6 Vikings Selected in UFL Draft
Eight teams comprise the UFL ‒ the United League of Football. United because the XFL and the USFL merged. Their first season ended a month ago with the triumph of the Birmingham Stallions, who won 25-0 over Wade Phillips’ San Antonio Brahmas. The league held its first draft on Wednesday, and six Vikings were selected.
First and foremost, the players stay with the Vikings. The teams in the UFL have just secured their rights for the future whenever they want to join the spring league. Eligible were only undrafted rookies.
CB Dwight McGlothern
With the sixth pick in the second round, the Michigan Panthers selected cornerback Dwight McGlothern.
When the NFL draft ended, many analysts viewed Arkansas rookie McGlothern as one of the top unclaimed rookies, so folks were intrigued when the Vikings announced the signing. The cornerback is a tall player, listed at 6’2″ and 185 lbs. He registered seven interceptions in two seasons at Arkansas after transferring from LSU.
He likely must unseat one of Byron Murphy, Shaquill Griffin, Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth, and Mekhi Blackmon to make the 53-man roster, but he has the talent to be a surprise player in training camp.
EDGE Gabriel Murphy
Another highly-touted undrafted rookie, pass rusher Gabriel Murphy, tumbled in the NFL draft. After three seasons at North Texas, he joined UCLA and became a big-time contributor at the line of scrimmage. While offenses certainly paid more attention to first-rounder Laiatu Latu, Murphy feasted, recording 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks in the final collegiate season.
The red flag on his profile is his size and length. He is listed as 6’2″ and 247 lbs, but his arm length and wingspan place him at the zero percentile among 3-4 outside linebackers, according to Mockdraftable. Perhaps the good news for him is that Ivan Pace was in a similar situation as a highly productive player coming out of college with size limitations, and that has worked out quite well. He was a second-rounder, drafted by the runner-up San Antonio Brahmas.
LB Dallas Gant
The D.C. Defenders used a seventh-round selection to add linebacker Dallas Gant. He spent his first four seasons at Ohio State and then two years at Toledo, where his role obviously expanded.
The linebacker collected a total of 54 tackles during his time with the Buckeyes but 232 in the last two seasons at Toledo while adding 13.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.
As a former four-star recruit, Gant has the physical tools to make an NFL roster, but his route will be that of a special teams ace early in his career. It remains to be seen if he can claim that role in Minnesota.
LB Bo Richter
Air Force pass rusher Bo Richter is a fascinating player for the simple reason that he appears on the Arlington Renegades’ social media post as a running back. In all likelihood, that was a mistake as he didn’t play running back at Air Force, is listed as an outside linebacker, and has been a defender in OTAs.
Richter is Minnesota’s next service school athlete one year after acquiring Army pass rusher Andre Carter. Similarly to Carter, he had a highly productive career, especially his senior season, in which he had 19.5 tackles for loss and ten sacks.
Just like Murphy, Richter is undersized but produced an outstanding Relative Athletic Score of 9.91/10.
He must compete with Murphy and perhaps NFL-experienced players like Jihad Ward and Patrick Jones to make the team. A spot on the practice squad is possible if the Vikings see some untapped potential.
DT Taki Taimani
Taki Taimani played four seasons at the University of Washington and two seasons at Oregon. He is a run-stuffing nose tackle who is hard to move off his spot, but he doesn’t create much push as a pass rusher.
In his six college seasons, Taimani made 107 tackles and six tackles for loss but, surprisingly, failed to get a single sack. Oregon listed him at 330 lbs, and the Vikings list him at 309 lbs. Regardless, considering Minnesota’s lack of talent on the defensive line, he might be a dark horse contender for a roster spot. He was also selected by the Arlington Renegades.
OT Spencer Rolland
Offensive tackle Spencer Rolland played four seasons at Harvard and two at North Carolina. The eighth-rounder is the third Arlington Renegade.
Unlike some other players on the list, the lineman will face an almost impossible-to-win uphill battle for a roster spot as Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw are the established starters. At the same time, backup David Quessenberry returned, and sixth-rounder Walter Rouse was added.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt