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Passing Game Outlook
The New Orleans Breakers named long-time North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora as their HC and General Manager. Fedora will be joined by former Texas A&M and Arizona Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone, who spent four years as OC under current Gamblers HC Kevin Sumlin. Both Fedora and Mazzone are known for their up-tempo spread offense. In a recent interview, Fedora went as far as to say he hasn’t been in a huddle since 1996. We can expect plenty of no-huddle and pace as this duo should mesh well as the Breakers’ offensive brain trust. In his final three seasons at North Carolina, Fedora trended pass-first in neutral situations, dropping back at a 53.2% clip while games were within one score. New Orleans used their first overall selection to lock up quarterback Kyle Sloter. In his final collegiate season at North Colorado, Sloter went 198-318 (62.3%) for 2,656 yards, 29 TDs, and 10 INTs, which was good enough to get him signed as a 2017 UDFA. Sloter bounced around NFL practice squads for the past four seasons, appearing in 12 preseason games where he went a blistering 111-150 (74.0%) for 1,222 yards, 11 TDs, and one INT. Albeit an incredibly small sample, Sloter’s preseason performance and showing NFL coaching staffs enough to stick around on NFL practice squads inspires confidence that he’s among the best QBs the USFL has to offer. After accounting for the inherent run-first nature of collegiate coaches — 46.9% pass rate from 2016-18 — Fedora and Co. looked primed to be among the league leaders in drop backs.
With their first wide receiver selection, New Orleans identified a familiar face in Shawn Poindexter, who played for Mazzone’s Arizona Wildcats in 2018, where he posted a 42/759/11 receiving line on a 19.5% target share. The big 6’5”, 212-lb receiver presents a big target for Sloter on the perimeter.
Despite being selected as the team’s fourth wide receiver, Taywan Taylor can be projected to man the slot in Fedora’s spread system after getting legitimate NFL playing time in Tennessee. While there, he posted 53/697/2 in two seasons before bouncing around NFL practice squads and ultimately being released by Houston following the 2021 preseason. The Breakers’ second selection, Johnnie Dixon, has draft capital on his side and could challenge for targets as well. Dixon signed as a 2019 UDFA, making eight NFL preseason appearances where he posted 13/109/1.
New Orleans added more NFL experience with their final receiver selection, bringing in Chad Williams, who was originally drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, where he would spend his first two seasons on the team’s active roster compiling a 20/202/1 receiving line in 16 games. Williams spent the previous two seasons on NFL practice squads before being released from Injured Reserve prior to the 2021 regular season. He rounds out potentially the deepest USFL receiving corps.
Drafted ahead of both Taylor and Williams, Breakers third WR selection, Jonathan Adams does not boast the same NFL experience as his teammates but comes highly recommended by Fedora’s former UNC and Southern Miss OC, Blake Anderson. Anderson was Adams’ collegiate HC at Arkansas State where the 6’2″ 210-lb wideout posted a 79/1,111/12 receiving line in his senior season. Anderson raved about Adams’ athletic profile and convinced Fedora to move him up his draft board. Regardless of who tops the Breakers wide receiver depth chart, they’re capable of going a legit five deep, surrounding Sloter with an abundance of riches.
The Breakers’ lone tight end selection in the primary draft was block-first Sal Cannella, who caught 25 passes in 37 collegiate games. New Orleans used the supplemental draft to select E.J. Bibbs, who flashed some pass-catching chops in his college days at Iowa State. He most recently spent time with the XFL’s New York Guardians after bouncing around NFL practice squads.
Running Game Outlook
New Orleans used their first running back pick to select minor league football veteran Larry Rose. Rose spent time with the AAF’s Arizona Hot Shots, CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and most recently, the XFL’s Los Angeles Wildcats. The 5’11”, 195-lb do-it-all back had a productive collegiate career at New Mexico State, where he posted 770/4,558/37 on the ground while adding 133/1,117/5 as a receiver, including 55 receptions in his senior season.
Early-down grinder Jordan Ellis was added with the team’s second RB selection. He was signed as a 2019 UDFA by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he racked up 29 rushing attempts in four preseason games. Ellis signed with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but did not see playing time.
In the supplemental draft, Fedora reunited with a familiar face in T.J. Logan, who played under the HC at North Carolina. After posting a 4.37 40-yard dash, the 5’11”, 195-lb Logan was selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He would spend the next three seasons on NFL practice squads before getting released by Tampa Bay. While he split work with Elijah Hood in his lone season with Fedora, Logan set a collegiate career high in receptions (29) and target share (7.4%) under the head ball coach. He could siphon plenty of the backfield’s pass-catching workload with upside to lead the backfield in touches.
In his final three seasons at North Carolina, Fedora favored a committee, never giving his lead back more than 53.5% of the backfield’s rushing attempts. We can expect Rose, Logan, and Ellis to be deployed in a similar fashion with Logan likeliest to separate as the third-down back.
