he has the edge.
Orlando Guardians – Like the Vipers, the Guardians found a new starter during camp in Paxton Lynch. There are questions that surround his starting capabilities. Neither Deondre Francois nor Quinten Dormady apparently performed well enough in practice to grab the starting spot.
St. Louis Battlehawks – The only team in the league with just two quarterbacks following Ryan Willis’s exit. AJ McCarron is a strong starter, but backup Nick Tiano failed to survive a few CFL training camps.
Running Backs
San Antonio Brahmas – Tampa Bay had a strong run game under offensive coordinator Jaime Elizondo in the league in 2020, and the Brahmas will look to have the same in 2023 under Elizondo. He has a former Viper in Jacques Patrick to lead the RB room.
DC Defenders – The Defenders are led by the #1 overall Offensive Skill Position Phase pick, Abram Smith. They also have excellent depth with Ryquell Armstead and Artavis Pierce.
Arlington Renegades – Another former Tampa Bay Viper in De’Veon Smith will get some work with the Renegades. Adrian Killins was a late add in a trade with the Houston Roughnecks – he was Houston’s first-round pick. Keith Ford played with co-offensive coordinator Jonathan Hayes with the Battlehawks in 2020.
St. Louis Battlehawks – Brian Hill and Mataeo Durant will likely get the bulk of the carries for the Battlehawks, perhaps combining for some thunder and lightning in the Gateway City.
Houston Roughnecks – These backs are certainly a fit for an AJ Smith offense – Max Borghi played under the late Mike Leach in Washington State’s Air Raid, and Nick Holley is a RB/WR ‘tweener who played for June Jones’s Roughnecks three years ago.
Vegas Vipers – The Vipers have one of the only true fullbacks in the league in Rod Smith. He joins Vegas’s second-round pick John Lovett, former Philadelphia Eagle DeAndre Torrey, and another player with RB/WR versatility, Brian Burt.
Seattle Sea Dragons – TE Charlie Taumoepeau is listed as a RB in Seattle; he may end up playing FB for the famously TE-allergic June Jones. There aren’t a lot of RBs with pro experience in Seattle.
Orlando Guardians – The Guardians kept just two backs in Jah-Maine Martin and Devon Darrington. Martin played at the FCS level at North Carolina A&T and Darrington was a part-time player at the University of Virginia.
Receivers/Tight Ends
St. Louis Battlehawks – St. Louis kept seven receivers and three tight ends. Marcell Ateman is likely to get a lot of looks early, while Hakeem Butler, Gary Jennings, and Austin Proehl should also carve out roles. At TE, no one goes smaller than 250 pounds. These are large men, which may indicate a block-first mentality. Head coach Anthony Becht was a TE, and he was 270 pounds coming out of college.
DC Defenders – DC’s is the only unofficial depth chart we have at this point, and they list Lucky Jackson, Josh Hammond, and Jaquez Ezzard as WR starters, Ethan Wolf at TE. The Defenders turned over the position in camp, bringing in former NFL players in Josh Malone, Chris Blair, and Chad Hansen, all of whom stuck on the final 51.
Vegas Vipers – Vegas went with five receivers and four tight ends. They have some recognizable names in Martavis Bryant, Geronimo Allison, and Jeff Badet. Their TEs are not as accomplished, though Sean Price had six catches with the Renegades in 2020.
Orlando Guardians – Former receiver Cody Latimer is listed as a tight end for Orlando. He was a second round NFL Draft pick in 2014. There are some intriguing pieces here including FCF star Andrew Jamiel, IFL refugee Dontez Byrd, and XFL 2020 starter Eli Rogers.
Seattle Sea Dragons – I thought about ranking receivers and tight ends separately but ultimately it wouldn’t have been fair to the Sea Dragons, who kept zero tight ends. Josh Gordon is the key cog here by a wide margin. They’ve surrounded the 31 year-old with youth in players like Damion Willis, Juwan Green, and Kelvin McKnight.
San Antonio Brahmas – Alize Mack might be the top receiving threat for San Antonio from the TE position. It’s difficult to find a potential #1 receiver from the group of six the team kept. Fred Brown or TJ Vasher could end up fitting the bill.
Arlington Renegades – Arlington took Sal Cannella with their first-round pick in the Offensive Skill Position Phase, and he’ll try to continue the chemistry he showed with QB Kyle Sloter in the USFL. Tyler Vaughns and Lujuan Winningham are two receivers who could stand out.
Houston Roughnecks – A team like Houston, with their offense, can manufacture quality receivers out of thin air. They may have to do that this year. Houston kept eight receivers and one TE in Swiss Army Knife Garrett Owens, an early draft pick of theirs from November.
Offensive Line
Vegas Vipers – There is a lot of quality here with Jamil Demby, Kahlil McKenzie, Dohnovan West, and Isaiah Williams. Their interior seems to be a strength. The Vipers are one of the few teams that have some decent depth as well.
Arlington Renegades – Getting George Moore back after he ended the NFL season on the practice squad of the Denver Broncos was a coup for Arlington. Brian Folkerts is an experienced option at center, having played 28 NFL games.
DC Defenders – Cody Conway will man the LT spot, a former Bronco out of Syracuse University. Again, there’s some depth here beyond the starters, particularly with Ty Clary (C) and Kyle Murphy (LT).
Houston Roughnecks – Houston snagged Sage Doxtater off the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad at the conclusion of the NFL season. The Roughnecks have nine offensive linemen, with the ability to dangle one or two as trade bait as injuries inevitably take their toll at the position during the season.
San Antonio Brahmas – Jordan McCray was one of the best centers in the XFL in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Vipers. He returns to the league with the Brahmas. So too does Damien Mama, a backup center with the Guardians three years ago. Willie Wright, Roubbens Joseph, and Luke Juriga could all start on the inside.
Seattle Sea Dragons – Michal Menet (C) and Ryan Pope (OT) could be two of the top players at their positions in the league. The rest along the line are a bit of a crapshoot.
St. Louis Battlehawks – Based on recent comments made by Becht, the team’s starting center may be converted DL Mike Panasiuk, to show you where their line stands. Steven Gonzalez was a good get at guard, and Juwann Bushell-Beatty was their first round Supplemental Draft selection.
Orlando Guardians – Keeping Paxton Lynch upright will be a priroity, but it’s difficult to find one or two, let alone five, starters out of the group they have now.
