Strong International influence found in the XFL Draft Pool

| American Football | 11/16/2022

XFL Draft Week will be held November 15-17 at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. XFL Ownership, Head Coaches and league football operations will all be in attendance picking out their teams for the league’s reboot this spring.

Let’s take a look at the extensive player pool updated here by XFLanalyst. A massive number of players are hoping to get picked up by the third iteration pro football league. While prospects have a range of experience from the NCAA to the NFL and CFL, and more, several prospects have experience playing overseas.

Last year, European League of Football stars like USFL MVP Kavontae Turpin (now with the Dallas Cowboys) along with Madre London (ELF 2021 MVP), Dartez Jacobs, and others with experience in Europe such as Jarey Elder, Dominique Martin, Dale Warren, Kristjan Sokoli, and Kollin Hill, all played abroad before making the jump to the USFL. So, it makes sense for the XFL to dip into the same talent pool abroad.

For this year’s XFL Draft, the European League of Football has a few former players in the draft pool including two-time ELF All-Star and former NFL player Seantavius Jones.

Jones has been one of the league’s top pass catchers for the last two seasons, regularly inserting himself into the league’s top plays. Last season he put up 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Leipzig Kings in Germany.

WR Seantavius Jones – Leipzig Kings 

RB Tre King – Cologne Centurions

DB Kavon Beverly – Cologne Centurions

TE David Meza – Stuttgart Surge

WR Reece Horn – Frankfurt Galaxy


The German Football League and even its second division also have several imports looking to make the jump from the international game to the XFL. Most notably, former Potsdam Royals defensive back Abu Daramy-Swaray who spent this past pre-season with the Cincinnati Bengals after an all-star season in Germany in 2021.

DB Abu Daramy-Swaray – Potsdam Royals

Realistically, Daramy-Swaray likely has one of best chances of making it in the XFL of anyone of this list.  The former Colgate (NCAA D1 FCS) All-American return man and defensive back spent the 2022 summer with the Cincinnati Bengals after wowing the coaches in a rookie minicamp tryout. The summer before that, the 5’10” defensive back was halfway around the world, putting together an All-Star season in the German Football League, returning kicks and playing corner for the league semi-finalist Potsdam Royals.

DT Elijah Watson – Frankfurt Universe

LB Darin Hungerford – Kiel Baltic Hurricanes

Hungerford was a 2021 GFL All-Star being one of the league’s top tacklers in 2019 and 2021. Since then, he has been playing indoor football. In 2021, Hungerford was named to the All-Europe 1st team. 

WR Devon Smith – Marburg Mercenaries

QB Dylan Van Broxel – Lubeck Cougars GFL2

RB Darnell Walker – Assindia Cardinals GFL 2

WR Matt Laur – Bad Homburg Sentinels GFL2

Just south of Germany, the Austrian Football League and the Swiss National league have a few XFL hopefuls as alumni. The list includes Calanda Broncos standout Maxwell Gray, former Fan-Controlled-Football tight end Tommy Auger, and 6’5″ quarterback Tyrone Williams Jr.

TE Tommy Auger Cineplex Blue Devils (Austrian Football League)

WR Maxwell Gray Calanda Broncos (Swiss National League)

QB Tyrone Williams Jr Graz Giants (Austrian Football League)

This group of international dream chasers are just a very few of the nearly 1,700 players in the XFL draft pool. Unfortunately, only about 450 players will have their names called this week as part of the XFL Draft. Read everything you need to know about the draft’s three day events starting today.

Alex is a former NCAA and semi-pro American football player who is now located in London, where he works in digital marketing. His goal in writing for AFI is to stay involved with the game that has given him so much. Alex enjoys covering leagues and