New England Patriots fans tuning into the latest spring football experiment should see a number of familiar faces.
The relaunched USFL held its inaugural draft Tuesday and Wednesday, and at least a dozen ex-Patriots players were among those selected. None appeared in more than a handful of games for New England, but the draft roster did include a handful of recognizable names.
The USFL season begins Saturday, Aug. 16, with all games being played in Birmingham, Alab. The upstart league will look to avoid the pitfalls that doomed both the Alliance of American Football and the XFL, both of which ceased operations before the end of their first season (though the latter is making a comeback — with NFL collaboration — in 2023).
Here’s a rundown of Patriots alumni who were drafted this week, ordered by round selected:
CB De’Vante Bausby (New Jersey Generals, eighth round)
Bausby spent the final three months of the 2021 season on the Patriots’ practice squad. He appeared in just one game — the wild-card playoff loss to Buffalo — and is best remembered for being the victim of a particularly ruthless Josh Allen juke.
CB Will Likely (Houston Gamblers, ninth round)
Likely vied for a Patriots roster spot as an undrafted rookie in 2017, playing mostly as a returner. He was released during final cuts.
QB J’Mar Davis-Smith (Birmingham Stallions, 12th round)
Known at the time as J’Mar Smith, the Louisiana Tech generated substantial intrigue when he joined the Patriots as a UDFA in 2020. But that buzz was short-lived. COVID-19 restrictions forced New England to cut 10 players before its first training camp practice, and Davis-Smith was among the casualties. He never latched on with another NFL team.
WR Isaiah Zuber (Houston Gamblers, 13th round)
The Patriots seemed to like Zuber in 2020, elevating him from the practice squad four times and scheming up touches for him on screens and end-arounds. He failed to distinguish himself in his second training camp, though, and was waived on cutdown day.
WR Jeffrey Thomas (Pittsburgh Maulers, 13th round)
The most-hyped member of the Patriots’ 2020 UDFA class, Thomas’ potential never materialized. The high-upside Miami product was largely invisible in camp and was cut before his rookie season.
WR Quincy Adeboyejo (Michigan Panthers, 13th round)
Adeboyejo spent half of the 2019 season on the Patriots’ practice squad and all of 2020 on their injured reserve. He never appeared in a game for New England.
S Obi Melifonwu (Tampa Bay Bandits, 18th round)
Easily the biggest name on this list, Melifonwu was a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2017. The Patriots took a flier on him one year later, but his elite athleticism and 6-foot-4, 224-pound frame never translated to on-field production. The Grafton, Mass., native appeared in just two games over his 1 1/2 seasons in New England.
LB Scooby Wright (Birmingham Stallions, 21st round)
Wright played in the Patriots’ 2019 preseason finale, then spent a week-and-a-half on their practice squad later that season.
LB Christian Sam (Tampa Bay Bandits, 21st round)
The only Patriots draftee (sixth round, 2018) selected in the USFL draft, Sam never cracked the 53-man roster in New England and was cut after one season.
DT Mike Barnett (Philadelphia Stars, 24th round)
Barnett spent the 2020 season on the Patriots’ injured reserve and was released the following spring.
DT John Atkins (Tampa Bay Bandits, 26th round)
Atkins was in camp with the Patriots in 2018.
OLB Kyahva Tezino (Pittsburgh Maulers, 31st round)
Like Davis-Smith, Tezino was cut before his first Patriots practice for roster management reasons.
