The USFL’s inaugural draft took place on Tuesday, February 22, and had two former Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks selected with the top two picks in the draft.
Quarterback Shea Patterson was selected first overall by the Michigan Panthers, and quarterback Jordan Ta’amu was selected second overall by the Tampa Bay Bandits.
Round 1 ✅
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Quarterback was the only position teams were allowed to select in the first round of the draft, which is why Patterson and Ta’amu — two of the more talented quarterbacks that will play in the revamped league — were selected as the top picks.
There will be a couple of familiar faces to Chiefs Kingdom in Tampa Bay, as former Chiefs offensive coordinator and head coach Todd Haley will be the head coach of the Bandits and will work with Patterson.
“To attract Mike Riley and Todd Haley, two former NFL head coaches, Bart Andrus, a former head coach in NFL Europe and CFL, plus an experienced college head coach in Kevin Sumlin, to the USFL, speaks to the quality of the league we’re building,” USFL President of Football Operations Brian Woods said in a statement on January 6.
“They all share our belief in high-quality spring football, and we’re honored to have them lead their respective teams this year. We can’t wait to hit the field!”
Patterson, Ta’amu Former Chiefs QBs
Patterson was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan in 2020. However, he would be waived on July 10 of that same year, and his release fell on the same day Kansas City signed veteran quarterback Matt Moore as security behind Patrick Mahomes.
Ta’amu originally joined Kansas City back in 2020 after a successful stint in the XFL in which he completed 72.4% of his passes for 1,050 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions, per the Football Database.
Ta’amu was waived by the Chiefs following the 2020 preseason and then signed to the team’s practice squad. He was released from the team again on October 27, signed a reserve/futures contract with the Chiefs on January 12, 2021, and was waived on May 10, per Pro Football Talk.
USFL Begins in April
If you are interested in watching some football when the NFL and college football seasons aren’t happening, look no further than the USFL. As a former entity that was founded in 1982 and played three seasons from 1993-95, the revamped league will begin playing again in April of 2022.
The USFL will start off as eight teams that will each have a 12-game schedule. The teams in the league are named the Tampa Bay Bandits, Houston Gamblers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars, Michigan Panthers, Birmingham Stallions, New Orleans Breakers, and Pittsburgh Maulers.
This is gonna be fun 🤩
A player selection process will be held February 22-23, and training camps will open March 21. Each squad will have a 38-player roster and a seven-member practice squad, per Fox Sports.
Fox Sports will carry 22 of the 43 games, with 12 broadcast on Fox and 10 on FS1. NBC Sports will be the home of the other 21 games, with eight on NBC, nine on USA Network, and four on Peacock.
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2 Ex-Chiefs Quarterbacks Selected With Top Picks in USFL Draft