USFL 2022 Draft – 1st Round Quarterback Breakdown

By Ha Kung Wong

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

If you’re unfamiliar with the United States Football League (USFL), you’re probably not alone.  The last time the USFL had a game was way back on July 14, 1985, and the last time the league existed was in 1986 when everything fell apart after a high-profile case between the USFL and the NFL over antitrust claims where the USFL infamously “won” but was only awarded $3 in damages (plus 76 cents in interest).  Seriously, go look it up if you don’t believe me.  And if you have an hour to spare, there’s a terrific documentary by ESPN called “Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?” which details the entire rise and fall of a league that was thought to be a legit competitor of the NFL.

But what’s important now is that the USFL is back for a new season in 2022.  Sure, you’re probably saying to yourself, “why should I care?” since we’ve seen the likes of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) go belly-up and XFL go on indefinite hiatus (as well as many other leagues coming and going over time like the UFL).  Well, I’ve addressed that question in a previous article which includes thoughts of the legendary Redskins wide receiver Gary Clark, who started in the USFL.  But regardless of whether you should care, there are implications for the NFL, as a 500-player pool is going through the USFL draft in advance of the 2022 NFL Draft and most of the NFL offseason.

Each USFL team camp will begin during the week of March 21, and in anticipation of that is the USFL Draft occurring on February 22 and 23.  But the USFL Draft will not be like a typical NFL Draft, instead aligning with the structure the XFL Draft in 2019.

Active rosters will have 38 players, with a practice squad of another 7. There are 35 rounds in the USFL Draft, followed by a free agency period, where 10 additional players are added.

Those 35 rounds of the USFL Draft are split up into position groups as follows.

Day 1 – February 22
Round 1: Quarterbacks
Rounds 2-4: Edge rushers/defensive ends
Rounds 5-7: Offensive tackles
Round 8-11: Cornerbacks
Round 12: Quarterbacks

Day 2 – February 23
Rounds 13-17: Wide receivers
Rounds 18-19: Safeties
Round 20: Centers
Round 21: Inside linebackers
Rounds 22-23: Offensive guards
Rounds 24-26: Defensive tackles and nose tackles
Rounds 27-28: Running backs and fullbacks
Rounds 29-31: Outside linebackers
Round 32: Kickers
Round 33: Punters
Round 34: Tight ends/Halfbacks
Round 35: Long snappers

There will be 280 players total that will be selected out of a pool of around 500 during the inaugural draft.

The draft order for the USFL draft is as follows:

  1. Michigan Panthers
    2. Tampa Bay Bandits
    3. Philadelphia Stars
    4. New Jersey Generals
    5. Houston Gamblers
    6. Birmingham Stallions
    7. Pittsburgh Maulers
    8. New Orleans Breakers

With all that information out of the way, let’s breakdown the quarterbacks drafted by USFL teams in Round 1.

Michigan Panthers

Pick 1 – Shea Patterson

Shea Patterson had a storied college career at Michigan becoming the third quarterback in school history to pass for over 3,000 yards in a season.  Patterson ended his career at seventh on the all-time Michigan passing yards leaderboard with 5,661 career yards, putting up 3,061 passing yards and 23 touchdowns in his senior year.

Even with these credentials, Patterson went undrafted in 2020, signing briefly with the Kansas City Chiefs before being waived and signing with the BC Lions and the Montreal Allouettes.  Despite both stints, he’s never attempted a pass in the CFL.

Obviously, he’s a good fit for the Michigan Panthers just because of his legacy at U Mich, but he could also be a good fit on the field if he has the right offense.  Patterson hasn’t shown consistent accuracy at the pro level, but he his ability to quickly go through progressions and extend plays with his legs does make him a good fit for an RPO focused offense.  He’ll need to have a good offensive line and solid pass catching tight ends and slot receivers to maximize his opportunity.

Tampa Bay Bandits

Pick 2 – Jordan Ta’amu

Jordan Ta’amu is the QB I like most in this draft. In an interesting coincidence, Ta’amu actually transferred to Ole Miss in 2017 as a backup to number one overall pick Shea Patterson before taking over as the starter for the final five games after Patterson suffered an injury. After Patterson transferred to Michigan, Ta’amu became the starting quarterback, ending his senior season with 3,918 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 INTs along with 342 rush yards and 6 rushing touchdowns, good for second most passing yards in the SEC.

After going undrafted and signing for a very brief stint with the Texans, Ta’amu became the first player allocated to the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL and was named the starting QB before the start of the 2020 XFL season.  He had an impresive run with the the Battlehawks in 5 games prior to the suspension of the season due to COVID totaling 1,050 passing yards, 5 TDs and 2 INTs, adding 217 rush yards and a rushing TD.  After the XFL, he earned numerous stints in the NFL as a backup and/or practice squad member including with the Chiefs, Lions, Washington Football Team and Panthers.

The reason I like Ta’amu is because of his natural arm talent, including both strength and accuracy, and his ability to scramble.  The big knock on Ta’amu coming out of college was his inability to quickly diagnose defenses.  But that was several years ago, and from what I saw in his XFL stint, he’s taken some significant steps forward breaking down opposing defenses and certainly has upside if he’s supported by a strong coaching staff.

Philadelphia Stars

Pick 3 – Bryan Scott

Bryan Scott is an interesting choice at 3rd overall. While at Occidental College, Bryan Scott set nine school records (including passing yards and TDs) and three Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference records, including career passing yards (9,073), completions (763), and total offensive yards (9,475). In 2016, Scott’s last season with Occidental, he passed for over 3,000 yards in nine games with 27 touchdowns. It was also the season that he became the all-time passing yardage leader for both Occidental College and the SCIAC, with 9,073 yards, 77 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions in 33 career games.

But since leaving college, there hasn’t been much.  He participated in The Spring League in April 2018, where he was named Player of the Game for two games and did eventually sign with the Edmonton Eskimos but opted out of his contract after the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID.

Scott then went back to The Spring League being selected by the Generals, won the starting QB competition and led the Generals to an undefeated 4-0 season and the 2020 championship, also leading to his second TSL MVP, and becoming the only quarterback to throw for 1000 yards and complete 10 touchdowns in a TSL season.

Scott clearly has the football IQ to succeed on the field, and at times has been compared to Aaron Rodgers, but there’s questions regarding his ability to compete at an NFL level.  It would have interesting to see if he would have gotten some time on the field in the CFL, but his performance in the TSL is certainly a positive indicator for success in the USFL.

New Jersey Generals

Pick 4 – Ben Holmes

I have to admit, I’m not sure what to think about Ben Holmes.  He started all 13 games in his 2019 senior season at Tarleton State University leading them to their first outright Lone Star Conference Championship, completing 165 passes for 2,659 passing yards on 58 percent passing and 28 passing TDs, second most in Tarleton history.  He also had 501 rush yards and two rushing TDs demonstrating solid ability to scramble out of the pocket.  He also impressively had a 7-game stretch where he threw for 18 TDs and no INTs.

The problem is that there’s nothing to look at after that.  The upside is there versus DII competition, but it’s a huge question mark how he’ll do at the pro level.  It’s a big swing for the New Jersey Generals that will be interesting to keep an eye on.

Houston Gamblers

Pick 5 – Clayton Thorson

Clayton Thorson had a solid 4-year career at Northwestern with 53 consecutive starts at QB, the most ever in the Big Ten, setting several Northwestern career records including wins (35), passing yards (10,731), completions (991) and passing TDs (61). He’s also the only QB in Big Ten history to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 20 touchdowns over a career.  He impressively returned from an ACL injury in 8 months and led Northwestern to a 14-10 victory over the No. 21 ranked University of Iowa, earning Northwestern the 2018 Big Ten West title.

Thorson was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft but was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.  He then went in and out of practice squads for both the Cowboys and Giants through the beginning of 2022.

Thorson has QB experience at high level of competition in the Big Ten and was relatively successful at that level.  Being on practice squads over the last couple years will definitely be helpful to Thorsons’ growth at the pro level, which bodes well for his time with the Houston Gamblers.

Birmingham Stallions

Pick 6 – Alex McGough

Alex McGough completed his 2017 senior season at Florida International University with a completion percentage of 65.3% and a passer rating of 142.8, both school records.  He led the Panthers to an 8-4 record and their first bowl game since 2011, unfortunately suffering a fractured collarbone in that game.

McGough was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round, 220th overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft, and ultimately spent time on the practice squad, also spending time with the Jaguars and Texans, actually making the active roster for the Texans in 2019 but never attempting any passes.

Although I like what I’ve seen of McGough at FIU, we haven’t seen any gametime film of him in almost 5 years.  Again, this is a big swing for the Birmingham Stallions and will depend significantly on coaching and his supporting cast.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Pick 7 – Kyle Lauletta

Kyle Lauletta played at Richmond and threw for a school-record 10,465 yards and 73 TDs.  He went on to further impress scouts by passing for 198 yards and three TDs in the 2018 Senior Bowl, being named the game’s MVP.

Lauletta was selected by the New York Giants in the fourth round (108th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft and made his first NFL appearance on December 9 in mop up duty against the Washington Redskins, where he threw 5 incompletions and an interception.  After being waived during final roster cuts in 2019, Lauletta spent time on the practice squads for the Eagles, Falcons, Browns and Jaguars through January of 2022.

Arm strength was the big knock on Lauletta at the NFL Draft, and he didn’t do much to convince us otherwise during his time in the NFL.  However, he has exceptional football IQ and great locker room presence, which makes him an ideal person to build a new team around.  The question is whether the Pittsburgh Maulers can cover his lack of arm strength by building a quickfire timing-based offense around him with solid receivers.

New Orleans Breakers

Pick 8 – Kyle Sloter

Kyle Sloter is another tough pick to figure out.  He did have a successful senior year in 2016 at Northern Colorado after picking up in the second game of season for the injured starter. Sloter finished his senior year with 2,656 passing yards with 29 TDs, a UNC Division I single season record, and 10 INTs with 32 rush yards and 3 rushing TDs including standout performances against Abilene and Cal Poly, exceeding 400 passing yards in each game with a whopping 7 and 6 TDs respectively.

Sloter went undrafted in 2017 and signed with the Denver Broncos.  Regardless of a standout preseason performance (413 yards with 3 TDs and no INTs), he was waived before the start of the regular season and spent time on practice squads for the Vikings, Cardinals, Lions, Bears and Raiders, also getting signed to the active roster for a short time with the Vikings in 2021 when Sean Mannion was placed on the COVID list.

Sloter is another one which doesn’t have any game film for almost 5 years, which makes it difficult to assess how he’ll do with the New Orleans Breakers.  In fact, having limited starts in college make this an even tougher exercise.  It’s clear he has potential, and significant time to learn in the NFL having essentially continuous stints on practice squads.  But this one also feels like a big swing to me.

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