In honor of Mardi Gras, the USFL Draft was today, starting at 1 PM EST (it’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it). In case you had a little too much Lundi Gras fun, I popped a few aspirins and got all the good deets this afternoon.
2023 USFL Draft
The February 21st USFL Draft was a 10-round, 80-player affair. Unlike last year, there were no restrictions on which positions could be picked at which time. No players or picks could be traded during the USFL Draft – a key difference from the NFL.
For basic information on the entire draft for all eight teams, look here. For thorough draft reviews from my fantastic fellow Gridiron writers, look here for the Michigan Panthers, here for the Birmingham Stallions, here for the Memphis Showboats, and here for the New Jersey Generals.
New Orleans Breakers Draft Picks
The Breakers had the 5th pick for each of the 10 rounds.
USFL Draft Round 1, 5th pick overall:
Tyler Scott, WR, University of Cincinnati.
This Cincinnati Bearcat was a no-brainer first-round draft pick for the Breakers. Scott has been a starter since his Sophomore year and wowed us all in 2022. The 2nd team All-American had 54 passes for a total of 899 yards and nine touchdowns. Cincinnati and Louisiana are forever tied together in the football world after Joe Burrow; welcome, Tyler Scott, have a piece of king cake!
USFL Draft Round 2, 12th pick overall:
Noah Tyler, Edge Rusher, University of Virginia
Noah Tyler has it all – smarts, skills, and a sense of humor. An academic honor roll student in college, Noah has an equal commitment to school and sports. Tyler is a likeable guy – he smiled and laughed about an opposing team assistant “chirping” at him while he was playing, labeling it “pretty cool.”
Noah had the crowd laughing when he tried to high-five the other team’s punt team members on a three and out. Only one player would return the high five, but Tyler was confident they would get more participants next time. Don’t get the wrong idea about Noah Tyler, though; he is a tackling machine. Noah will be a good addition to the defense and a positive influence in the locker room.
USFL Draft Round 3, 20th pick:
DJ Ivey, Cornerback, University of Miami
DJ Ivey can adjust to it all – he played for the Miami Hurricanes for five years under three different coaching staffs. He’s the perfect player for new head coach John DeFilippo. Ivey has had some career highs and lows, but he always gives it his all and plays with heart. In his five years at Miami (2020 was a weird time for college students, y’all), Ivey played in 58 games total, with 127 tackles, 17 defended passes, and six interceptions.
USFL Draft Round 4, 28th pick:
Keaton Mitchell, Running back, East Carolina University
Keaton Mitchell was a lucky draft pick for the New Orleans Breakers. He is the leading Purple Pirate (any relation to the Minnesota Viking’s purple people eaters of the 1970s?) that was invited to the NFL 2023 combine this year. A PFF All-American, and two-time first-team All-American, Keaton will be a player to watch out for this year.
USFL Draft Round 5, 36th pick:
Isaiah Moore, LB, North Carolina State University
Moore is a bit of a wild card with his season-ending knee injury in 2021 that could crop up again, but 341 tackles aside at NC, Isaiah is an incredible person, and that’s not a statistic you can quantify. A Sophomore year green dot on his first starting season, Moore’s leadership brought together a defensive unit that would go on to be the 15th in the country this last year.
Isaiah Moore is a future Man of the Year – he started his own non-profit student org on the NC campus in response to George Floyd’s murder in 2020. His non-profit focuses on housing security, food insecurity, and social justice. An introspective man, Isaiah describes his knee injury as a humbling experience that has brought him back to his roots, the things that made him an incredible player in the first place. That worked well for him in 2022.
USFL Draft Round 6, 44th pick:
Dante Stills, Defensive Linemen, West Virginia University
Stills is a 23-year-old record-setter for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Dante set one record for appearing in 58 games and starting in 36 of them. He is #1 in program history for most career tackles for loss (52.5) and 4th in the program for sacks (23.5). Keep that trend rolling, Dante Stills; set some records for the Breakers in 2023 too!
USFL Draft Round 7, 52nd pick:
Darius Hagans, Running back, Virginia State University
Darius Hagans is described as a “big, hard-nose runner” who is quick on his feet. In Darius’s three years at VSU, he ran 420 times for 2,069 yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, and 31 catches for 428 receiving yards. That’s 419 more times than I’ve ever run in my life, you’ve got me impressed, Hagans! Keep that energy up when it’s hot and you’re tempted with a big pot of gumbo or a crawfish boil.
USFL Draft Round 8, 60th pick:
Jake Bobo, WR/TE, UCLA
Jake is providing all of the flashy names for our draft this year. He has played at both UCLA as a graduate transfer from Duke University. Fancy. Bobo is not all pomp and circumstance, though; he was UCLA’s leading receiver in 2022, with 57 catches for 817 yards and seven touchdowns. I see what you’re thinking, former NFL coach John DeFilippo.
USFL Draft Round 9, 68th pick:
Alex Palczewski, OT, University of Illinois
Alex is a friendly giant at 6″6″ with an aptitude for leadership on his team as captain for 2022. Palczewski’s favorite athlete was listed as the fictional character Ivan Drago. I really thought he was referring to Khal Drogo and was like you and me both (am I right, ladies and gents?). Besides having great taste in favorites, Alex did not allow a single sack all season on 713 pass block attempts. That’s a record of gold; the NFL OTs should try that.
USFL Draft Round 10, 76th pick:
Tyler Baker-Williams, Cornerback, North Carolina State University
Tyler Baker-Williams has been experiencing some difficulty after an off-season surgery in 2021 that has required significant rehab. New Orleans is used to players in perpetual rehab (laughs in Michael Thomas); we know you’ll get off your feet! As the 2020 and 2021 top defensive back at NC, Baker-Williams made good use of his five games in 2022 with 17 total tackles and two interceptions.
Want a second look at the New Orleans Breakers 2023 schedule now that we have the USFL Draft results? Look no further.
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