The inaugural XFL draft is nearly upon us, so it’s time to study up on former college stars and fringe professional veterans in the draft pool bound by a simple common thread: They are not among the 2,016 players currently on NFL rosters or practice squads. The XFL draft pool has some intriguing and recognizable names among the approximately 1,000 entrants, but it’s fair to judge its collective quality by the first player commitment it chose to announce: Quarterback Landry Jones, who spent six seasons as an NFL backup and has been out of the league for a year.Indeed, the XFL has promoted itself not as a star-driven enterprise but one whose rule innovations will produce a faster-paced and more interesting games. Its eight teams will stock their rosters according to a matrix designed to maximize parity, first by assigning one quarterback to each team and then proceeding with a two-day five-phase snake-style draft divided roughly by position groups — skill positions, offensive line, defensive front seven, defensive backs and a final “open” group involving all positions — over October 15-16.Results will be publicized via the league’s website and social platforms.What follows are some highlights of the draft pool, comprised…