If you have had an itch you could not quite scratch since the NFL regular season ended, I completely understand. Like you, I too have been lost since the end of the 2021 fantasy football season. This season was one like no other. Who could have predicted that so many first-round running backs would go down with an injury and a player like Cordarrelle Patterson would end the season a top 10 running back? There were a lot of experts high on the Cooper Kupp and the Rams’ offense in general before the season. The infusion of a talented quarterback like Matthew Stafford was surely a move that would raise the stock for every offensive playmaker on the LA Rams.
But Cooper Kupp would go to have one of the most prolific fantasy seasons and one of the most statistically dominant seasons we have seen in the NFL from a wide receiver. Even the best projections prior to the 2021 NFL season did not have Cooper Kupp anywhere near the production the Super Bowl MVP ended up gracing our television screens within Sundays. Fantasy football is a uniquely frustrating blend of luck and skill. You can have the best draft in fantasy football history and injuries can take out your top 3 picks in a matter of weeks and completely decimate your roster.
Normally we would have to wait until the fall before we could play in competitive fantasy football leagues again but the rebirth of the USFL in 2022 means the wait is much shorter. The USFL season starts in April and where there is football, there is fantasy football! Now that we know who will be on the sidelines calling the plays for each USFL team and which players will likely fill each offensive role, we were able to develop projections that are likely to give us some insight as to which players are most likely to explode out of the gates when the USFL season starts. You may be surprised at who sits atop our rankings!
If you are looking to get a leg up on your league mates who are likely going to be throwing darts and rolling die to make their draft selections then you are in the right place. Let’s take a look at our first 2022 USFL top 50 fantasy football rankings.
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First USFL Fantasy Football Rankings: First Top 50 USFL Players and Fantasy Projections
USFL Fantasy Football Top 50 Rankings and Projections
| Player | Position Rank | Overall Rank | FPts | FPPG |
| Kyle Sloter | QB1 | OVR 1 | 256.94 | 25.69 |
| Jordan Ta’amu Ta’amu | QB2 | OVR 2 | 229.98 | 23 |
| BJ Emmons | RB1 | OVR 3 | 227.47 | 22.75 |
| Clayton Thorson | QB3 | OVR 4 | 185.26 | 18.53 |
| Garret Groshek | RB2 | OVR 5 | 183.75 | 18.37 |
| Alex McGough | QB4 | OVR 6 | 175.36 | 17.54 |
| Dalyn Dawkins | RB3 | OVR 7 | 167.36 | 16.74 |
| Stevie Scott III | RB4 | OVR 8 | 166.87 | 16.69 |
| Kyle Lauletta | QB5 | OVR 9 | 141.3 | 14.13 |
| Ben Holmes | QB6 | OVR 10 | 140.37 | 14.04 |
| Eli Lamar Rogers | WR1 | OVR 11 | 139.85 | 13.98 |
| Mike Weber | RB5 | OVR 12 | 136.73 | 13.67 |
| Tony Brooks-James | RB6 | OVR 13 | 133.61 | 13.36 |
| Larry Rose III | RB7 | OVR 14 | 132.44 | 13.24 |
| Bryan Scott | QB7 | OVR 15 | 129.31 | 12.93 |
| Darnell Holland | RB8 | OVR 16 | 120.47 | 12.05 |
| Shawn Poindexter | WR2 | OVR 17 | 119.93 | 11.99 |
| Isaiah Zuber | WR3 | OVR 18 | 116.89 | 11.69 |
| Shea Patterson | QB8 | OVR 19 | 113.37 | 11.34 |
| Victor Bolden Jr | WR4 | OVR 20 | 111.52 | 11.15 |
| Jordan Ellis | RB9 | OVR 21 | 103.37 | 10.34 |
| Devin Gray | WR5 | OVR 22 | 100.75 | 10.07 |
| Kavontae Turpin | WR6 | OVR 23 | 96.34 | 9.63 |
| Matt Colburn II | RB10 | OVR 24 | 92.96 | 9.3 |
| Quincy Adeboyejo | WR7 | OVR 25 | 85.57 | 8.56 |
| Joseph Emmanuel Hall | WR8 | OVR 26 | 84.38 | 8.44 |
| Mark Thompson | RB11 | OVR 27 | 81.21 | 8.12 |
| Johnnie Dixon | WR9 | OVR 28 | 81.07 | 8.11 |
| De’Veon Smith | RB12 | OVR 29 | 80.86 | 8.09 |
| Jordan Suell | WR10 | OVR 30 | 80.05 | 8.01 |
| Matt Seybert | TE1 | OVR 31 | 79.63 | 7.96 |
| JoJo Ward | WR11 | OVR 32 | 78.57 | 7.86 |
| Derrick Willies | WR12 | OVR 33 | 67.51 | 6.75 |
| Cheyenne O’Grady | TE2 | OVR 34 | 63.22 | 6.32 |
| Randy Satterfield | WR13 | OVR 35 | 63 | 6.3 |
| J’Mon Moore | WR14 | OVR 36 | 61.03 | 6.1 |
| Anthony Ratliff-Williams | WR15 | OVR 37 | 60.34 | 6.03 |
| CJ Marable | RB13 | OVR 38 | 59.97 | 6 |
| Osirus Mitchell | WR16 | OVR 39 | 59.4 | 5.94 |
| Jeffrey Thomas | WR17 | OVR 40 | 59.32 | 5.93 |
| Brennan Eagles | WR18 | OVR 41 | 59.24 | 5.92 |
| Juwan Washington | RB14 | OVR 42 | 59.11 | 5.91 |
| La’Michael Pettway | TE3 | OVR 43 | 57.35 | 5.73 |
| Darrius Shepherd | WR19 | OVR 44 | 53.2 | 5.32 |
| Lance Lenoir | WR20 | OVR 45 | 52.83 | 5.28 |
| Derrick Dillon | WR21 | OVR 46 | 52.82 | 5.28 |
| Jonathan Adams | WR22 | OVR 47 | 51.89 | 5.19 |
| Bailey Gaither | WR23 | OVR 48 | 49.7 | 4.97 |
| Tyler Simmons | WR24 | OVR 49 | 47.78 | 4.78 |
| Sal Cannella | TE4 | OVR 50 | 47.61 | 4.76 |
DOWNLOAD THE FULL USFL FANTASY RANKINGS AND PROJECTIONS FOR ALL EIGHT TEAMS HERE
Quarterbacks
Kyle Sloter: USFL Fantasy Football QB01 and 1.01
Kyle Sloter may have been the last quarterback selected in the first round but he is the first quarterback you should select in your 2022 USFL fantasy football draft. To take it a step further, he might be the safest player to take as the first overall selection. This may seem contradictory to what you would assume, but hear me out. A quarterback first overall? The last quarterback selected in the USFL draft could not possibly not only be the best quarterback heading into the season but the best player overall, can he? He sure can be.
Regardless of your perception of the players there are numerous factors that relate to actual on the field production and fantasy football production. Sloter has the build of a traditional big bodied athletic quarterback standing 6-5 and weighing at 218 pounds. Sloter split his time in college between Southern Miss and Northern Colorado where his senior year as the full time starting quarterback threw for 2,656 yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His 29 touchdowns set a new UNC division 1 single season program record. Before becoming a full time starter at quarterback, Sloter played all over the field but mainly as a starting slot receiver and even some special teams.
In high school, Sloter set almost every record for his alma mater, Mount Pisgah Christian School (Atlanta, Georgia), with approximately 6,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards with 87 career touchdowns. What does this all mean? Sloter can do it all. He is an athletic quarterback that can not only sling it all over the field but he can run and make people miss in the open field. Sloter has also spent time with numerous football ball teams in the NFL where he has not seen extensive action. However as an undrafted free agent, Sloter completed 31/43 passes for 413 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions for the Denver Broncos during the 2017 preseason. He finished that preseason with the highest passer rating of any quarterback with a rating of 125.4.
It is not only Sloter’s individual skill that puts him at the top of our quarterback and overall rankings, but where he landed. Every football fan knows it generally takes a successful quarterback-coach marriage for a team to see sustained success. The Larry Fedora-led Breakers were the perfect landing spot for Sloter and his skill set. Fedora led offenses are known for a balanced attack that utilize rushing quarterbacks and optimize their success.
Using the Mitch Trubisky led 2016 UNC Tarheels as an examples, Trubisky took the starting reigns and blew up for 3,748 yards, 30 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. In addition to his aerial assaults he rushed for 308 yards and 5 touchdowns making him a dual threat and balanced quarterback. Trubisky (6-2, 220) and Sloter (6-5 218) compare well in size and skillset, with Sloter actually being slightly larger and arguably a better overall athlete. Anyone that has every played fantasy football knows that a quarterback that can rack up rushing yards and touchdowns in a gold mine. In our projections Sloter not only projects to have more passing touchdowns than any other quarterback but steamrolls the competition in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns as well. Select him first overall without a second thought.
Jordan Ta’amu: The XFL Strikes Back
Though Sloter may be the safest pick the quarterback that potentially has the most upside is Jordan Ta’amu. He projects to be as good a passer a Sloter if not better. He leads the pack in projected completion percentage while placing second in attempts. What seems to set Ta’amu and Sloter apart in our rankings is the large discrepancy in rushing production. This may be skewed by past Todd Haley offenses that favored a vertical passing game but did not utilize rushing quarterbacks at the NFL level that Fedora led offenses utilizes at the college level.
However Todd Haley, now the Tampa Bay Bandits head coach, is known for utilizing the skillset of his players and not trying to fit them into a unique “system” per se. If this trend continues and Haley makes it a priority to utilize Ta’amu’s rushing ability in addition to deploying a vertical passing game, we could see Ta’amu quickly take over as the number 1 quarterback in the USFL.
| QB Projections | Position Ranking | Overall Rank | PCT | YARDS | TD | INT | RYards | RTD | FPts |
| Kyle Sloter | QB1 | OVR 1 | 57.00% | 2,686.40 | 24.30 | 13.17 | 429.02 | 5.96 | 256.94 |
| Jordan Ta’amu | QB2 | OVR 2 | 64.36% | 2,662.34 | 17.50 | 10.16 | 474.00 | 4.40 | 229.98 |
| Clayton Thorson | QB3 | OVR 4 | 59.00% | 2,460.40 | 18.10 | 10.39 | 256.59 | 1.62 | 185.26 |
| Alex McGough | QB4 | OVR 6 | 60.00% | 2,493.00 | 18.30 | 11.75 | 117.60 | 2.39 | 175.36 |
| Kyle Lauletta | QB5 | OVR 9 | 62.00% | 2,320.30 | 12.30 | 10.00 | 97.34 | 1.56 | 141.30 |
| Ben Holmes | QB6 | OVR 10 | 58.00% | 2,147.20 | 14.30 | 10.21 | 113.19 | 1.04 | 140.37 |
| Bryan Scott | QB7 | OVR 15 | 51.00% | 2,263.40 | 13.30 | 13.83 | 107.71 | 0.42 | 129.31 |
| Shea Patterson | QB8 | OVR 19 | 58.00% | 1,907.50 | 9.40 | 9.79 | 67.98 | 2.06 | 113.37 |
He has made explosive plays everywhere he has been. In two seasons as the starter for Ole Miss (2017-2018) he racked up 5,600 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Ta’amu went on to be the starting QB for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL. Before that the XFL’s season was cut short, Ta’amu threw for 1,050 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while rushing for 217 yards and 1 touchdown in 5 games. Ta’amu could put up MVP type numbers for the Bandits and be the face of the league by the time the 2022 season comes to a close.I love his upside and he surely makes a great consolation prize if you miss out on Sloter.
Running Backs
BJ Emmons: Todd Haley’s New RB1
BJ Emmons sits at the top of our running back rankings and is our third overall ranked USFL fantasy player heading into the 2022 USFL season. Former Alabama running back BJ Emmons was the first running back chosen in the 2022 USFL draft. Before sustaining a season-ending injury, Emmons rushed for 173 yards and 1 touchdown for Alabama in 2016. He then transferred and played for Hutchinson Community college and Florida Atlantic for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
In two years at Florida Atlantic Emmons produced 353 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns on 88 attempts. He is known as an exceptional pass blocker which makes his selection by a Todd Haley-led pass-first offense make perfect sense. My guess is he will see a lot of the passing down work.
In the next round Todd Haley selected Juwan Washington to add to his backfield. Washington played four years at San Diego State and is a shift, agile, speedster who also returns kicks but is known for having good hands and being a good receiver out of the backfield. Washington could challenge for third down and eating into some of Emmons targets in the passing game but Emmons was drafted to be a three down back with his ability to pass block.
His skillset allows him to stay on the field for all three downs. If history is any indication Todd Haley prefers three down workhorse running backs as opposed to committees. See Le’Veon Bell during his time as OC of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Tampa Bay Bandits offense has the look of a potential explosive juggernaut so locking down their RB1 is not a bad way to start your USFL fantasy team.
| Player | Rank | Rush | RuYds | RuTD | Rec | RecYd | RecTD | FPts |
| BJ Emmons (TBAY) | RB1 | 173.11 | 728.57 | 12.94 | 36.16 | 425.48 | 2.73 | 227.47 |
| Garret Groshek (PITT) | RB2 | 134.31 | 564.61 | 9.88 | 34.28 | 382.44 | 2.10 | 183.75 |
Garret Goshek: Mauler’s RB01 and Strong USFL Fantasy Football Pick
I would be remiss to not mention Garret Groshek of the Pittsburgh Maulers. He was drafted by the Kirby Wilson-led Maulers to be their RB1. Kirby Wilson is a former long time running backs coach that has been a part of several successful run-heavy offenses. Most recently he was the running backs coach of the Oaklan/Las Vegas Raiders in 2019 and 2020 where Josh Jacobs alone rushed for a combined 2,215 yards and 19 touchdowns in 28 games. The gap between Emmons and Groshek and the rest of the running back field in our projects is huge. There is 20 points difference in the projectiosn between Groshek and the next running back in our rankings (Dalyn Dawkins). If you want a true RB1 to lead your fantasy team do everything in your power to get one of these two guys.
Wide Receiver
Eli Rogers: NFL Short-Term Wonder to USFL Star
After the USFL draft I told my friends, colleagues and anyone that would listen that I thought Eli Rogers would be WR1 in the USFL. Imagine my surprise (or lack thereof) when our projections agreed with my gut feeling. Eli Rogers is not only projected to be the WR1 of the fantasy USFL season, but he is projected to be so by a landslide. A whopping 20 points separate Rogers and the next WR (Shawn Poindexter). Rogers will likely will be relied upon by Todd Haley as a consistent chain-mover in the slot and could be an absolute target monster.
Eli Rogers being the Bandit’s first WR pick should surprise no one given Haley’s familiarity with Rogers from their time together on the Steelers. Haley was offensive coordinator for the Steelers for two of Rogers’ three years with the organization. In three years with the Steelers, Rogers racked up 78 receptions for 822 yards and 4 touchdowns as a backup slot receiver. Rogers also has experience in the XFL as he was part of the DC Defenders.
He brings experience, versatility, and familiarity with Haley’s offense which makes this pick a homerun. Rogers should be the top of everyone’s WR board without a second thought and likely should be off the board fast in the first round, especially in PPR leagues.
| Player | TEAM | Rank | Rec | RecYd | RecTD | TotYd | TotTD | FPts |
| Eli Lamar Rogers | TBAY | WR1 | 64.75 | 761.98 | 4.89 | 781.52 | 4.89 | 139.85 |
| Shawn Poindexter | NOLA | WR2 | 46.16 | 629.19 | 5.41 | 643.76 | 5.41 | 119.93 |
| Isaiah Zuber | HOU | WR3 | 50.57 | 608.69 | 4.89 | 622.45 | 4.89 | 116.89 |
| Victor Bolden Jr | BHAM | WR4 | 51.95 | 571.26 | 4.45 | 581.83 | 4.45 | 110.88 |
| Devin Gray | PHIL | WR5 | 44.37 | 564.81 | 3.46 | 577.90 | 3.46 | 100.75 |
Shawn Poindexter: The Dude Who Will Win Your USFL Fantasy Football League
Shawn Poindexter should be the next receiver off the board. Poindexter is a huge receiver that fits the mold of a WR1 that can win and make contested catches. He stand at 6-5 and 213 pounds. We have already discussed the potential for the breakers for have a well balanced but explosive offensive led by Kyle Sloter. It is well known that there is a strong correlation between quarterback and wide reciver performance in fantasy football and with Sloter projected to lead the league in passing touchdowns, you can bet that his WR1 will be on the receiving end of more than his fair share of those.
The top 5 wide recievers round out to be Rogers, Poindexter, Isaiah Zuber, Victor Bolden Jr. and Devin Gray. I highly recommend landing one of these guys who all projects to be significantly ahead of the pack in terms of fantasy WR production. These 5 are very likely to be competing for the top 5 spots in your league this season. Good lucky making a championship run with a dominant WR1 in your lineup.
Tight Ends
Only four tight ends cracked out top 50 players. This is not a huge surprise considering each team has only drafted one tight end so far and they are very often not the focal point of many offenses. If you have played fantasy football before (and let’s face it if you are reading this article you are a fantasy football addict looking for a fix so this is likely) then you know tight end is often one of the toughest positions to field an above average player on a weekly basis.
The depth just is not there and if you do not have one of the top 2-4 tight ends, you will likely be examining the waiver wire weekly looking for a high upside streaming play. There is a real competitive advantage to having a top flight tight end in your lineup that you can just set and forget every week.
| Player | TEAM | Rank | OVR Rank | Rec | RecYd | RecTD | FPts |
| Matt Seybert | PITT | TE1 | OVR 31 | 40.1 | 447.9 | 2.5 | 79.6 |
| Cheyenne O’Grady | TBAY | TE2 | OVR 34 | 29.7 | 349.3 | 2.2 | 63.2 |
| La’Michael Pettway | MICH | TE3 | OVR 43 | 31.7 | 329.7 | 1.4 | 57.3 |
| Sal Cannella | NOLA | TE4 | OVR 50 | 18.6 | 252.8 | 2.2 | 47.6 |
Matt Seybert: The Darren Waller of the USFL?
Matt Seybert has the look of that tight end in the USFL. He is our TE1 and 31st ranked overall player in these initials rankings. He paces in the group in projected receptions, yards and touchdowns and is projected to score approximately 16 more points than the next tight end in these rankings. Matt Seybert’s story is truly amazing and inspirational.
He was a walk on tight end at Michigan State and did not even start until his senior season. He was not invited to the NFL combine and had to hold is own “pro day” on Twitter to show off his skills to the world. After college, Seybert Seybert landed with the Conquerors of The Spring League. In his time with the team, he caught three passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. He was eventually signed by the LA Chargers prior to the 2021 season.
The Maulers are going to be led by Kirby Wilson who believes in a run first approach and often employs formations that included more than one tight end. This bodes well for Seybert who is like to see a lot of playing time and run a lot of routes. He man be asked to stay in line and block on a regular basis but this will only benefit him on play action passes. Kirby Wilson was part of an offensive staff for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019 and 2020 that saw TE Darren Waller have multiple breakout campaigns with 115+ targets and 90+ receptions in both campaigns easily outpacing anyone else on the team including the entire WR room.
Wilson has seen how a team can be successful with an elite RB and TE combination and I would expect him to attempt the replicate that success with Seybert in the fold. Tight end might not be the most important position in fantasy football but I highly suggest you do not wait too long to address the position. Taking Seybert earlier in the draft may set you apart from your peers and allow you to focus on other position with a set it and forget it tight end.
Look Ahead
Make sure you check back at SGPN regularly for updated 2022 USFL Fantasy Football rankings. The supplemental draft will be held on March 10th, 2022.
