Arlington, TX (November 14, 2022) –The D.C. Defenders will receive the first selection in the XFL Draft for the 2023 Season.
XFL Draft Week presented by ZipRecruiter will be held November 16-17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas Nevada.
Earlier today, XFL Football Operations conducted a virtual lottery to randomly determine the order for the 2023 Draft. In addition to league personnel, each team was represented by their Director of Player Personnel.
First Round Selection Order (Offensive Skill Positions):
D.C. Defenders
St. Louis Battlehawks
San Antonio Bahamas
Orlando Guardians
Vegas Vipers
Seattle Sea Dragons
Arlington Renegades
Houston Roughnecks
Draft Selection Process:
The selection process will occur in a “snake style” format. Teams will take turns drafting players, with the pick order reversing each round.
The D.C. Defenders will have the first pick in the Offensive Skill Position draft and will select again with the 16th pick in the following round.
The grid below summarizes the pick order for each of the six draft phases:
Pick Order
Skill Phase
DB Phase
D7 Phase
OL Phase
Specialists
Open Phase
1
DC
ORL
LV
HOU
ARL
SEA
2
STL
SA
SEA
ARL
DC
SA
3
SA
STL
ARL
SEA
STL
ORL
4
ORL
DC
HOU
LV
LV
HOU
5
LV
HOU
DC
ORL
HOU
LV
6
SEA
ARL
STL
SA
ORL
STL
7
ARL
SEA
SA
STL
SA
DC
8
HOU
LV
ORL
DC
SEA
ARL
XFL DRAFT: DAY ONE
When: Wednesday, November 16; 8:30 am PT/11:30 am ET
What: Day one will be broken into four positional groupings, with 11 rounds of selections for each grouping. The order of the other positional groupings is based on the lottery for Offensive Skill Positions. For example, Houston will select first in the Offensive Line grouping, and DC will select last.
Offensive Skill positions (WR, RB, TE, FB)
Defensive Backs (CB, Safety, Nickel)
Defensive Front Seven (ILB, Edge, DE, DT)
Offensive Line (LT, LG, C, RG, RT)
XFL DRAFT: DAY TWO
When: Thursday, November 17; 7:30 am PT/10:30 am ET
What: Day two will feature three rounds of Specialist selections (Kicker, Punt, Long Snapper), followed by up to 11 rounds of open drafting.
Supplemental Draft
A supplemental draft will be held in early 2023 for players currently under contract with another sports league.
Undrafted players from the November draft will remain in the supplemental draft pool and may be added to a team roster at a later date.
Other Activities
The week’s activities will kick off on Tuesday, November 15, at 11 am PT/2 pm ET with a live-streamed Quarterback Selection Show, hosted by VsIN and ESPN talent, Stormy Buonantony. During the show, XFL Head Coaches will officially announce their team’s quarterbacks. The show will air live on XFL.com.
On Tuesday at 7 pm PT/10 p.m. ET, ESPN2 will air a 30-minute, behind-the-scenes special, Drive To The XFL Draft.
The XFL-produced, can’t-miss film offers viewers unprecedented access behind the curtain as league Chairwoman and Owner, Dany Garcia, and league owner, Dwyane Johnson, work toward bringing their vision for the XFL to life.
