2022 XFL Draft: Five Players to Watch in the XFL
The XFL is back. Over the last few days, the newly rebooted league held its player draft in Las Vegas, and the format was unique. The draft began with a “Quarterback Selection Show,” followed by two days of teams drafting different positional groupings. This article looks at some of the most exciting selections in the 2022 XFL Draft.
QB A.J. McCarron, St. Louis Battlehawks
Many of the quarterbacks selected into the XFL are recognizable. For example, the Seattle Sea Dragons got Ben DiNucci, who recently started a game for the Dallas Cowboys. The team also snagged former Colorado passer Steven Montez, who boasts tremendous potential. But McCarron leads the pack.
At Alabama, McCarron was the first quarterback in college football history to win the BCS National Championship Game twice in a row. He then enjoyed a fine career as an NFL backup, including a successful stint under center as a spot starter with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015. Given his NFL background and collegiate pedigree, McCarron will command the respect of his teammates and opponents.
WR Marcell Ateman, St. Louis Battlehawks
A good amount of the post-draft attention has gone to former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant. And that is entirely fair—although Bryant got himself in trouble in the NFL for violating the league’s drug policy, he was a productive, starting-caliber receiver when he was on the field. Nevertheless, it was Ateman, not Bryant, who was the first receiver off the board in the XFL Draft.
The Battlehawks have to be hyped about pairing Ateman and McCarron in what immediately becomes one of the best passing attacks in the XFL. Ateman was a standout in college at Oklahoma State, and his production exploded when he was a senior. In 2017, he posted 59 catches for 1,156 yards and eight touchdowns. Ateman will try to rediscover that magic in the XFL, and he has the physical tools to be a true difference-maker.
TE Alize Mack, San Antonio Brahmas
Although Mack was not the first tight end off the board, he is certainly one to watch when the XFL begins its season. Mack was a seventh-round NFL Draft pick in 2019, but he never quite put it all together in the league. He gets another shot in the XFL, where he can use his 6-foot-5, 247-pound frame to bully opposing linebackers and safeties.
Mack was not a ridiculously productive player in college. At Notre Dame, his best season was his senior year, when he put up 36 catches for 360 yards and three touchdowns. Still, Mack hails from a long line of tall Notre Dame tight ends who got drafted into the NFL. If lightning strikes for Mack in the XFL, he could quickly become a weapon for the Brahmas.
EDGE Vic Beasley, Vegas Vipers
What a treat that Beasley will be playing in the XFL. He was the first overall pick in the “defensive front seven” portion of the league’s draft—with good reason. Beasley was one of the better EDGE rushers in the NFL during the 2010s, enjoying his greatest success in 2016 when he led the league in sacks with 16.5. (He also forced six fumbles that year and garnered NFL All-Pro honors.)
Beasley was the eighth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, but after the Falcons declined to extend him in 2020, Beasley became a free agent and signed with the Tennessee Titans. He could never replicate his Atlanta success in Tennessee, and his NFL career petered out shortly after that. But regardless of how his NFL career came to a close, Beasley is likely to dominate XFL offensive tackles.
DB Will Hill, Arlington Renegades
When the XFL came back for the first time in 2020, Hill was one of the better defensive backs in the league. Hill has been playing football for a long time at this point—he was on the Florida Gators team that won the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. After going undrafted in 2011, he caught on with the New York Giants. Later, the Baltimore Ravens signed him, and he seemed to be on the cusp of defying the odds of facing undrafted free-agent players and becoming an impact player in the league.
Unfortunately, Hill repeatedly failed drug tests while in the league, and the Ravens moved on. Now, after bouncing around the CFL, the AAF, and the initial iteration of the XFL, Hill has returned again. He is a tall, lean safety who can lay the wood. In addition, Hill has demonstrated his ability to change the game in pass coverage. He will patrol the defensive backfield for the Renegades.
