UFL Offseason Notes

Sanaynay

March 11, 2024
2:15 pm

UFL

Hey what’s up everyone! Actual football is BACK and as everyone knows, I’m obsessed with this league. Below I’ll have some rough rosters for these offenses across the UFL and If you have any defensive questions, ask Zab in chat. These are not depth charts but they are listed in educated guesses for how I think the depth charts will play out. At the moment these rosters are at 57 players but will be cut down a few more by Week 1 (March 30th). This year the XFL and USFL have merged so we have a lot more talent playing on these eight teams. I expect some good games and some profitable angles. If there is any other UFL content you want or are looking for, please let me know and I’ll see if I can do that. I’ll also rank these teams in order by how I view them preseason.

Pre Season Power Rankings

Birmingham Stallions
St. Louis Battlehawks
DC Defenders
Memphis Showboats
Houston Roughnecks
Arlington Renegades
Michigan Panthers
San Antonio Brahmas

Arlington Renegades

Head Coach: Bob Stoops

Offensive Coordinator: Chuck Long

Defensive Coordinator: Jay Hayes

Notable Offensive Assets

Luiz Perez

Lindsey Scott

Holton Ahlers

De’Veon Smith

Devin Darrington

Leddie Brown

Dae Dae Hunter

Deontay Burnett

JaVonta Payton

Tyler Vaughns

Juwan Manigo

Caleb Vander Esch

Sy Barnett

LuJuan Winningham

Sal Cannella

Austin Allen

Notes

The Arlington Renegades went 4-6 last year in the XFL but made the playoffs due to divisional seeding. They went on to win the XFL championship after acquiring QB, Luiz Perez, mid-season. This offense will go through De’Veon Smith with Perez working the middle of the field with Sal Cannella and Burnett entering the season as the perceived WR1. This won’t be a high scoring squad but they should be efficient and give defenses headaches if you bet against them.

Birmingham Stallions

Head Coach: Skip Holtz

Offensive Coordinator: Skip Holtz / Phillip Montgomery

Defensive Coordinator: John Chavis

Notable Offensive Assets

J’Marr Smith

Matt Corral

Adrian Martinez

CJ Marable

Ricky Person Jr.

Larry Roundtree III

Victor Bolden
Deon Cain

Amari Rodgers

Marlon Williams

Myron Mitchell

Binijmen Victor

Kevin Austin Jr.

Slade Bolden

Gary Jennings Jr.

Jace Sternberger

Jordan Thomas

Notes

The Birmingham Stallions are the upper echelon for the UFL and are the top dog that everyone is going to have to knock off. They won both of the last two USFL championships and enter this inaugural UFL season as the odds on favorite to win the championship. Head Coach, Skip Holtz, has earned the right to be called the best coach in the UFL. I expect J’Mar Smith to get the start but he has been hurt the last two years so I would keep an eye on Matt Corral creeping on his heels. Both CJ Marable and Ricky Person will get work out of the backfield but this WR group will have the ball spread around. Last year TE, Jace Sternberger, dominated the USFL and I expect more of the same here. Look for the notable names (Sternberger, Bolden, Cain, Rodgers, etc.) to rotate with big games throughout with the ground game being consistent throughout. This team is in the running to be the highest scoring offense in the league.

DC Defenders

Head Coach: Reggie Barlow

Offensive Coordinator: Fred Kaiss

Defensive Coordinator: Gregg Williams

Notable Offensive Assets

Jordan Ta’amu

Jalen McClendon

Deondre Francois

Abram Smith

Pooka Williams

Cam’Ron Harris

Darius Hagans

Chris Rowland

Keke Coutee

Jazz Ferguson

Ty Scott

Kelvin Harmon

Brandon Smith

Vyncint Smith

Kaden Smith

Briley Moore

Alex Ellis

Notes

The DC Defenders were the best regular season team in the XFL last year on the back of QB, Jordan Ta’amu. The Defenders were favorites entering the XFL championship over the Arlington Renegades but the defense didn’t show up as they lost 35-26. Ta’amu enters this season as one of the best QBs in the league, up there with Case Cookus (MEM) and AJ McCarron (STL). This is another team that will spread the ball around in the air, but I expect guys like Chris Rowland and Keke Coutee to command the majority of the targets. On the ground, the Defenders have the best RB in the UFL with Abram Smith. Smith has dabbled in the NFL and you may remember him dominating the 2022 preseason with the New Orleans Saints. Last year Smith led the XFL with 791 yards rushing (5 ypc) while adding 91 receiving yards on 13 receptions with seven total scores. He had 348 more yards than the next closest rusher.

Houston Roughnecks

Head Coach: CJ Johnson

Offensive Coordinator: Eric Price

Defensive Coordinator: Chris Wilson

Notable Offensive Assets

Reid Sinnett

Nolan Henderson

Jarrett Guarantano

Mark Thompson

TJ Pledger

Tiyon Evans

Justin Hall

Isiah Henne

Isaiah Zuber

Anthony Ratliff-Williams

Cyril Grayson

Emmanuel Butler

Keke Chism

Kirk Merritt

Braedon Bowman

Woody Brandom

Rodell Rahmaan

Clint Sigg

Notes

The Houston Roughnecks are the Houston Gamblers (USFL) rebranded with the XFL name and uniform scheme. So when you see this team, ignore everything you previously knew about the Roughnecks and view them as the Gamblers. Last year the Gamblers went from the laughing stock of the USLF in 2022 to one of the better teams in the USLF (7-3) in 2023. This team runs through their ground game with Mark Thompson being one of the better backs in the UFL. In eight games last year, he ran the ball 135 times for 655 yards (4.85) with a WHOPPING 14 rushing TDs over those games. Houston fed Thompson as he scored a TD in seven of his eight games played with double digit TDs in five of those eight games. He had at least 13 carries in every game last year and this team is returning their offensive staff. The only thing this team won’t get back is their stud QB, Kenji Bahar. They are going to be likely rolling with Reid Sinnett but don’t count out this being a full blown competition with Jarrett Guarantano and Nolan Henderson fighting for snaps. At WR this team centralized targets to Justin Hall, who is one of the best playmakers in this league with Isiah Hennie being an undersized producer as well. I expect production from Isaiah Zuber and Anthony Ratliff-Williams as well with any of the other WRs having a chance to emerge one a game to game basis.

Memphis Showboats

Head Coach: John DeFilippo

Offensive Coordinator: Doug Martin

Defensive Coordinator: Carnell Lake

Notable Offensive Assets

Case Cookus

Troy Williams

Cole Kelley

Darius Victor

Trey Williams

Titus Swen

Jonathan Adams

Diondre Overton

Vinny Papale

Lee Morris

Dee Anderson

Rashard Davis

Daewood Davis

Ryan McDaniel

Sage Surratt

Wes Saxton

Dominique Dafney

Cam Sutton

Jay Jay Wilson

Notes

If you pick up I’m biased with the Memphis Showboats, it is because I may be. I’m usually good with not letting it affect anything I play but I am VERY high on this offense and with limited statistical input and reporting on this league, I am relying a lot on feel and the limited data I have. In my opinion, Case Cookus is the best QB in this league and it isn’t particularly close. On top of that, John DeFilippo is up there with the best schemers and play callers in this league while having the best weapon entourage at his disposal. This group is by far the highest I am across the board in this league from an offensive standpoint and to even give the cherry on top, this defense isn’t that good. You are going to consistently see this team with some of the highest totals week in and week out. Jonathan Adams is a mismatch on the outside with Overton and Papale being shifty in the middle of the field. Behind them, Morris and Anderson both flashed in this offense last year and Rashard Davis is a big play waiting to happen. Above all of that, Sage Surratt is the best receiving TE in this league and is a mismatch across the field. This team is going to be fun to watch and I’ll quietly be rooting for Case Cookus all season long.

*Note, I was so excited about this passing game I didn’t even mention the ground game. This pair between Darius Victor and Trey Williams is deadly. This duo led the New Jersey Generals to being one of the best offenses in the USFL the last two seasons. Victor is a bowling ball on the ground and Trey Willaims is a great receiving back for this league. This duo combined with the passing game makes this offense very, very deadly.

Michigan Panthers

Head Coach: Mike Nolan

Offensive Coordinator: Marcel Bellefeuille

Defensive Coordinator: Colin Bauer

Notable Offensive Assets

EJ Perry

Danny Etling

Davis Cheek

Matt Colburn

Wes Hills

Nate McCrary

Toa Taua

Devin Gray

Trey Quinn

Devin Ross

Samson Nacua

Jordan Suell

Dezmon Patmon

Marcus Simms

Gunner Oakes

Cole Hikutini

Derrick Deese Jr.

Notes

This team, coached by Mike Nolan, is going to be a ground and pound offense and try to win with defense. They have one of the best backfields in the UFL between Matt Colburn and Wes Hills. I’m curious to see how that plays out with playing time but both backs can carry the load and be played on all three downs while being threats receiving out of the backfield and being good blockers. In the air, I expect EJ Perry to get the first crack at QB as he played well to close out the USFL last year. Perry didn’t play in the regular season but in the Panthers only playoff game against the Pittsburgh Maulers, Perry gave the Panthers more juice than they had seen in their previous 20 games. He threw the ball 38 times, completing 23 of them for 270 yards and two scores in the Panthers 31-27 loss. If it is a true competition out of camp, expect Danny Etling, who you may remember with his stint in the NFL with various teams including the Patriots, Falcons, Seahawks, Vikings, Broncos, Packers and Jaguars. The Panthers main receiving weapon will be Devin Gray but this team is littered with names you may recognize like Devin Ross, Dezmon Patmon, Jordan Suell, Trey Quinn, and Samson Nacua. I don’t think Gray has that big of a stranglehold on WR1 to say any of these guys couldn’t emerge.

San Antonio Brahmas

Head Coach: Wade Phillips

Offensive Coordinator: AJ Smith

Defensive Coordinator: Will Reed

Notable Offensive Assets

Quinten Dormady

Tom Flacco

Chase Garbers

Anthony McFarland

Jaylen Samuels

Josh Lovett

Landen Akers

Jordan Veasy

TJ Vasher

Marquez Stevenson

Calvin Turner

KD Cannon

Jontre Kirklin

Cody Latimer

Alize Mack

Notes

The Brahmas are the Houston Roughnecks rebranded and moved over under the San Antonio Brahmas as the Houston Gamblers took over the Roughnecks name and style. I like this coaching staff with Wade Phillips at the helm and AJ Smith commanding the offense. Quinten Dormady played well last year in the XFL with the Orlando Guardians even though the Guardians were a dumpster fire of a team. He did pretty much everything himself and even though he appeared in seven total games, he only started four of them. In those games, he threw the ball 205 times, completing 140 of them (68.3%) for 1,507 yards (7.4 YPA) with 10 TDs and five picks while adding four TDs on the ground. I’m excited to see what AJ Smith does with Dormady at QB as he is expected to run a spread offense and is a June Jones disciple. At WR the Brahmas have a lot of competition with Landen Akers being the guy I expect to command the most targets among this group. At TE the Brahmas have Cody Latimer, who many will remember from his days in the NFL as a WR. He is going to be right up there for the team lead in targets and I expect him to have the highest target share on the team overall. At RB we have a former NFL player in Anthony McFarland expected to get the Week 1 start but John Lovett and Brycen Alleyene are on his heels as I’m skeptical on how McFarland fits in this offense. This team enters this year with low expectations as they are expected to finish dead last by Vegas if you go off of Championship odds with them coming in with the longest chances to win. I don’t think they are very good and I have a hard time not viewing them as the worst team in this league. AJ Smith’s style of offense is fun and should breed some shootouts even with Wade Phillips leading the defense.

St. Louis Battlehawks

Head Coach: Anthony Becht

Offensive Coordinator: Bruce Gradkowski

Defensive Coordinator: Donnie Abraham

Notable Offensive Assets

AJ McCarron

Brandon Wilvers

Manny Wilkins

Wayne Gallman

Mataeo Durant

Jacob Saylors

Hakeem Butler

Jahcour Pearson

Marcell Ateman

Darrius Shepherd

Jeff Thomas

Jerome Kapp

Steven Mitchell

Ja’Marcus Bradley

Darion Chafin

Jake Sutherland

Kemari Averett

Notes

The Battlehawks are a team that can win each and every single week and should be viewed up there with the Birmingham Stallions as one of the best teams in the league. Many view AJ McCarron as the best overall QB in this league and when you pair that alone with the Battlehawks having BY FAR the most lopsided home field advantage (37,000+ fans a game), they are a tough team to beat. They finished their season last year with a 7-3 record and it was clear that first time Head Coach, Anthony Becht (yes that Anthony Becht), grew more comfortable as a Coach as the season went on. In the backfield I expect Wayne Gallman to get the first shot at RB1 but Mataeo Durant will be hot on his tails. At WR this team has Hakeem Butler, who caught 51 balls for 599 yards and eight scores last year in 10 games. I expect Marcell Ateman, Jeff Thomas, and Darrius Shepherd to all have big roles in this offense with others emerging and Jahcour Pearson expected to rejoin this team at some point this season from an injury.