The USFL held their expansion draft on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning/afternoon. The league’s draft format was unique. Each draft round featured a specific position from which each team had to draft. You can see a round-by-round breakdown of what positions were selected at NBC Sports Bay Area. Now, let’s look at each team’s tight end room.
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Teams and Tight Ends
Houston Gamblers
- Brandon Barnes (Round-Pick: 34-1)
- Julian Allen (34-9)
Barnes went undrafted out of Alabama State, an HBCU, in the 2017 NFL Draft. Barnes' transactions section for Pro-Football-Reference tells the tale of a player who bounced around multiple teams for brief looks. Barnes was on NFL scouts' radars, despite playing at a small school, even having a scouting report from Lance Zierlein.
Sadly, he hasn't stuck on any NFL teams. Regardless, he's had modest success in the AAF and XFL, evidenced by his stats I procured from Pro Football Focus featured in the table above. Barnes is a solid-if-unspectacular tight end option that's a pinch behind my favorite fantasy options at the position.
Julian Allen is unlikely to threaten Barnes' receiving work. According to Sports-Reference, he had only 22 receptions for 298 yards and one touchdown in 15 games for Southern Miss. Additionally, Draft Scout lists his first position as a fullback, with a tight end and H-back as his secondary position. Therefore, I expect him to serve as a blocking option.
New Orleans Breakers
- Sal Cannella (Round-Pick: 34-2)
Cannella had an unexciting career at Auburn, catching just 25 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns in 19 games across three years. However, he's an interesting player to keep tabs on as a tight-end-to-receiver-to-tight-end convert. In addition, Cannella had some fanfare as a four-star JUCO transfer to Auburn. Regardless, Cannella is only a player to monitor. Further, I'm only lukewarm on his outlook since he ran just a 4.75-second 40-yard dash at the 2021 Auburn pro day after bulking up to 251 pounds.
Pittsburgh Maulers
- Matt Seybert (Round-Pick: 34-3)
Seybert was a late-bloomer, opening his college career at Buffalo, transferring to Michigan State, and producing a 26-284-3 line in 10 games as a senior. He followed up his moderately productive senior year with extensive training to blow up at his pro day, and he essentially did.
Matt Seybert's Pro Day
-25 bench reps (tied for 1st among participating TEs at the 2020 NFL Combine)
-7.01 three-cone time (top 3 among 2020 TEs)
-Clocked between 4.69-4.74 40 time
Story on his training methods that made it possible (subscribe for $1) https://t.co/48EJCl8NMu
- Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) March 25, 2021
The Chargers were intrigued enough to sign him for an evaluation before cutting him. Seybert's measurables are reasons enough to consider him in fantasy football. However, I have a few tight ends ahead of him, including the next listed option and a couple of forthcoming tight ends that eclipsed 200 receiving yards in the AAF.
Birmingham Stallions
- Cary Angeline (Round-Pick: 34-4)
Angeline played 26 games at North Carolina State, showing a nose for the end zone and big plays, with 12 touchdown receptions and averaging 15.7 yards per reception. He secured 52 receptions for 791 yards and 11 touchdowns in his last two years. Zierlein explicitly pointed out Angeline's high school basketball background showing up on tape as a pass-catcher in college. In his scouting report, Joe Marino of The Draft Network was also complimentary of Angeline's ball skills. Angeline's pass-catching prowess lands him in the first tier of fantasy football tight ends in the USFL with a couple of upcoming players.
Philadelphia Stars
- Bug Howard (Round-Pick: 34-5)
Howard is in the first tier of tight ends. He's a receiver convert out of North Carolina, bouncing around NFL teams and spending time on a couple of practice squads since going undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft. According to Pro Football Focus, out of 13 tight ends targeted at least 10 times in the AAF, Howard was fifth in targets, tied for third in receptions, receiving yards, and Yards Per Route Run (1.79 Y/RR). In addition, he had some eye-catching measurables, as you can see on his Player Profiler page. Howard's total package makes him my favorite fantasy option at tight end in the USFL.
Tampa Bay Bandits
- Cheyenne O'Grady (Round-Pick: 34-6)
- De'Quan Hampton (34-10)
O'Grady was picked before Hampton and is the more intriguing option. In O'Grady's last two years at Arkansas, he snared 63 receptions for 772 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games. However, off-field issues hurt his draft stock, and he went undrafted. Nevertheless, the Draft Network analysts all had promising things to say about O'Grady's receiving chops. He briefly spent time with the Bengals before the 2021 season. However, O'Grady didn't stick on their roster.
Meanwhile, Hampton was a college receiver that transitioned to tight end and posted mediocre numbers in the XFL, as you can see above. He was briefly on the Seahawks' practice squad to open the 2021 season before getting cut. As a result, O'Grady looks like the better bet for fantasy relevance than Hampton. However, the presence of Hampton nudges O'Grady behind Angeline and outside the first tier of tight ends.
Michigan Panthers
- Joseph Magnifico (Round-Pick: 34-7)
- La'Michael Pettway (34-11)
Three of the first four strengths Zierlein listed in his scouting report for Magnifico discuss blocking. He's playing for run-first head coach Jeff Fisher. So, while he wasn't a total dud in the passing attack at Memphis in his college career, I suspect Fisher's primary interest in Magnifico is his blocking ability in the running game.
Pettway is another former receiver who is now a tight end. He was at Arkansas from 2015 through 2018 before playing his senior year in 2019 at Iowa State. His last season was his most productive, catching 55 passes for 676 yards and six touchdowns. I'm more interested in Pettway than Magnifico because of the former's background as a receiver. Nonetheless, neither is among my favorite fantasy options at the position.
New Jersey Generals
- Braeden Bowman (Round-Pick: 34-8)
- Nicholas Truesdell (34-12)
The receiving numbers for Bowman and Truesdell in the AAF were like night and day. The latter was the most successful receiving tight end in the AAF. According to Pro Football Focus, out of 13 tight ends with at least 10 targets, Truesdell was second in targets and first in receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, and Yards Per Route Run (2.36 Y/RR). He wasn't as successful in the XFL. Nevertheless, per-game averages of five targets, three receptions, and 30.3 receiving yards weren't too shabby.
Moreover, Truesdell balled out in Arena Football before exploding onto the scene in the AAF. Truesdell has an interesting background and is a receiving tight end. Truesdell is the third tight end in the first tier, and he's atop the trio within that tier.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
