The recently-rebooted XFL held the first draft since reorganizing after filing bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between November 15 and 17, each of the eight teams was assigned two quarterbacks through a lottery system, then the teams took turns drafting players arranged by skill position. The Arlington Renegades announced the players taken in the draft on November 17.
At quarterback, Arlington was assigned Chris Plitt and Kyle Sloter, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Both Plitt and Sloter have NFL experience, with Plitt having been on the Cincinnati Bengals preseason roster and Sloter having spent time in the locker rooms of numerous NFL teams. The Renegades also selected a third quarterback, Kevin Anderson, from Fordham College.
Day One of the draft featured the selection of specialists. With the first pick, seventh overall, Arlington selected tight end Sal Cannella. Cannella attended Auburn, where he was listed as a receiver. In 2019, Cannella recorded 10 receptions and two touchdowns for the Tigers. Cannella spent one season in the fledgling USFL, where he was named to the All-Star team. He signed with the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, but was waived by the team in late July.
With the tenth pick overall, Arlington selected running back De’Montre Tuggle. Tuggle is an Ohio product who tried out for the Chicago Bears this season, even earning an invite to training camp as an undrafted free agent. Tuggle is known as a between-the-tackles running back with extensive goal-line experience. In his final year at Ohio, Tuggle rushed 138 times, earning 804 yards in the process.
Day One also saw the Renegades pick up a few players with local ties. In Round 5, 39th overall, the Renegades selected Keith Ford, a running back from Texas A&M who grew up in Houston. Also on the first day of the draft, the Renegades used their last pick to select wide receiver Jordan Smallwood, who had a successful college career at Oklahoma. Smallwood was taken with the 87th overall pick in the 11th round.
The second section of Day One saw the selection of defensive backs. Some of the players include cornerback Shakur Brown from Michigan, UCLA safety Rahim Moore, and Clemson safety T.J. Green.
The second day of the draft saw a final round of specialist players, this time kickers, punters, and long snappers. Arlington selected Taylor Russolino as kicker from Millsaps, Antonio Ortiz as long snapper from TCU, and Marquette King as punter from Fort Valley State.
The final phase of the draft saw an open platform for drafting players to fill the needs teams could identify. Arlington head coach Bob Stoops took the opportunity to add depth along the defensive line while adding wide receivers and running backs to work into the offensive schemes the former OU head coach anticipates using. Stoops was the head coach of the Dallas Renegades in the most recent version of the XFL that collapsed midseason in 2020.
Teams will begin working with newly-drafted players in the coming weeks ahead of training camp opening early in 2023. The XFL will begin to play in February 2023 and is expecting to play a ten-game season in the first year back.
