XFL’s Dallas Renegades take former Demons Ferguson, Simon in supplemental draft

NATCHITOCHES – The Dallas-Fort Worth area has been a place the Northwestern State football team often has found talent.

When it comes to the newest professional football league, the favor is being returned.

In the XFL supplemental draft held Friday, the Dallas Renegades added two former Demons, selecting All-American wide receiver Jazz Ferguson and defensive tackle Deon Simon. A month ago, the Renegades chose former Northwestern State offensive lineman Pace Murphy in the inaugural XFL Draft.

Ferguson, Northwestern State’s single-season record holder in receiving yardage (1,117) and touchdown catches (13), spent the summer in the Seattle Seahawks training camp as an undrafted free agent. He was among the final cuts by the Seahawks prior to the NFL regular season. In his one season at NSU, Ferguson recorded the then-second-highest single-season catch total (66) en route to earning All-American honors from The Associated Press, Stats LLC, Phil Steele and Hero Sports.

A 2015 seventh-round draft pick of the New York Jets, Simon spent the entire 2016 season on the Jets active roster, appearing in all 16 games. He recorded 23 total tackles (12 solo), 1.5 sacks and a pair of tackles for loss. Simon spent the 2019 training camp with the Green Bay Packers and was among the team’s final cuts. He was part of the Jets practice squad in 2017 and split 2018 between the practice squads of the Tennessee Titans and the Packers.

Set to begin play in February, the XFL consists of eight teams – the Renegades, the DC Defenders, the Houston Roughnecks, the Los Angeles Wildcats, the New York Guardians, the St. Louis Battlehawks, the Seattle Dragons and the Tampa Bay Vipers.