PHOTOS COURTESY OF UFL
GRADING THE UFL COLLEGE DRAFT
- Mike Mueller, Senior Editor
The draft is one of the most exciting times of the football offseason. Fans anticipate the draft and how it will impact their favorite teams. For most teams, finding the balance between “filling needs” and “taking the best available player” is crucial for their overall draft success. Today, we will look at the 8 UFL teams and how they did with the inaugural UFL College draft. In order to be eligible for this draft, players must have been eligible to have been selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and were not selected.
Birmingham Stallions: A+
Annnnd the rich get richer. The Back to Back to Back Spring League champs proved why they are the best team in the league. Not only do they have talent, they have foresight. The Stallions drafted four offensive tackles, including their first and second round picks Frank Crum and Lorenzo Thompson. This was a brilliant move considering so much of the Stallions’ offensive success came from the scrambling ability of UFL MVP Adrian Martinez. Giving Martinez additional help on the edges is going to allow him to move around the pocket even more and buy time for his receivers, or for enough of the field to open up in front of him so he can tuck the ball and run it.
And you may be thinking “ok, that’s great, but if you take Martinez out of the equation, their run game wasn’t that impressive.” I agree, and so do the stallions, which is why they used their third round pick on RB Emani Bailey and fifth round pick on blocking TE Dallin Holker. Additionally, they picked up two more weapons for Martinez to throw to, WRs Isaiah WIlliams and Ahmarean Brown. They used their 9th pick to grab QB Sam Hartman from Notre Dame just in case Martinez ends up going to the NFL, and used their only defensive pick on Arkansas DE Trajan Jeffcoat who is a disruptive force who somehow fell to the last pick of the fifth round. The few weaknesses the Stallions had were addressed head on, they found a steal in the middle rounds, and protected against their worst case scenario by grabbing a QB from an elite school. It is very possible this Dynasty continues to roll and wins another UFL championship in 2025, much to my chagrin.
Michigan Panthers: A
The Panthers were the most surprising team in the league last year. Picked to be in the bottom 3 teams in nearly every preseason poll, the Panthers proved that mindset, preparation, and great coaching can overcome almost any obstacle. However, that’s not to say that the Panthers didn't have some problem areas, namely the offensive line. The Panthers gave up the third most sacks in the league last year, and the second most penalties, the vast majority of which were offensive holding calls. Additionally, their run blocking didn’t lend itself to Wes Hill’s power running style, which hurt the team as well.
To address their problems, the Panthers used 4 of their 10 picks on offensive linemen, including their first round pick being used on Julian Pearl, the 2x All Big-Ten Honorable Mention tackle out of Illinois who made 23 consecutive starts for the Illini. Additionally, their 4th round selection of Brian Dooley from Eastern Michigan is the perfect type of player for Head Coach Mike Nolan’s team. Nolan’s philosophy has long been prioritizing the type of man a player is, more so than his natural football ability. For a coach who values character above all else, Dooley was an easy choice. He won the 2023 Disney Spirit Award for being an inspirational figure, after giving his scholarship to a teammate and fellow lineman. Additionally, he was a 2023 Wuerffel trophy nominee, which honors community service.
The six picks that were used for areas other than the offensive line were also home runs. The second, seventh, and 10th round picks were used on the secondary, which should help cut down on the long touchdown throws the Panthers gave up throughout the year, and sixth round pick WR Dayton Wade will surely help fill the void left by WR Marcus Simms being signed by the Seattle Seahawks. The only head scratcher was using the 5th round pick on QB Rocky Lombardi. While the Panthers QBs were certainly nagged by injuries, they found ways to win games with four different QBs at the helm throughout the season.
Memphis Showboats: B+
The Showboats earned the #1 pick of each round by defeating the Houston Roughnecks in the final game of the regular season. The caveat of of giving the #1 pick to the team that finishes second to last is a great way to prevent teams from tanking toward the end of the year.
Skill positions were the top priority of the draft for the Showboats, and justifiably so. They had the fewest rushing and passing yards in the league last year, with the second fewest points for, the most points against, and the worst turnover differential in the league. Clearly this team needs an offensive spark. Their first round pick was QB Jason Bean out of Kansas, widely regarded as the best QB not selected in the NFL draft. Additionally, they added local hero RB Blake Watson out of the University of Memphis, two wide receivers, and a tight end.
Their 3rd, 5th, and 7th round picks were spent on the “front 7” which should surely help improve their league worst 18 rushing touchdowns allowed. The only questionable choice was using only one selection (sixth round C Andrew Raym) on an offensive lineman after giving up 39 sacks last year, by far the most in the league. Their 8th round pick of CB Ja’Quan Sheppard would have likely been better used on picking up another offensive lineman. Aside from that, the Showboats did an excellent job of grabbing great players who can make an immediate impact for their team, while also shoring up their weakest positions.
St. Louis Battlehawks: B
Despite having the best fan base in the league, and the player with the most NFL name recognition in AJ McCarron, the Battlehawks were remarkably unremarkable in 2024. Projected by some to be the best team in the league, the Battlehawks ended up being the definition of “not great, not terrible” in nearly every important statistical category, save for two: They were the worst in 3rd down conversions (34.2%), and they were by far the least penalized team in the league, only having 39 penalties called against them in their 10 regular season games, 16 fewer than the next least penalized team. So the discipline was there, but the execution was not.
With that in mind, the Battlehawks wisely chose QB Chevan Cordeiro with their first overall pick. McCarron could very well end up going back to the NFL as a backup quarterback, but even if he stays in the UFL, he is coming off of another injury-plagued year, not to mention that he’s going to turn 34 before the next UFL season kicks off. With that in mind, the pick of Cordeiro is fantastic. While at San Jose State, Cordeiro became the All-time Mountain West leader in touchdowns responsible for (113), total yardage (13,811), and completions (971). He threw for 2,773 yards with 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions in his senior year, and led SJSU to two straight bowl games for the first time since 1987. He’s a proven leader, a proven winner, and the perfect person to become the next franchise QB.
St. Louis spent two of their next three picks picking up RB Cody Schrader out of Missouri and OL Bradley Ashmore out of Vanderbilt. Bolstering the offensive line and the running game should help the Battlehawks increase their third down efficiency and help a very solid offense stay on the field.
Along with McCarron, the other Battlehawk who many people expect to see on an NFL team this year was UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler. Knowing that they might be losing their biggest offensive weapon, the Battlehawks used a pair of back-to-back picks on WRs Jelani Baker and Jadon Janke to help fill the void if Butler moves on from them.
Defensively, St. Louis gave up the second fewest passing yards and had the second most interceptions, so it was a little surprising to see them use their last two picks on D1 cornerbacks Myles Sims and Myles Jones. It would be a little more understandable if they came from smaller schools and maybe didn’t have much national exposure, but these guys had plenty of eyes on them and not only did NFL teams not see much potential in them, UFL teams passed on them every time.
D.C. Defenders: B
Perhaps the most disappointing team last year in terms of expectations vs results was the D.C. Defenders. QB Jordan Ta’amu was being lauded as a potential MVP of the league, and the defense was coming off of a very impressive 2023 season. However, Ta’amu had the lowest passing completion percentage of the year and the second most interceptions. Meanwhile the defense was in the bottom half of most statistical categories, including turnovers created, points allowed, and dead last in rushing yards allowed (nearly 5 yards given up per rushing attempt).
The Defenders wisely addressed these issues by drafting not one, but two quarterbacks. Second round pick Kedon Slovis and 9th round pick Tanner Mordecai will give Ta’amu some immediate competition in the QB room, and 3rd round DT Leonard Taylor and 7th round LB Dallas Gant should help lower those rushing numbers. 5th round pick, DE Braiden McGregor from Michigan is a stud, and first round pick T Gottlieb Ayedze has a ton of natural football talent.
However, the biggest mark against D.C. was their decision to pass up on QB Chevan Cordeiro, who was scooped up with the very next pick by St. Louis. Plumlee, Bean, and Cordeiro all seemed to be about the same level of quality, and the fact that the Defenders instead waited for the “second tier” of QBs implies that they still have a lot of faith in Ta’amu, which seems like a mistake. Slovis and Mordecai seem more like quarterbacks of the future rather than day one starters, which could leave D.C. in a bad spot if Ta’amu struggles as badly as he did last year.
Houston Roughnecks: C
Pass rushing and rush offense were the two areas where the Roughnecks really struggled. Houston had the fewest sacks in the league (14, 5 fewer than the next lowest total). To address that, they wisely used their first round pick to grab DE Eyabi Okie-Anoma out of Charlotte.
Okie-Anoma was a second team all-conference player, who has Charlotte’s single season record for sacks, tackles for loss, and QB hurries. If you’re quick to dismiss that based on Charlotte’s relatively new spot in D1 football, keep in mind that his junior year was spent at the University of Michigan, where he played in all fifteen games, including two starts and four sacks. His freshman year was spent at Alabama, where he was named to the SEC all-freshman team.
Jumping from school to school has made him extremely adaptable to any defensive scheme, and at 6’5, 244 lbs, he’s as disruptive of a pass rusher as you are going to find in the entire UFL.
The poor rushing game was due in large part to star RB Mark Thompson missing significant time at the beginning of the year with a knee injury, but a larger reason was the spotty play of the offensive line. To address that, the Roughnecks grabbed G Kam Stutts and OL Hayden Gillum in the 3rd and 5th rounds.
For as good as the first half of the Roughnecks’ draft was, the second half was very questionable. They drafted two tight ends and two cornerbacks. For a team that was pretty solid in offensive passing yards, passing yards allowed, and defensive turnovers, it seems like these picks would have been used at securing more offensive linemen, to help with the run game and cut down on sacks allowed, which Houston allowed the second most in the league.
San Antonio Brahmas: D+
The XFL division champions were the best defensive team in the league last year, but struggled putting up points on the offensive side of the ball, as evidenced by their 25-0 loss in the championship game against the Birmingham Stallions. With such glaring strengths and weaknesses, it is absolutely baffling that the Brahmas used three of their first five picks on defensive linemen, including a highly questionable first round pick of DT Gabe Hall from Baylor. Hall had a solid junior year, but regressed significantly in his senior year, and nothing about him seemed to scream “take this guy right away!”
Despite playing shutdown defense against nearly everybody, the Brahmas only had four interceptions on the year. To their credit, they did add two cornerbacks who will hopefully help San Antonio get a few more interceptions this year. They also added two wide receivers to hopefully help with their passing game, including 10th round pick Joshua Cephus out of UTSA. He’s a local favorite with a knack of coming down with spectacular catches and making defenders miss in the open field. He may be the steal of the draft, and the only reason the Brahmas didn’t end up with the worst overall draft of the year.
Arlington Renegades: D-
Hopefully BCP+ Correspondent Kelvin Kately can explain these picks, because they make absolutely no sense to me. The Renegades had the best passing game in the league last year. QB Luis Perez had the most yards, the highest completion percentage, most touchdowns, fewest interceptions and was sacked the fewest amount of times. With that said, the Renegades used their first round pick on QB John Rhys Plumlee out of UCF. After that, the Renegades used three picks on offensive linemen, including their second round pick, and spent their 10th round selection on Oklahoma WR Drake Stoops. If that last name sounds familiar to you, it should. He’s the son of Renegades coach Bob Stoops. Nepotism much?
The confusion isn’t limited to the offensive side of the ball, either. The Renegades gave up the second most passing yards in the league, while allowing the second lowest completion percentage, meaning they gave up a bunch of long pass plays. They didn’t use a single pick on a secondary position, nor did they select a defensive end or edge rusher, who could get to the quarterback faster and not give their opponents time to make those long throws. Instead, they selected three linebackers and two interior defensive tackles.
The only thing keeping this draft grade from being an F is the pure talent that Plumlee possesses, along with 2nd round pick T Griffin McDowell, who is about as NFL ready as a player can be.