The USFL held their expansion draft on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning/afternoon. The league’s draft format was unique. Each draft round featured a specific position from which each team had to draft. You can see a round-by-round breakdown of what positions were selected at NBC Sports Bay Area. Below, I listed the teams and quarterbacks in ascending order of the first-round picks. Now, let’s look at each team’s quarterback room.
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Teams and Quarterbacks
Michigan Panthers
- Shea Patterson (Round-Pick: 1-1)
- Paxton Lynch (12-8)
The USFL Draft opened with an unexciting pick. Shea Patterson was the first quarterback selected in the draft. Patterson opened his college career at Ole Miss before playing his final two years with Michigan. According to Sports-Reference, in 26 games for the Wolverines, he passed for 5,661 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions, completing 60.1% of his passes and scampering for seven touchdowns.
Patterson’s numbers were decent. However, he ran only a 4.71-second 40-yard dash, measuring an unimposing 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds, earning a priority free agent draft projection from Lance Zierlein and, ultimately, going undrafted. Patterson isn’t a statue, but he’s not going to rack up rushing yards in bunches.
Lynch was the final quarterback picked in the draft. Yet, he has the most notoriety as a former first-round pick in the NFL Draft. Lynch’s scouting reports were glowing. However, he faceplanted and washed out of the NFL. He has more intriguing tools than Patterson. Regardless, 15 other quarterbacks were getting picked before Lynch was telling for his evaluation presently. Still, Lynch would be the more intriguing fantasy option if he overtakes the top spot on the depth chart. Sadly, Jeff Fisher’s a defensive-minded head coach that loves the running game and plays at a slow pace, as I discussed when analyzing the eight head coaches.
Tampa Bay Bandits
- Jordan Ta’amu (Round-Pick: 1-2)
- Brady White (12-7)
Ta’amu is my favorite fantasy quarterback in the USFL. He has spent time on a handful of NFL practice squads. However, spring football enthusiasts know him best for his stellar play in the XFL. According to Pro Football Focus, out of 10 quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks in the XFL’s abbreviated season, Ta’amu had their second-highest passing grade, passed for the third-most yards (1,050), had the second-most yards per pass attempt (7.8 YPA), and completed the highest percentage of passes (72.4%).
In addition to passing the ball effectively, he was a weapon on the ground. Ta’amu led XFL quarterbacks in rushing yards (217), attempts (27), yards after contact (105), and 10-plus yard rushes (eight), forcing four missed tackles. Finally, Todd Haley is his head coach, and his background is on the offensive side of the ball.
Philadelphia Stars
- Bryan Scott (Round-Pick: 1-3)
- Case Cookus (12-6)
Scott was not a player I was familiar with before the USFL draft. Now, I’m familiar with the backstory for a player once tabbed “The Aaron Rodgers of DIII.” He’s received looks in camp from NFL teams but has done his most impressive work in The Spring League, winning their MVP award twice. In addition, Scott is reunited with his coach in TSL, Bart Andrus. As a result, I like his odds of picking up the offense quickly.
New Jersey Generals
Ben Holmes (Round-Pick: 1-4)
De’Andre Johnson (12-5)
This quarterback room has the most interesting dynamic, in my opinion. Holmes was selected in the first round, and Johnson was picked in the second round. However, Holmes and Johnson were teammates in TSL, and the latter played significantly more. Johnson has a much higher fantasy-scoring ceiling than Holmes. Unfortunately, Holmes is an undersized, small school product with lackluster timed speed. However, he makes up for his lack of high-end traits with accuracy as a passer.
Conversely, Johnson has been an erratic passer. Instead, he’s a weapon as a runner. Johnson has elite timed speed. Last year, the running-threat quarterback used his wheels for 266 rushing yards on 51 attempts in TSL. Johnson’s elite rushing ability creates a high fantasy scoring ceiling. So, Johnson is an intriguing stash in season-long USFL leagues and a name to file away for rushing yardage overs or DFS usage, depending on the markets we’re treated to this season.
Houston Gamblers
- Clayton Thorson (Round-Pick: 1-5)
- Kenji Bahar (12-4)
Thorson checks the boxes for the traditional quarterback stature. As a result, the Eagles took a flyer on him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. But, as Zierlein noted in his pre-draft scouting report, Thorson never built on his 2016 breakout at Northwestern. Instead, after passing for 3,182 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 2016, he tossed only 32 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in his final 27 collegiate games.
Thorson isn’t a threat to pile up rushing yardage. Nevertheless, he can keep it and punch it into the end zone from close, evidenced by his 27 rushing touchdowns in 53 games. Admittedly, Thorson’s profile isn’t the sexiest. Still, unlike Patterson being tethered to defensive-minded Fisher, Thorson plays for offensive-minded Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin’s offenses have ranked in the top third of college football in pass attempts in his previous five years. Thus, Thorson is a rock-solid fantasy option if he can avoid the turnover bug biting him in the butt.
However, if turnovers force Thorson to the bench, Bahar is an eye-catching backup. Bahar was successful at FCS Monmouth. This year, the young quarterback’s skills were enough to get him a look with the Ravens. Further, he adds a little juice on the ground. Therefore, Bahar’s a name to file away if he moves up the depth chart.
Birmingham Stallions
- Alex McGough (Round-Pick: 1-6)
- J’Mar Davis-Smith (12-3)
McGough was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Seahawks. Since then, he has bounced around NFL practice squads. Pro Football Focus ranked him 16th at the position in that draft class on the heels of a good four-year amateur career at Florida International.
McGough is a dual-threat quarterback. He rushed for 16 touchdowns in his college career, culminating his four-year stint with a career-high 231 yards — as a reminder, college football deducts sack yardage from rushing yardage. According to Player Profiler, McGough’s 4.62-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day adjusts to a 4.67-second forty-yard dash that’s in the 84th percentile.
Unfortunately, we don’t have much pro experience. Still, you can see his preseason stats, per Pro Football Focus, in the following table.
Pittsburgh Maulers
- Kyle Lauletta (Round-Pick: 1-7)
- Josh Love (12-2)
Lauletta's profile isn't as high as Lynch's, but he generated buzz as a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Sadly, he flopped in the NFL. Nonetheless, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the seventh-best quarterback prospect in his class, and he had promising scouting reports penned about him by the likes of Lance Zierlein, Matt Miller, and Danny Heifetz. But, again, Lauletta didn't stick in the NFL, failing to complete any of his five passes in his career in the 2018 season, adding an interception for salt in the wound. Although, he has extensive preseason experience with better results.
Lauletta's preseason work and pedigree are reasons enough for me to slot him into my second tier of quarterbacks behind Ta'amu and a forthcoming quarterback, sharing the second tier with Scott, McGough, and Thorson.
New Orleans Breakers
- Kyle Sloter (Round-Pick: 1-8)
- Zach Smith (12-1)
Sloter is the mystery tier-one quarterback with Ta'amu I teased above. My keeping Sloter a secret until the end is fitting, given his winding career that included changing positions and transferring colleges. Sloter caught scouts' attention before the 2017 draft with his throwing display at Colorado's pro day -- his second pro day after Mother Nature was unkind on his pro day for Nothern Colorado. In addition to arm talent, Sloter's an above-average athlete, evidenced by his move to slot receiver and tight end at one point in his college career.
Sloter's scouting report at Fox Sports is glowing, and it helps explain why he's spent time with the Vikings, Cardinals, Lions, Bears, and Raiders. Further, Sloter has been a preseason darling.
I'm enamored with Sloter. I called Ta'amu my favorite fantasy quarterback above, but it's essentially a 1A and 1B arrangement with Sloter. Ta'amu slightly gets the edge because of his performance in the XFL, but it's a razor-thin margin at the top.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
