--February 3, 2013
For many USFL fans this is the toughest part of the entire season. The draft is over, but we have to wait and see who will sign and who will choose the NFL. Free Agency is closing down, but the NFL-USFL Transfer window is still 3 weeks away, so there are teams with obvious holes in their rosters and no real guarantee they can fill them. Camps are open, but rosters are incomplete and we are playing a waiting game to see who ends up where. It’s a tough way to get ready for a season, and already know that if teams can sign away some NFL talent, they may not be available to suit up until the regular season is underway. But, that said, there certainly has been a lot of movement, a lot of news, since our October report, and a lot of new faces in new places. We will break down the big moves so far this offseason, review the draft results, and take a look ahead at the NFL free agents who may just take the leap into the spring. All that, plus the LA Express finally find their head coach, and he has some pedigree to him to be sure. We start with that as LA’s patience may have just paid off big time.
Express Waiting Game Pays Off
It is risky business to go nearly the entire offseason with no head coach and just the front office making the roster moves, but in the USFL that strategy has occasionally paid off as January brings the NFL’s version of Black Monday, and every once in a while a coach with a lot to offer suddenly finds himself looking for a place to ply his trade. That was the situation for Coach Andy Reid, who had taken Philadelphia to the NFC Conference game 6 times, made 3 Super Bowl appearances, and won two titles with Donovan McNabb at the helm. Since McNabb’s departure, things got a bit dicier in Philadelphia, and Reid this January was relieved of duties after a 4-12 season, despite the Lombardi Trophies he brought to the Eagles.
And so, with Reid on the market, the LA Express, who did not jump on available candidates for their vacant position in August, were right there, ready and waiting. Within 2 weeks of his departure from the Eagles, right in the heart of the USFL Draft, the news broke. Andy Reid would be the next head coach of the Express. In Reid, LA gets a proven winner, a coach with pedigree and a history of success. It is something that LA fans have been clamoring for. The Express (in two different iterations) have played in 27 of the USFL’s 30 seasons and have yet to bring home a John Bassett Trophy. For Express fans, there is now optimism that Reid can do for them what he did for the Eagles, and bring a much-desired title to tinseltown.
Chicago Trades Michael Turner to Bolster Secondary
We reported back in October that the Chicago Machine were looking to deal their 7-time 1,000 yard rusher Michael Turner this offseason, and by Thanksgiving they had done just that. Turner, who had one of his best seasons in 2011 with nearly 1,400 yards on the ground, was sent to Houston in exchange for some draft capital and very promising young cornerback Josh Norman. The deal helps Houston reload after the retirement of Shaun Alexander, while providing Chicago with much needed help in the secondary.
Turner has been a workhorse for the Machine for nearly a decade, topping 1,000 yards every year since 2006, and at 29 years old, he is still at a stage in his career where more of the same could be expected, but Coach Schiano loved what he saw in 2011 rookie Doug Martin, and so opted to deal Turner before turned 30, a pivotal point in any running back's career, and one where the risk of a quick decline in production often lowers their trade value. By dealing the veteran back now, Schiano and the Machine were able to demand a high cost, and that high cost came in the form of a talented rookie corner in Josh Norman. Norman was a mid-round pick of the Gamblers in 2011 out of Coastal Carolina but quickly emerged as one of the best finds of the 2011 draft after earning a position as a starter by midseason. He now will go to Chicago, where he is expected to line up behind Marlin Jackson as the 2nd CB, but could see some action against top receivers. Chicago also obtained a mid-round draft pick this year, one they would go on to use to select another cornerback in USC's Nickell Robey-Coleman, providing even more youth to a secondary that was a huge issue for the club in a disappointing 2011 season.
For Turner, the move allows him to once again be a bell cow back, now for Coach Wade Phillips, and to play for a team that has Summer Bowl aspirations despite barely missing the playoffs last year. The 2-time All-USFL back will lead a HB room that also includes 9-year veteran short-yardage back Cedrick Cobbs and little-used 3rd back Herbert Perron. Expect Turner to be a focal point of the Houston offense, and perhaps to have a greater role in the passing game than he did in Chicago, where he caught only 18 balls in 2011.
The big story leading up to the draft were the bevvy of quality running backs who did not sign with the NFL, did not sign early in free agency, and were available for USFL teams to try to woo into the Winter. With players like Frank Gore, Cadillac Williams, Ray Rice, Felix Jones, and Jahvid Best still on the market, the theory was that when the first signed, the rush would be on. That would prove to be exactly what happened.
There were 5 teams in the market and in negotiations to try to woo former Nashville Knight Frank Gore to town. He was the key to the entire market. When he took a 4-year deal to replace LaDainian Tomlinson in Arizona, it broke up the logjam, and within 6 days five other backs were off the board and 5 more teams had found a running game.
Gore signed a 4-year, $14M deal with Arizona on December 13th, joining the Wranglers as the clear number one back. The deal would take the former Knight to the age of 35, once unthinkable, but after seeing the success that Antowain Smith had at age 36, and with Gore’s famous work ethic, the Wranglers were more than willing to add a 3rd and 4th year to the deal when other clubs were still dangling 2-year deals out to Gore’s agent.
With Gore off the table, Seattle quickly moved to make sure they would not be left without a viable veteran option. They quickly signed former Showboat Cadillac Williams to a 3-year deal that would bring the back to the Pacific Northwest. At the same time Nashville was trying to find a back to replace Gore, and just one day after Williams had signed, the Knights cam e to an agreement with the youngest of the big name backs out there, former General and Express HB Ray Rice. That left only former Seattle starter Jahvid Best on the table as far as starters go, but Best was considered marginal at best as a 2013 starter, and was more likely to find himself in a platoon. He would sign 3 days later with Washington, an interesting move as it almost assures that Best will be a backup in 2013 behind legendary Federal HB Deuce McCallister, but McCallister is not immortal, and the premise here seems to be that Best will step in when McCallister calls it a career, possibly after just this season.
In the next 3 days we also saw Felix Jones sign with Texas, Rod Smart with LA, and Antonio Pitmann with Dallas, all taking on smaller roles as they join new teams, but roles that allow them to keep playing. By Christmas weekend the backs were off the board and several teams who had been thought to be favoring backs in the 2013 Collegiate Draft, now might have been off the table. However, two big players in the HB Mad Dash, Michigan and St. Louis, were not. Michigan was expected to look long and hard at one of the players in their protected pool, Michigan State’s LeVeon Bell. St. Louis would need to make a deal to get access to a top back. They would make that deal by New Year’s Eve, trading Open Draft selections for the right to the Birmingham Stallions’ first Territorial Draft selection, a clear move to get the inside track on Alabama HB Eddie Lacy.
But HB was not the only position that saw a feeding frenzy in December. With several players having delayed a decision through the fall, December was packed with deals as teams tried to reduce their high-impact roster gaps ahead of the USFL Draft, knowing full well that 1 in 2 draftees, if not more, would head to the NFL instead of signing to play with the USFL. As we wrap up the pre-draft signings, here is our list of the later signings with the biggest potential impact, position by position.
QB
A weak pool of QB prospects led to few signings. Seattle nabbed Mike Flynn early in the offseason and in December only 2 more signed. Bob Volek returned to familiar ground in Oakland after a 2-year stint with the Showboats and Jeff Smoker, the former Michigan State Spartan, also had a homecoming, signing on with the Panthers as a backup to Kirk Cousins.
TE
After early action saw Jeremy Stevens sing with St. Louis, Jabari Holloway with Birmingham, and Dustin Keller with the Bandits, the biggest name left was Brandon Manumaleuna (a pretty big name), who waited until just before the holidays before signing on with the Dallas Roughnecks.
WR
It was rumored for weeks, but just before Thanksgiving the deal was finally cut and Vincent Jackson, who saw such success with the Maulers, was the new number 1 receiver for the Tampa Bay Bandits, taking over the position that future HOFer Joey Galloway had held the past two years. Over the next month we saw several other signings; James Hardy with Philly, Julian Edelman reupping in Birmingham, Chastin West in Jacksonville, Roberto Wallace in DC, and Sean Morey with the Glory.
OL
November and December saw most of the remaining big guys off the boards. Centers Antoine Caldwell (BOS to OAK), and Ryan Kahil (LA to MEM), guards Elton Brown (DEN to TBY), Chris Kemoeatu (SEA to OAK), and Chris Kuper (PIT to PHI), and tackles Jared Gaither (PHI to PIT), Joseph Bragg (NOR to SEA), and David Stewart (MEM to WSH), pretty much depleted the pool, save for 34-year-old Chris Terry. The former Renegade remains unsigned as of today.
DE
With Elvis Dumervil (DAL0 and Reggie Torbor (PHI) off the board early, the biggest name among edge rushers still left was former Wrangler Justice Cole, who, at 23, is the rare case of a young player not being extended on his rookie deal. Denver took advantage of that and signed Cole in mid-November, leaving only Brandon Noble and Everson Griffin left.
DT
Twenty-nine-year-old Amobi Okoye was seen as the best long term prospect among the DTs, especially after Atiyyah Ellison signed with Portland. Well, Okoye also opted to head to the PNW, signing with Seattle just after Halloween. Other signings included Ohio’s Tank Johnson, now with the Showboats, and Portland’s Kedrick Gholston, who will join Chicago.
LB
We had a huge rush of backers taken early, as we reported back in October, and that left basically Pat Angerer, Brian Kehl, and Nathan Triplett left for the latter stages of free agency. Well, now all three are gone. Angerer joins the Gamblers, Kehl the Stallions, and Triplett heads out to LA, leaving very few options for USFL teams as camp opens.
CB
Perhaps the biggest surprise in Free Agency right now is that CB Antoine Winfield remains unsigned. At this point it seems clear he is looking for an NFL option. He and Rashad Bauman were the two most highly rated corners in the pool, and both are still out there. No longer out there for the taking is former Showboat Tyrone Bell, who signed with Las Vegas.
S
Both FS Bhawoh Jue and SS John Keith opted to retire rather than start over with a new team, while 31-year-old Atari Bigby seems to be asking more than anyone is willing to pay. He may well be headed to the NFL rather than signing back with a USFL team.
K/P
Texas got their replacement for the retired Rian Lindell, signing former Nashville kicker Kai Forbath to a 2-year deal. Josh Scobee has yet to sign and is the only established veteran left among placekickers.
Before we look team by team at the USFL’s Territorial and Open Draft, a couple of stories emerged out of the draft that deserve to be noted. We will explore these first and then look at how your favorite team strategized through the draft.
Trades Up and Down the Open Draft
We expected a lot of Open-for-Territorial swapping, but largely that did not materialize. The only significant moves made were St. Louis’s trade to get in position to draft Eddie Lacy, and Portland’s swap with Charlotte so that they could select NC State QB Mike Glennon. More action was certainly seen within the Open Draft, where we had moves made involving picks in nearly every round. It started with Jacksonville trying to leapfrog Ohio and get their top choice at DE. They sent their 1st and 2nd this year to Memphis to move up 4 spots, one pick ahead of the Glory, and they went for the man they coveted, LSU DE Barkevious Mingo, who had already publicly talked about being a lifelong Orlando Renegade fan. Guess he will now have to be satisfied with playing the ‘Gades twice a year, assuming he does not head to the NFL instead of to rival Jacksonville. Memphis used the 6th pick to snag the LB they coveted, Georgia’s Jarvis Jones, who was one of only a handful of players to sign with the USFL to date, so a good move by Memphis there.
Houston and New Jersey pulled off the other trade entirely within the first round, New Jersey swapped their 1st for Houston’s, also sending the Gamblers two 6th rounders this year and a 4th rounder in 2014, all to take a swing at safety Eric Reid of LSU. Having already chosen Shamarko Thomas of Syracuse in the T-Draft, it was very clear the Generals did not want to leave this draft without a first-year starter at safety. For their part, Houston dropped down 7 spots, where they drafted Georgia DT John Jenkins.
Both of the Summer Bowl contestants dropped out of the first round with trades that gave them extra picks in later rounds. St. Louis would drop from 28th to the 2nd round in a deal with Birmingham, and then proceed to swap their two 2nd round picks with Orlando to move up near the top of the 2nd round, where they selected DE Bjorn Werner from Florida State. Charlotte also moved out of the 1st round, sending their pick to LA for a 2nd and a 3rd rounder. With their 2nd 1st round pick, LA took a shot at CB Jamar Taylor of Boise State, and with their 2 picks Charlotte selected OG Jonathan Cooper and LB Steven Means from Buffalo.
Other trades saw Memphis swap their 2nd round pick with Baltimore so the Blitz could select OT Terron Armstead out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Atlanta sent 3 picks to Oakland to get another 2nd rounder, a pick they used on CB Darius Slay from Mississippi State, and Arizona sent three late round picks to Dallas to move into the 4th round and select DE Kapron Lewis-Moore from Notre Dame.
For a draft that did not have a strong QB pool there was a surprising amount of movement all throughout the day. But, in the end, what does it mean. Here is our breakdown of each team’s selections and the player they absolutely don’ t want to miss on.
ARIZONA
The Wranglers have already signed Iowa State LB A. J. Klien, so that is one big win for them. The one they need to lock down is their 1st round pick, Alabama guard Chase Warmack.
ATLANTA
The Fire are hoping to sign Tennessee HB Cordarelle Patterson to be the lightning in a Thunder & Lightning backfield they want to put together, but he has a competing offer from the NFL Vikings, so they were smart to double down by also selecting South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore 2 rounds later.
BALTIMORE
The Blitz moved up to select Armstead, the big RT from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but the player that could be the key to their draft was 1st round selection DeAndre Hopkins, the speedy wideout from Clemson who they would slot into Tory Holt’s outside position.
BIRMINGHAM
The Stallions stockpiled picks and hope that they can have a strong signing record with a lot of cap room to spend. We like their T-Draft particularly, where they selected Alabama LB Nico Johnson and DE Quinton Dial, focusing on signability over splash, after trading away the top T-Draft pick to St. Louis. We also really like the mid-round steal of safety Baccari Rambo from Georgia, a very solid player with a great name.
CHARLOTTE
The Monarchs traded out of the first round, so they got some extra picks. We like the focus on offensive line with UNC’s Jonathan Cooper and Travis Bond taken in the T-Draft, but in the open draft, the player they are most excited by is Rice TE Luke Willson.
CHICAGO
The Machine were hoping DeAndre Hopkins would be there. He was not, and neither was Tavon Austin, so Chicago went with Aaron Dobson of Marshall, and then doubled down by picking West Virginia’s Stedman Bailey in the next round. And yes, despite the weirdness of the catfishing controversy, the Machine still protected LB Manti Te’o from Notre Dame in the T-Draft.
DALLAS
The first draft for the new ownership in the new city and it was all about OU in the T-Draft. QB Landry Jones, DE David King, and WR Kenny Stills could give a very Sooner look to the Roughnecks if they can land all three. In the Open Draft, the player they absolutely do not want to miss on is first round pick, DT Star Lotulelei from Utah, a mountain of a man to fill up the middle of that D-line.
DENVER
A pretty quiet year with only 5 picks in the open draft. We do like OT David Bakhtiari from just up the road in Boulder, a T-Draft selection, but Denver is hoping they have the funds to entice 1st round pick, Texas A&M OT Luke Joecklel to forego the Jags, who selected him to be the next Tony Boselli in Jacksonville.
HOUSTON
The Gamblers did not protect Joeckel, but hope they got what they needed from a T-Draft that included A&M halfback Christine Michael, DE Damontre Moore, and WR Ryan Swope, a clean sweep for the Aggies. In the Open Draft, Houston was the winner in the Kenny Vaccaro sweepstakes, snatching up the Longhorn safety, but now will have to compete with the Saints of the NFL to sign the top safety in the draft.
JACKSONVILLE
The Bulls surprised many by not protecting DT Sharrif Floyd (Picked by Denver) or WR DeAndre Hopkins, but by going for two safeties, Florida’s Matt Elam and Georgia Southern’s J. J. Wilcox. In the Open Draft, we like the pick of Barkevious Mingo, even if they had already picked Clemson’s Malliciah Goodman in the T-Draft. Doubling up on a key position is always a good option.
LAS VEGAS
Even with a 4th T-Draft school added (Nevada), it was slim pickings for the Thunder. DE Exekial Ansah is the big fish in a small pool, but the Lions also picked Ansah in the NFL first round, which means the pricetag just went up to sign him.
LOS ANGELES
The Express went heavy for the offensive weapons in the T-Draft, selecting not only Trojan wideout Robert Woods and SDSU tight end Gavin Escobar, but HB Jonathan Franklin from UCLA for a skills trifecta. In the Open Draft, LA traded back up into the 1st round to get a 2nd pick, choosing CB Jamar Taylor of Boise State after their initial selection of Houston Cougar CB D. J. Hayden in the same round, a serious double-down strategy.
MEMPHIS
The Showboats dropped from the 4th position to the 8th to allow Jacksonville to move up, but they still got the man they wanted, LB Jarvis Jones from Georgia. We think they will break the bank to keep Jones from going to the Steelers. But will that leave them enough money to compete for other players, like Arkansas HB Kniles Davis, selected in the T-Draft as an answer to Cadillac Williams’s departure. Having signed Darren McFadden in free agency, perhaps Davis is not the priority he otherwise would have been.
MICHIGAN
The entire Panther draft hinges on T-Draft selection LeVeon Bell signing on as their bellcow back. That is the biggest hole and the biggest name in their draft. They doubled down, as most teams do in key positions, with mid-round pick Michael Cox from UMass, but Bell is the key.
NASHVILLE
It will be an cross-city battle as both the Knights and the Copperheads selected WR Justin Hunter from Tennessee. If they cannot win that battle, perhaps a good consolation prize is TE Tyler Eifert from Notre Dame, also picked by the notoriously stingy Cincinnati Bengals, so a good shot for Nashville in those dealings.
NEW JERSEY
The Generals traded away so many picks over the past few years that they only ended up with 6 total picks over both the T-Draft and Open Draft. Their lone T-Draft pick was Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas, a security blanket if Open Draft selection Eric Reid signs with the 49ers.
NEW ORLEANS
The Breakers feel they landed their new kicker in Caleb Sturgis, already signed on for 3 years, but the big fish for them is CB Xavier Rhodes of FSU, who they see starting from day one, if that is he does not sign on with the Vikings.
OAKLAND
While we like OT D. J. Fluker from Alabama in the Open Draft, the key to Oakland’s draft week is the T-Draft, where they are hoping to land both WR Keenan Allen from Cal and TE Zach Ertz from Stanford for a 1-2 punch of Bay Area ballers.
OHIO
A weak Ohio State grad class means that the T-Draft is for depth only for the Glory. They need to hit big in the Open Draft, and their top choice of UCLA DE Datone Jones could be key. He was also chosen by Green Bay, but Columbus has to be a better option, right? Neither is LA, so it is a question of cold v. cold for Jones.
ORLANDO
HB Latavius Murray of UCF has already inked to stay in Orlando with the Renegades, so they have a win under their belt. Now, can they land their top pick, Alabama CB Dee Milliner? That would make new head coach John Fox a happy camper to be sure.
PHILADELPHIA
The Stars traded away several picks to try to move up in the mid-rounds. They had a weak T-Draft Pool, but are hopeful that they can land their Open Draft picks, including HB Zac Stacy of Vanderbilt, TE Travis Kelce of Cincinnati, and 1st round pick, LB Jamie Collins of Southern Miss.
PITTSBURGH
The Maulers went for the playmaker in the T-Draft, picking West Virginia mighty mite Tavon Austin to add some flare to their offense. They then went with an interesting “reach” pick in the 3rd round of the Open Draft, selecting Minnesota State’s Adam Thielen, a player many expected to stick around until the 6th or 7th round. Guess the Maulers are concerned about the passing game without Vincent Jackson.
PORTLAND
Linebacker Kiko Alonso and DE Dion Jordan could be a great 1-2 punch out of the Stags’ T-Draft, but where the Stags look most interesting is at QB, where they picked E. J. Manuel in the first round and then used a late round pick on Penn State QB Matt McGloin. Guess Ryan Fitzpatrick should not be signing any 30-year mortgages for a home in Portland.
SEATTLE
The Dragons will have a tough battle on their hands for top pick Eric Fisher, the CMU tackle. He also went first overall in the NFL Draft, picked by Kansas City. The good news for Seattle is that they are not constrained by the 1st round rookie “slots” the NFL uses to control rookie pay, so they could outibid the Chiefs if they want to spend that kind of money.
ST. LOUIS
The big move for the Skyhawks was trading to get Birmingham’s T-Draft pick so they could try to lock up Alabama HB Eddie Lacy. The lure of being the new bellcow back for the USFL champion could be enough to bring Lacy to St. Louis instead of signing with the NFL Packers.
TAMPA BAY
We are a bit surprised that with E. J. Manuel in their protected pool, the Bandits passed and went with USF QB B. J. Daniels instead. But QB was not a priority position. What was a priority is DE, which is why they also chose FSU’s Bjorn Werner and Tank Carradine. In the Open Draft they went for inside line with Purdue’s Kawann Short.
TEXAS
The Outlaws love the straight-line speed of UT wideout Marquise Goodwin, another potential weapon for Joe Flacco. But they also need to protect Flacco, which is why they selected both Oregon guard Kyle Long and FSU tackle Menelik Watson in the Open Draft.
WASHINGTON
The T-Draft produced very little, but Washington is high on LB Alec Ogletree from Georgia and FB Tommy Bohanon from Wake Forest, two Open Draft picks. The other big name, taken a bit later in the USFL Draft than the NFL Draft (always a red flag for signing) HB Giovanni Bernard, picked by Washington in the 3rd round but selected by Cincinnati in the 1st. Expect that to be a tough player to wrangle.
Will anyone take a shot at JaMarcus Russell?
If it is name recognition you want in a quarterback, it is hard to do better than JaMarcus Russell, but what the LA Raiders learned is that some spectacular moments at LSU do not necessarily mean that a young player will have immediate success at the next level. By all accounts, Russell has been a bust after being chosen first overall by the Raiders in the 2007 NFL Draft. Russell has become the poster child for bad scouting after all the praise prior to the draft has led to 3 seasons of pretty bad stats and an arrest for codeine possession, becoming the first player in NFL history to be busted for “purple drank”.
That was 2 years ago, and Russell says he is ready for a comeback, but the former Raider starter is a huge risk, the kind of risk that many teams in both leagues want nothing to do with. And yet, we have seen risky players jump leagues and find success. We have seen players with legal issues, drug issues, alcohol issues, you name it, so is Russell all that different? The truth is that had he played at an All-Pro level with the Raiders, he likely would be able to get a deal, to have a team forgive his legal issues and his weight issues and take a shot on him. But, when your pro stat line looks like that of a journeyman backup and not a top draft pick, well, the argument that he can turn it around 5 years since his college glory days, those are harder to buy into.
Reggie Bush has LA on his mind.
Another player with a bit of a checkered past and a bit of a chip on his shoulder is also going to be in the NFL free agent pool. Reggie Bush came out of USC with all the hype a Trojan halfback deserves, picked second by the New Orleans Saints in the 2006 draft, Bush turned away a deal from the LA Express and played 5 seasons in New Orleans, but never topped 600 yards in a year, though his combined yards as a receiver and runner were solid.
There was scandal, particularly related to his time with the Trojans, and Bush moved on to Miami, where he has played 31 of the past 32 games for the Dolphins, rushing fo rover 2,000 yards over the past two seasons and proving that he still has some shimmy left in him. Now he is a free agent again, and hoping for a third act. With so many USFL teams starting the offseason desperate for a lead back, the hope had to be that he could parlay USFL interests against NFL interests and get himself a top dollar deal.
But, most of the USFL teams have found their solution at halfback, either within the USFL free agent pool or in the draft (assuming the bigger names sign), which leaves Bush with few options, but one very big opportunity could be right back at home. The Express, who drafted Bush out of USC in 2006, are again looking for a lead back, and landing the former Trojan could be a move that is too good to pass up.
NFL Pool Favors the Defense
Once again, it looks like NFL clubs have largely protected their offensive playmakers, especially at QB and WR, but may have done so at the expense of linemen and defenders, creating a pool that is perfect for USFL contenders to plunder, but maybe not so great for teams that are looking for some explosive offense or a quick fix at QB.
In addition to JaMarcus Russell, considered a major risk by most GMs, the QB group is pretty sparce. You have Tarvaris Jackson, who is at least still somewhat of a younger player, and then you have veterans like Trent Edwards and Rex Grossman, and that is about it.
In the HB group, outside of Reggie Bush, there are still several names that fans could get excited about, including former Ram Steven Jackson, who could still have some juice in those legs, and two pluggers in Chris Ivory and Chris “Beanie” Wells, both of whom have solid short-yardage skills. Others in the group include Justin Forsett, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Jalen Parmele.
At receiver the pool is just not that deep. The top name is former Steeler Emmanuel Sanders, who has been something of a nuisance much in the mold of Mike Wallace. You have a decent route runner in Brian Hartline, and you have an outstanding return man who struggles as a true wideout in former Brown Josh Cribbs. At TE the only receiver worth a look is former Raven Dennis Pitta, who is not the most fleet of foot but knows how to work a zone and get open.
If you want to make hay in this free agent pool, O-line may be the place to do it. Some very talented tackles head up the group, players like Falcon Tyson Clabo, Bronco Ryan Clady, Dolphin Jake Long, Ginat Will Beaty, Patriot LT Sebastian Vollmer, and the Saints’ Jermon Bushrod. At guard there is not as much name recognition, but good talent in Louis Vasquez (SD), Ramon Foster (PIT), Kevin Boothe (NYG), and Ryan Lilja (KC). And at center you have solid starters in Dallas’s Phil Costa and Titan Fernando Velasco.
On the defense, the key position is linebacker, where the group is led by Raven Paul Kruger, and goes pretty deep with players like Chase Blackburn, Kaluka Maiava, Dannell Ellerbe, Demorrio Williams, Philip Wheeler, and Larry Foote.
Defensive End is also a pretty solid group, though there are no Reggie Whites or Calais Campbells in this group. Dwight Freeney is the old man in the group at 33, but he could be good for a 1-2 year deal. He is joined by players like Michael Bennett, Junior Galette, and Matt Shaughnessy, Inside you have Henry Melton of the Bears, Glenn Dorsey of KC, Randy Starks from Miami, and Aubrayo Franklin from the Chargers.
In the secondary, how about Patriot CB Aqib Talib? Or you could look at the Vikings DeAngelo Hall, Panthers’ Chris Gamble, Chis Houston from Detroit, or E. J. Biggers form Tampa Bay. We also like Derk Cox, the 26-year-old from the Jaguars. At safety, we like Glover Quin of the Texans, Kerry Rhodes from Arizona, Quintin Mikell from the Rams, and Louis Delmas from Detroit.
The only spot we don’t see any real finds is at the kicking positions, both placekicker and punter, where no serious potential solutions are found this offseason. We have about 2 weeks before the action really starts on this front, and any players who don’t sign quickly will almost certainly miss some games, but at least there is talent out there, though, again, not so much if you are a QB needy team. The players worth their salt at the QB position rarely make it to the free agent market.
Join us in just about a month when we prepare to kick off the 2013 USFL season with our double edition USFL Kickoff preview edition. We will have all the rookie signings, NFL transfers, last second free agents and trades, and we will preview all 28 USFL clubs ahead of the league’s 31st season. All this plus we look at the full schedule and highlight the 16 best games of the year.