The 2020 XFL season is officially underway, with eight teams vying for the championship including the DC Defenders, whose name sounds more like the name of a comic-book-inspired action movie than a football team.
OFF AND RUNNING
Each XFL team was allocated a “tier-1” quarterback before the draft, then filled out their roster from a pool of more than 1,000 players.
Led by former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, the Defenders opened the season with a 31-19 win at home over the Seattle Dragons. Next up they host the New York Guardians on February 15 at Audi Field.
DC DEFENDERS TOP DRAFT PICKS
The XFL Draft, which was held in October of last year, proceeded in phases, delineated by position. The Defenders top pick during Phase 1: Skill Players was wide receiver Rashard Davis (James Madison). For their Phase 2: Offensive Line selection they snatched up offensive tackle Kyle Murphy (Stanford). Their first pick in Phase 3: Defensive Front Seven was linebacker James Vaughters (Stanford).
And finally, the Defenders top pick in Phase 4: Defensive Backs was cornerback Elijah Campbell (Northern Iowa), who was the only player of the top picks to be listed on the opening-day roster.
How many players can you name on the XFL team that call the nation’s capital home? Without further delay, here is the complete 2020 roster for the DC Defenders ordered by uniform number…
2020 DC DEFENDERS ROSTER
| # | PLAYER | POS | HT | WT | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeAndre Thompkins | WR | 5'11" | 187 | Penn State |
| 2 | Ty Rausa | K | 5'9" | 189 | Boise State |
| 3 | Tyree Jackson | QB | 6'7" | 250 | Buffalo |
| 4 | Eli Rogers | WR | 5'11" | 176 | Louisville |
| 7 | Hunter Niswander | P | 6'5" | 230 | Northwestern |
| 9 | Jalen Rowell | WR | 6'4" | 195 | Air Force |
| 10 | Simmie Cobbs | WR | 6'3" | 220 | Indiana |
| 12 | Cardale Jones | QB | 6'5" | 264 | Ohio State |
| 15 | Rashad Ross | WR | 6'0" | 180 | Arizona State |
| 16 | Tyler Palka | WR | 6'0" | 197 | Gannon |
| 19 | Malachi Dupre | WR | 6'4" | 195 | Louisiana State |
| 20 | Carlos Merritt | S | 6'0" | 190 | Campbell |
| 21 | Doran Grant | CB | 5'10" | 195 | Ohio State |
| 22 | Matt Elam | S | 5'10" | 205 | Florida |
| 24 | Donnel Pumphrey | RB | 5'8" | 178 | San Diego State |
| 25 | Desmond Lawrence | CB | 5'11" | 187 | North Carolina |
| 26 | Jhurell Pressley | RB | 5'10" | 209 | New Mexico |
| 28 | Elijah Campbell | CB | 5'11" | 192 | Northern Iowa |
| 29 | Tyree Kinnel | S | 5'11" | 210 | Michigan |
| 30 | Bradley Sylve | CB | 6'0" | 172 | Alabama |
| 31 | Nick Brossette | RB | 5'11" | 210 | Louisiana State |
| 32 | Khalid Abdullah | RB | 5'9" | 226 | James Madison |
| 38 | Shamarko Thomas | S | 5'9" | 205 | Syracuse |
| 42 | Brian Khoury | DE | 6'3" | 238 | Carnegie Mellon |
| 45 | Rahim Moore | S | 6'1" | 200 | UCLA |
| 51 | Dorian Johnson | OG | 6'5" | 291 | Pittsburgh |
| 52 | Jonathan Celestin | LB | 6'0" | 227 | Minnesota |
| 53 | Jameer Thurman | LB | 6'0" | 223 | Indiana State |
| 54 | Jonathan Massaquoi | LB | 6'2" | 265 | Troy |
| 55 | Antwione Williams | LB | 6'3" | 245 | Georgia Southern |
| 56 | KeShun Freeman | DE | 6'2" | 259 | Georgia Tech |
| 58 | Scooby Wright | LB | 6'0" | 228 | Arizona |
| 59 | A.J. Tarpley | LB | 6'2" | 225 | Stanford |
| 64 | Jon Toth | OC | 6'5" | 298 | Kentucky |
| 69 | Cole Boozer | OT | 6'5" | 306 | Temple |
| 72 | Logan Tuley-Tillman | OT | 6'6" | 308 | Texas-El Paso |
| 74 | Rishard Cook | OG | 6'3" | 364 | UAB |
| 75 | Chris Brown | OG | 6'4" | 315 | Southern California |
| 77 | James O'Hagan | OC | 6'2" | 299 | Buffalo |
| 78 | Malcolm Bunche | OT | 6'6" | 326 | UCLA |
| 79 | De'Ondre Wesley | OT | 6'6" | 320 | Brigham Young |
| 80 | Donnie Ernsberger | TE | 6'3" | 241 | Western Michigan |
| 85 | Derrick Hayward | TE | 6'5" | 260 | Maryland |
| 86 | Khari Lee | TE | 6'4" | 255 | Bowie State |
| 90 | Siupeli Anau | DT | 6'2" | 286 | Northern Arizona |
| 91 | Tavaris Barnes | DE | 6'4" | 267 | Clemson |
| 92 | Elijah Qualls | DT | 6'1" | 337 | Washington |
| 93 | Tracy Sprinkle | DT | 6'2" | 287 | Ohio State |
| 94 | Kalani Vakameilalo | DT | 6'3" | 322 | Oregon State |
| 95 | Kenny Bigelow | DT | 6'3" | 308 | West Virginia |
| 96 | Jay Bromley | DT | 6'3" | 297 | Syracuse |
| 99 | Sam Montgomery | DE | 6'3" | 248 | Louisiana State |
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