DC Defenders XFL Season Preview: Predictions & Best Bets

Cardale Jones warming up for the Los Angeles Chargers

The 2020 XFL season will kick-off once again this weekend as there is more football to watch a week after the biggest game of them all, the Super Bowl. It may have taken a 20-year hiatus, but the XFL is coming back with eight brand new franchisees ready to take over the football industry. One of those teams being the DC Defenders who will be playing out of Audi Field, home of the MLS DC United. Let’s dive straight into the DC Defenders XFL Season Preview. Looking for game predictions? Check out our XFL Predictions now!

DC Defenders Head Coach

The Defenders will be led out of the tunnel each day by Pep Hamilton who is ready to score and score often every weekend of the XFL. Hamilton is most known for his coaching experience with successful offenses such as Andrew Luck at Stanford and with the Colts. Even though Hamilton is the coach, do expect him to call the offensive plays just like Sean McVay with the Rams.

DC Defenders Key Players

QB Cardale Jones: The QB who most likely has the best chance of getting back to the NFL, Cardale Jones will be using his giant 6โ€™5โ€ณ 250 lbs. size to stay in the pocket and let loose of his cannon of an arm. Jones was a member of the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers but has yet to see any life professional action it quite some time.

WR Eli Rodgers: The connection between Jones and WR Eli Rodgers will be un-real in the XFL as Rodgers has atop a lot of XFL players in terms of playing time in the NFL. Rodgers had three great years with the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he brought in 78 passes for 822 yards with four touchdown receptions.

RB Donnel Pumphrey: To meet the expectations of this fast-paced league, the Defenders decided to bring in running back Donnel Pumphrey to complete the offense. Remember, Pumphrey is the all-time leading rushing for division 1 football. He will most likely go down as one of the best San Diego State Aztecs ever in school history as he finished three years with a total of 6,405 yards rushing with 62 rushing touchdowns.

DC Defenders Win Total: O/U 5.5 Wins

Losing does not come very often for QB Cardale Jones as he did not lose a single game with OSU. He is already one of the top choices for XFL MVP as the Defenders have the talent to take this league by storm.ย  The offense is loaded and so is the defense. They have the likes ofย Rahim Moore, Matt Elam and Shamarko Thomas who combine for 166 total starts in the NFL. I love this pick: BET: Over 5.5 Wins

DC Defenders Championship Odds (+450)

The DC Defenders have everything to make a championship run and it starts with the coaching experience. DC has a handful of coaches to lead this potential offensive power unit to the promised land and the value is there as well. With potentially winning the first two games off the bat, these odds will decrease. Take them now! BET: Defenders Championship +450

DC Defenders Full Roster

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. College
1 Thompkins, DeAndre WR 5’11” 187 Penn State
2 Rausa, Ty K 5’9″ 189 Boise State
3 Jackson, Tyree QB 6’7″ 250 Buffalo
4 Rogers, Eli WR 5’11” 176 Louisville
7 Niswander, Hunter P 6’5″ 230 Northwestern
9 Rowell, Jalen WR 6’4″ Air Force
10 Cobbs, Simmie WR 6’3″ 220 Indiana
12 Jones, Cardale QB 6’5″ 264 Ohio State
15 Ross, Rashad WR 6’0″ 180 Arizona State
16 Palka, Tyler WR 6’0″ 197 Gannon
19 Dupre, Malachi WR 6’4″ 195 Louisiana State
20 Merritt, Carlos S 6’0″ 190 Campbell
21 Grant, Doran CB 5’10” 195 Ohio State
22 Elam, Matt S 5’10” 205 Florida
24 Pumphrey, Donnel RB 5’8″ 178 San Diego State
25 Lawrence, Desmond CB 5’11” 187 North Carolina
26 Pressley, Jhurell RB 5’10” 209 New Mexico
28 Campbell, Elijah CB 5’11” 192 Northern Iowa
29 Kinnel, Tyree S 5’11” 210 Michigan
30 Sylve, Bradley CB 6’0″ 172 Alabama
31 Brossette, Nick RB 5’11” 210 Louisiana State
32 Abdullah, Khalid RB 5’9″ 226 James Madison
38 Thomas, Shamarko S 5’9″ 205 Syracuse
42 Khoury, Brian DE 6’3″ 238 Carnegie Mellon
45 Moore, Rahim S 6’1″ 200 UCLA
51 Johnson, Dorian OG 6’5″ 291 Pittsburgh
52 Celestin, Jonathan LB 6’0″ 227 Minnesota
53 Thurman, Jameer LB 6’0″ 223 Indiana State
54 Massaquoi, Jonathan LB 6’2″ 265 Troy
55 Williams, Antwione LB 6’3″ 245 Georgia Southern
56 Freeman, KeShun DE 6’2″ 259 Georgia Tech
58 Wright, Scooby LB 6’0″ 228 Arizona
59 Tarpley, A.J. LB 6’2″ 225 Stanford
64 Toth, Jon OC 6’5″ 298 Kentucky
69 Boozer, Cole OT 6’5″ 306 Temple
72 Tuley-Tillman, Logan OT 6’6″ 308 Texas-El Paso
74 Cook, Rishard OG 6’3″ 364 UAB
75 Brown, Chris OG 6’4″ 315 Southern California
77 O’Hagan, James OC 6’2″ 299 Buffalo
78 Bunche, Malcolm OT 6’6″ 326 UCLA
79 Wesley, De’Ondre OT 6’6″ 320 Brigham Young
80 Ernsberger, Donnie TE 6’3″ 241 Western Michigan
85 Hayward, Derrick TE 6’5″ 260 Maryland
86 Lee, Khari TE 6’4″ 255 Bowie State
90 Anau, Siupeli DT 6’2″ 286 Northern Arizona
91 Barnes, Tavaris DE 6’4″ 267 Clemson
92 Qualls, Elijah DT 6’1″ 337 Washington
93 Sprinkle, Tracy DT 6’2″ 287 Ohio State
94 Vakameilalo, Kalani DT 6’3″ 322 Oregon State
95 Bigelow, Kenny DT 6’3″ 308 West Virginia
96 Bromley, Jay DT 6’3″ 297 Syracuse
99 Montgomery, Sam DE 6’3″ 248 Louisiana State

DC Defenders Logo

DC Defenders 2020 Uniforms

 

Make sure to check out our weekly XFL Predictions as well as our XFL daily news! Cheers to another season of more football!

 

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