The USFL is coming back soon, with the eight-team league resurrecting later this spring. The new USFL held its first player draft on Tuesday in a unique format, one that saw a couple of players who had Detroit Lions ties selected in the first 12 rounds.
Unlike the NFL draft, the USFL locked each round into just one position group. The first round was strictly reserved for quarterbacks. Two who had cups of coffee with the Lions, Jordan Ta’Amu and Kyle Sloter, were among those chosen in the inaugural draft.
Ta’Amu, taken No. 2 overall by the Tampa Bay Bandits, was on the Lions practice squad in 2020 and then with Detroit in the following offseason. Sloter was on the Lions roster for the final few games of the 2019 season after injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel. Sloter is now the property of the New Orleans Breakers.
The second through fourth rounds featured defensive linemen and edge rushers, with the fifth through seventh rounds focused solely on offensive tackles. Rounds 8-11 was all about cornerbacks and the 12th circled back to quarterback. The USFL deployed a snake draft concept, with the team picking last in one round earning the first pick in the next.
No other players with Lions ties were selected, though some familiar names did come off the draft board, including former Michigan Wolverines CB Channing Stribling, DE Carlo Kemp, and the league’s No. 1 overall pick, ex-Michigan QB Shea Patterson.