Spring leagues. They come, and they go. But the USFL is making a push this offseason, and us football-hungry fans are ready for the USFL Draft and season. It’s been 40 years since the USFL existed, and while this association might not have any ties whatsoever to the old one, the teams and the branding will return.
If you are a USFL aficionado, here is how you can watch the 2022 USFL Draft. To view the results of the USFL Draft, check out our USFL Draft Tracker for all the results throughout the entire draft on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Breaking down the USFL Draft
Each team’s camp is set to get underway during the week of March 21, but before then, the rosters need to be built. The USFL Draft will not work in the typical fashion that NFL fans are used to. Instead, it’s planned to align with the structure the XFL worked with back in 2019.
The active rosters will feature 38 players, with a practice squad of another seven. There will be 35 rounds in the USFL Draft, commencing on February 22. Each team will then fill out their roster similarly to free agency, adding another 10 players.
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USFL 2022 Draft Tracker: Live draft results and rosters from Day 1
Day 1 will cater Rounds 1-12, and Day 2 will cover the remaining 23. The rounds will be divided into position-specific groups. For example, Round 1 is the quarterbacks, and each team chooses their QB.
The draft will rotate in a snake-like fashion and is designed to allow each team to pick first in a round at least twice. A total of 280 players will get drafted, and the draft itself will be broken down as follows.
Day 1
- Round 1: Quarterbacks
- Rounds 2-4: Edge Rushers/Defensive Ends
- Rounds 5-7: Offensive Tackles
- Round 8-11: Cornerbacks
- Round 12: Quarterbacks
Day 2
- Rounds 13-17: Wide Receivers
- Rounds 18-19: Safeties
- Round 20: Centers
- Round 21: Inside Linebackers
- Rounds 22-23: Offensive Guards
- Rounds 24-26: Defensive/Nose Tackles
- Rounds 27-28: Running Backs/Fullbacks
- Rounds 29-31: Outside Linebackers
- Round 32: Kickers
- Round 33: Punters
- Round 34: Tight Ends
- Round 35: Long Snappers
USFL Draft order
The Michigan Panthers will draft first overall on February 22. The initial order is as follows:
- Michigan Panthers
- Tampa Bay Bandits
- Philadelphia Stars
- New Jersey Generals
- Houston Gamblers
- Birmingham Stallions
- Pittsburgh Maulers
- New Orleans Breakers
The player pool
The pool of players includes those didn’t make it in the NFL or want to fight their way back in. We’d expect to see some familiar faces from the XFL and AAF rosters, as well.
Players need to declare their interest in playing and sign a contract with the league prior to the draft in order to be eligible. The USFL has announced that they won’t announce the list of available players prior to the draft. We will have to wait and see who crops up later this week.
Stay locked in with PFN as we continue to roll out more USFL coverage as the news starts to heat up. To view the results of the USFL Draft, be sure to check out our USFL Draft Tracker for all the results throughout the entire draft on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.