Should the Broncos be looking to pluck talent from the XFL?

The NFL world is focused on the Super Bowl this week – and for good reason. I’m focused on Super Bowl LIV too, and I’m headed down to Miami for the Super Bowl on Wednesday night. I’ll be having a great time catching up with old friends and attending the game on Sunday is always a blessing.

However, there’s part of me that is going to be thinking about a new football league starting the week after the Super Bowl. The XFL is back in action, and they begin their regular season on Feb. 8, 2020 – the week after the NFL champion has been decided.

The Broncos have one of the best pro scouting departments in the NFL. They have plucked talent from other team’s rosters and other leagues in the past, only to have those players (like cornerback De’Vante Bausby from the defunct Alliance of American Football) turn into good starters.

While most football fans will have a casual interest – if any interest at all – in the XFL, the Broncos will be watching these games closely looking for talented players who belong back in the NFL.

Could the Broncos pluck talent from the new XFL? Let’s take a look at every team’s roster and see if there are players who could be of interest.

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Tampa Bay Vipers

Former Bears head coach Marc Trestman is the head coach, and he’ll feature an innovative offense with some interesting former NFL players. One of the most intriguing players on this team is former Browns wide receiver Antonio Callaway. The Broncos could use speed at the wide receiver position opposite of Courtland Sutton, and Callaway’s game is all about take-the-top-off speed.

Callaway gets to top speed in a hurry and he’s going to be one of the fastest players in the XFL. He does a good job of tracking passes over his shoulder, and Callaway does a good job of running after the catch – mainly because of his speed! He did have off-field problems with the Browns, and that’s why they moved on from the 2018 fourth-round pick after just one year.

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Seattle Dragons

Seattle is led by well-known former Seahawks quarterback Jim Zorn. Looking over the roster, former University of Houston running back Kenneth Farrow stands out to me. The Broncos have Pat Shurmur as their new offensive coordinator and his offense regularly features running backs who can catch passes out of the backfield – something that Farrow is known for doing well.

Farrow was undrafted out of Houston back in 2016, but he did get a chance with the Chargers for two seasons. He did bounce around to the Patriots and Dolphins after that, and even played for the San Antonio Commanders in the AAF. Farrow has good size at 220 pounds and he’s a compact runner that can be difficult to bring down. Add in his receiving ability with his natural hands, and you can see why Farrow might be one of those guys who gets yet another shot in the NFL.

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St. Louis BattleHawks

First and foremost, “BattleHawks” sounds like a code name for a member of G.I. Joe, but I love it and they might in fact be my favorite XFL team. Former Bengals tight end coach Jonathan Hayes is their head coach, and I liked talking to Hayes once on a flight to Mobile for the Senior Bowl years ago. Defensive end Will Clarke is the player on this team I’ll be watching closely – mainly because of his size and wingspan.

Clarke is huge, measuring 6-feet-6-inches and 275 pounds. He was a third-round pick of the Bengals in the 2014 NFL Draft. Most in the scouting community felt Clarke was best suited to be a priority free agent, so you can see the Bengals reached for him based on his athletic profile and potential. Clarke has barely made an impact for the Bengals or the Buccaneers in the NFL with only 7.0 sacks in his career as a part-time pass-rusher. That physical potential is still there and if he plays well in the XFL then Clarke could be back at the top level.

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New York Guardians

Kevin Gilbride is going to coach the Guardians, so I won’t be dialed in on their offense too much as I’m not a fan of Gilbride’s offensive system. The open-ended route trees from his concepts on offense are unlikely to lead to much production or excitement. That means I’m focused on defense here, and former AAF standout Jamar Summers might be their best player on either side of the ball.

Summers was undrafted out of UConn in 2018 and bounced around on three different NFL rosters. His play in the AAF – especially on special teams – made him stand out to pro scouts. Summers has a nose for the ball and is not shy about making tackles. That means he’ll play close to the line of scrimmage on defense but also allows him to make plays on special teams that others don’t.

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Los Angeles Wildcats

Winston Moss is the head coach of the Wildcats and he could earn a look in the NFL again because of his strong reputation as a leader. This team might have the most talent I’ll be watching, including quarterback Josh Johnson, wide receiver Nelson Spruce and defensive end Shawn Oakman. I’ll keep it brief on all these guys as players like Johnson have had several stops in the NFL (Johnson has been on 13 NFL rosters). Oakman was once thought to be a potential No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but a sexual assault charge (that he was eventually cleared of) kept NFL teams from ever taking a chance on the 6-foot-9-inch pass-rusher.

Spruce is the player I’ll be most focused on. He was a solid player in college at the University of Colorado, but never really got a real shot to make it in the NFL. I’ve got some preseason film of Spruce when he was an undrafted rookie with the Rams where he looked good as a dependable slot receiver. Injuries and inconsistencies have kept him from making much of an impact at the pro level. Spruce needs to stay healthy and impress in the XFL if he wants another shot in the NFL.

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Houston Roughnecks

June Jones is the coach of the Roughnecks which means “run and Shoot” concepts on offense – and that’s really exciting for super nerd football fans such as myself. Former Broncos running back De’Angelo Henderson might finally get his shot to prove that he can be a featured back. Henderson was a fan favorite during his time with the Broncos but never got a chance to showcase his skill set – even when he was with the Jets after the Broncos got rid of him.

Henderson has a low center of gravity and can change direction with ease. He is tough to bring down because of his stature, and Henderson is capable as a receiver out of the backfield. I like his vision as a runner as Henderson can stack moves and make defenders look silly in the open field. The XFL is a perfect opportunity for him to finally prove that he belongs at the highest pro level.

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DC Defenders

I really like Pep Hamilton as the head coach of the Defenders. Anytime a former first-round pick is trying to make it in a new league, the NFL will be paying attention. Safety Matt Elam is the player to feature on this team. A first-round pick of the Ravens back in the 2013 NFL Draft, Elam began his NFL career with a strong rookie season.

Elam suffered a bicep injury entering his third pro season and was never the same after that. Off-field incidents and arrests meant the Ravens did not pick up his fifth-year option and let him hit the free agency market. NFL teams stayed away from Elam, so he had to play in the Canadian Football League to keep his playing days going. Now in the XFL, Elam needs to stay healthy and stay out of trouble to see if he deserves another chance to prove himself at the highest level.

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Dallas Renegades

The Renegades are coached by legendary college coach Bob Stoops. I’m surprised Stoops hasn’t gotten a head-coaching gig in the NFL, but this could be a pathway to that if he has success in Dallas. Jazz Ferguson is a sleeper prospect I was monitoring closely when he was in the NFL with the Seahawks. Now that he’s in the XFL, I will still monitor Ferguson to see if he can impress.

Ferguson was a highly touted recruit when he committed to play college football at LSU. He spent two seasons with the Bayou Bengals, but a suspension from the team caused him to transfer to Northwestern State-Louisiana. He’s a huge prospect (6-feet-5-inches, 227 pounds) and rededicated himself to football after getting booted from LSU. Ferguson had some good games in college, including a 129-yard performance against Texas A&M. He flashed a bit as an undrafted player with the Seahawks and now gets an opportunity for a large role in the XFL.

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Summary

Talent can come from anywhere, and the Broncos will be watching these players (and others) as they try to impress in the new league. All of these players listed, and the ones I did not list, are long-shots to make it back to the NFL level. However, they have an opportunity with a league that looks like it is built for the long haul.

XFL owner Vince McMahon has tried this before, and the XFL back in 2001 only lasted one season. He’s learned from that experience and has good people in place, like XFL commissioner Oliver Luck, to run the league. The XFL is not going to directly compete with the NFL, and they do not want to be a pipeline to the pros directly. However, they will help feed the appetite for football fans out there after the Super Bowl – and NFL teams will be wise to watch intently looking for forgotten gems… or just solid players who deserve a shot again.

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