Today at 8 p.m. ET, Inside the League will host XFL officials Doug Whaley and Russ Giglio on a Zoom session. This will be the last chance football insiders get to ask Doug and Russ about the league’s draft, which will take place Wednesday and Thursday of next week.
Though we’ve hosted XFL officials on several Zoom calls, we expect this one to be more closely watched due to the imminent selection meeting. We’re giving ITL members a chance to get their questions answered one-on-one, and we think it’s a unique opportunity.
Here are some of the questions we have for Doug and Russ.
The Draft Pool
- What percentage of the draft pool is from the ’22 draft class? What percentage from ’21?
- Is there an equal number of players by position in the draft pool? Is there a shortage anywhere?
- There are close to 2,000 players in the draft pool and only about 400 that will be drafted. What does this mean for the 70 percent of players in the pool who aren’t selected next week?
- Is it too late to get a player into the draft pool? If not, when’s the deadline?
The Draft
- Will the draft be broadcast anywhere? If not, where will we learn the results? How will the draftees be notified?
- How long do you expect the draft to last?
The League
- Last time we Zoomed, you were still finalizing league contract structure. Can you provide details on that now?
- In the NFL, all teams do their own evaluation. How does it work in the XFL?
- Will there be practice squads? Will teams maintain their own short lists or will injury replacements be handled through the league.
- Will evaluation and scouting be centralized in the league office? How much evaluation is local to the team?
- Do all teams have the same size scouting staffs?
- When does camp start? Will there be preseason games?
- Will there be any post-draft evaluation camps or opportunities to be considered for 2023 rosters?
If you’d like to join us, please do. One caveat: you must be a member of Inside the League. Register here. We’ll also review everything we hear tonight and lead off the Friday Wrap with it. Register for the Wrap here. See you tonight.