USFL 2022 – Houston Gamblers

Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator: Kevin Sumlin

Sumlin has been around the college scene for over 10 years with stints at Houston, Texas A&M, and Arizona. He had some good early success with Houston and A&M that led to some high-powered offenses. However, things haven’t been very great for Sumlin in his coaching tenure.  He had some just average years in his last years at A&M and then very poor years in Arizona before getting fired five games into the season in 2020. With Sumlin, we should see a Spread offense with close to 50/50 splits running versus passing with a little bit more of a lean toward running according to his college team’s stats. We could see some decent yardage put up with Sumlin in charge. He has proven that he can be capable of having high production offenses. 

Roster

Quarterbacks: Clayton Thorson and Kenji Bahar

Sumlin’s typical quarterback is more of a pocket passer. Thorson fits this mold more than Bahar. Both quarterbacks had comparable college stats and careers. Nothing super impressive here at quarterback. Not really a fan of either of these guys until they prove that they can be viable for DFS when it comes along.  

Thorson should be the Week 1 starter but if he isn’t getting it done Sumlin won’t be afraid to put in Bahar.  

Running Backs: Dalyn Dawkins, Mark Thompson, and Devwah Whaley

Dawkins was the Gamblers first running back taken in the draft. He had quite a bit more impressive college career than Thompson and Whaley. Dawkins also received quite a bit of work catching balls in college compared to Thompson and Whaley. Dawkins is quite a bit smaller than Thompson (5’7”/183 vs 6’2”/232). Thompson seems like he will take on more of the bruiser role for the team which also means he will probably get a good amount of work on the goal line. Thompson also seems to be able to find the endzone better than Dawkins probably because of the size advantage he has. Whaley was a late addition to the team and I don’t believe he will be used a ton.  

I think Dawkins gets most of the work here but nothing crazy. I don’t think Sumlin will let any of these guys be a true three-down back. Dawkins will get most passing downs along with third downs and 2-minute drills while Thompson will be the bruiser they bring in to pick up a couple of yards while taking all of the short-yardage touchdowns.  

Wide Receivers: Isaiah Zuber, JoJo Ward, Anthony Ratliff-Williams, Tyler Simmons, Tyler Palka, and Teo Redding

Sumlin runs a spread offense which means four receivers will be on the field and getting work at a time. Speed kills and that is what Sumlin was definitely targeting in this draft for his wide receivers. Zuber and Ward were the first two wideouts that the Gamblers took in the draft. Ward is probably the fastest out of the group and my favorite receiver here. Zuber, Ward, and Ratliff-Williams all had really good college careers out of the four WRs that they took in the draft. Redding was also a good late add as he had a good collegiate career as well. Zuber has the most NFL experience as he has been around the league for a few years now.  

Zuber and Ward will likely be the two slot men. Ratliff-Williams and Simmons should be the guys likely to line up on the outside. I also like Redding to get some slot work as he is very solid and athletic. He got some playing time in the XFL last year and will make a reliable sub. There will be a lot of mouths to feed here on this team so let’s keep an eye out for who emerges as the WR1. For me, I think it will be Zuber just because of draft capital and having the most NFL experience.  

Tight Ends: Brandon Barnes and Julian Allen

With no huge wide receivers, these two will have to and will be the red zone targets for the Gamblers. Barnes had a very good stat line in his five XFL games last year with 12 catches, 133 yards, and one touchdown. Both guys have some XFL experience but Allen didn’t do anything in his time. I like Barnes a lot as a weapon for this team, specifically in the red zone. 

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