2049 1.16
Los Angeles
CB Ronald Miller 39/83
Vol 64
6' 0" 183 lbs
Florida State
Los Angeles lands this undersized DB out of Florida State who boasts elite speed. Scouts love his potential and if he can live up to the hype he could be special. Even if he fails to live up to his potential, his speed will lead him to make plays on defense.
Grade A+
2049 1.17
Philadelphia
WR Bob Ostrander 39/78
Vol 80
6' 0" 203 lbs
Kansas
Philadelphia has made the postseason the last 11 seasons and had the 9th ranked defense last season. This draft they used the #1 overall pick on a RB and used the 17th overall pick to select a WR with elite speed in hopes of improving last seasons 17th ranked offense into a top 10 unit like the defense. Ostrander is one of those picks that could prove to be solid gold when it's all said and done.
Grade A+
2049 1.18
Houston
LG Daniel Dellinger 35/94
Vol 76
6' 4" 299 lbs
Stanford
This Stanford Cardinal standout came to the draft with expectations of being a top 10 pick. He had to sit in the green room and watch another O-lineman go ahead of him in the draft as he fell to the 18th pick. Dellinger may well use that as fuel to become a stalwart on Houston's offensive line for the next decade. He really had no weakness in college and his ceiling is as a future HOFer in the XFL so it's all a matter of how much he wants it and his work ethic as he begins his professional career.
Grade A+
2049 1.19
Texas
LG John Holt 27/75
Vol 98
6' 3" 301 lbs
Southern California
Holt won a National Championship in his senior year in college opening holes for the #1 overall pick RB Jarrod Ross but he wasn't considered a 1st round pick entering the draft as you was projected to go somewhere in the late 2nd, 3rd or even 4th round. Texas drafted LT Sammie Pittman with the 12th overall pick ahead of Dellinger who went ahead of this pick as Texas is clearly focused on building their offensive line in this draft. Texas has missed the postseason in 6 straight seasons and they are looking to build the team from the inside out.
Grade B-
2049 1.20
Gem City
WR Richard Jackson 39/78
Vol 74
5' 11" 199 lbs
Penn State
Gem City is one of the most stable francises in the XFL, having made the postseason in 11 of the last 12 seasons and 20 of the last 27 seasons. They have accomplished that stability through steady ownership as Raidergreg enters his 29th season as owner and solid drafting in the first & second rounds. WR Jackson fits the bill of a solid Gem City pick as he has solid speed, pass catching skills and the added ability to run the ball.
Grade A
2049 1.21
Los Angeles
RG Larry Smith 47/86
Vol 98
6' 1" 317 lbs
Rutgers
The build-up to the 2049 has hundreds of mock drafts along with draft grades for hundreds of players. Two things were made abundantly clear during all of this, there was no 1st round QB in this draft class & only 1, maybe 2 OL were going in the 1st round. With the 21st pick of the 1st round, Los Angeles takes the 4th OL of the draft which proves a point....what the he'll do the so called experts know! RG Smith does have the size, strength and potential to become a starter in the XFL but while he is an accomplished run blocker, it's his pass blocking skills in a passing league which raised all the questions in the first place. Smith joins CB Miller as 1st rounders this year for LA who has gone 23-17 in the first 8 games of the season but 14-26 in the last 8 games of the season the past 5 years.
Grade A-
2049 1.22
Pittsburgh
SLB Thomas Murphy 33/76
Vol 36
6' 1" 242 lbs
Texas A&M
Pittsburgh hasn't had a losing season the past 8 years but missed the postseason 3 times in that span including last season despite going 10-6. They had the 7th ranked defense last season and selected LB Murphy with the 22nd overall pick. Murphy is your prototypical football player who does everything great despite having less than great physical abilities. It's not so much his strength which is elite or his intelligence which is solid, it's his natural speed & quickness which ranks lower then most for his position. What he lacks for in speed & quickness, he makes up for in actual football skill.
Grade A-
2049 1.23
Kansas City
WR Kip Urbina 33/76
Vol 96
6' 0" 210 lbs
Southern California
The 3rd player from the National Championship Trojans team goes in the 1st round as WR Urbina is selected by Kansas City. The francise has been to the postseason 4 straight seasons under McBolt's ownership but in the off-season, Daytona owner Voryzover and Kansas City owner McBolt essentially traded francises. All the details of the francise swap are still a bit murky but with Voryzover taking ownership of a successful francise and McBolt taking ownership of a perennial losing francise, it kinda feels like a real life version of the movie "Trading Places". It will be interesting to see the paths of these 2 teams over the course of the next few seasons to see how it all plays out! KC's selection of Urbina feels like a solid pickup as he is a high quality receiver with average speed.
Grade B
2049 1.24
Toronto
MLB Alexander Roby 37/71
Vol 52
6' 1" 231 lbs
Mississippi State
Toronto is coming off a 12-4 season which matches their best record in francise history which has been reached 3 separate times. They entered week 16 last season with a shot at not only the North division Title but also the #1 Seed in the AXC but they lost to Cincinnati and fell to the #5 Seed as a Wildcard. They had the #10 offense & #12 defense last season and will look to improve again this season with the addition of LB Roby who has elite speed & quickness for the position. Roby was a tackling machine in college and that should translate to the XFL.
Grade A
2049 1.25
Orlando
TE Gary Vanzant 36/83
Vol 82
6' 3" 261 lbs
Loras
Orlando broke through last season to win the South Division to break a 3 year hiatus from the postseason. Despite a subpar 9-7 record, they boasted the #12 offense & #13 defense last season and should continue to improve. They take TE Vanzant with the 25th pick, a possible elite level talent according to draft experts. This is one player to watch in training camp as his potential is high but concerns over his overall skill set transitioning from a small college program to the XFL had some teams scared of a potential bust.
Grade A
2049 1.26
Washington
DT Michael Ley 50/86
Vol 76
6' 3" 299 lbs
Southern California
The 4th player from the National Championship Trojans goes #26 to Washington in DT Ley. Another potential elite level DT drafted in the first round. Some scouts believe he may best be moved to DE based on his size and losing some weight should improve his already solid speed for the position. The addition of a new pass rusher to.pair with ALLPRO DE Rolf Brown should pay dividends.
Grade A
2049 1.27
New York
RDE Christopher Keller 42/81
Vol 70
6' 5" 274 lbs
Northwestern
New York won their first division Title in 29 years last season over perennial Buffalo. They had the #5 offense in the league but had only the #18 defense & were #19 in sacks. To combat Buffalo insane passing offense, they drafted DE Keller to become their #1 pass rusher. Reports out of New York have the team already implementing a strict diet and nutrition program aimed.to getting Keller leaner and faster off the edge. Considering the fact he was graded as having elite speed for his size & position, a leaner faster Keller is terrifying.
Grade A
I'm sorry the rest of this is taking a long time but I'm dealing with "real life" issues and I'm chipping away at it when I get a chance. The rest should be done soon.
Thanks
CJ
