For those of you not in the know: The Alliance of American Football is doing something really interesting to start the league. Players were initially assigned to teams based on region, using where they played ball in college, then the pros. But to make the play of the most important position on the field more competitive, they are instituting a “Pick or Protect” QB draft. In the first round of this draft, teams will chose whether they want to protect a QB that was assigned to them, or chose to pick from the pool of QBs (after each team has had the chance to protect). It will then move through 3 more rounds in a snake draft. I’ve previously done a first round mock you can see here: AAF QB Mock Draft. Here I’m going to go through all four rounds and mock out who I think each team will draft at QB. There are a few things to note first:
- I pulled all the QBs from the rosters listed online and grouped them by their current affiliation
- There have been a few QBs that have signed that have not been specifically allocated to a team. I allocated them based off the criteria they announced when initially dividing up players. Those QBs are: Josh Woodrum (Hotshots), Justin Holman (Apollos), Christian Hackenburg (Express), Scott Tolzein (Express), and Phillip Nelson (N/A). (Nelson went to ECU which was not allocated and does not have professional experience)
- There are 2 QBs floating out there that could blow up this mock. First is Garrett Grayson. Grayson signed with the Stallions but has since been signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad. My understanding of the AAF agreements is that since he is on the practice squad, the contract with the Stallions stays in place. However, I do not know how this affects his draft status. The second is Chad Kelly. I have a feeling, legal things depending, that he will sign with the AAF. And if he does, his former head coach, Hugh Freeze, is now the offensive coordinator of the Hotshots (plus he is also just a very good quarterback, just does dumb things).
- There isn’t easily accessible film on all these players. I’m basing my pics off of recent playing experience, coaching connections, old film, and gut feeling.
Round 1
| Team | Player | College |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Fleet | **pick** | |
| Birmingham Iron | Blake Sims | Alabama |
| Arizona Hotshots | **pick** | |
| Orlando Apollos | **pick** | |
| Atlanta Legends | **pick** | |
| Salt Lake Stallions | Tommy Armstrong | Nebraska |
| Memphis Express | Christian Hackenberg | Penn State |
| San Antonio Commanders | Trevor Knight | Texas A&M |
| No protect picks | ||
| San Diego Fleet | Luis Perez | Texas A&M-Commerce |
| Arizona Hotshots | Zach Mettenberger | LSU |
| Orlando Apollos | Stephen Morris | Miami |
| Atlanta Legends | Scott Tolzien | Wisconsin |
My first 3 picks stay the same. I think the Fleet would be smart the chose to pick regardless of how they feel about their allocated QBs. They will have the 1st choice of a much larger selection. The Iron will still protect Blake Sims, as that just makes sense. The Hotshots will choose to pick as the pool will be greater than the 3 QBs they have to chose from. The only one I could see them choosing to protect is Josh Woodrum.
First change up from my original mock. With the addition of more former NFL talent, I think the Apollos will choose to pick and see who’s left rather than protect. Even with this, I think the Legend will also choose to pick, even with 3 others picking before them. They are only allocated 3 QBs and I believe the potential is much better than what’s there.
The Stallions is where this whole thing could blow up. Given the current QB situation, I think Tommy Armstrong is a great QB for them to protect, however, if Garrett Grayson is available, it could make the decision more difficult.
Here is the biggest shakeup of the draft so far. I believe, if he is allocated there, the Memphis Express will protect Christian Hackenberg. He is a talented QB, with NFL experience, is only 23 years old, and has the drive to succeed. The Express definitely have the hardest decision of all the teams, as they have the largest group of QBs, and the most talented group as well.
The last selection of the protect round is an easy one for me. The Commanders will choose to protect Trevor Knight.
Now we get to the pick selections. The Fleet now get their choice of the best QB left over. And even though there are some QBs with more experience, I believe the Fleet will go purely with the most talented QB, Luis Perez. I for one am excited to see that kid go up against/play with some professional talent, as I think he could be the best QB is this league.
The Hotshots are still one of the hardest teams for me to pick for, but I think they’ll go with a combination of talent and experience, which now that the Express have Hackenberg, the Hotshots can take former LSU Tiger, Zach Mettenberger.
The Apollos will be disappointed to miss out on a QB they wanted (whether that be Hackenberg, Mettenberger, or Perez) leaving them circling the wagon back to their already signed QBs. That’s why I think the Apollos will still end up with Stephen Morris, even with not choosing to protect him.
We finish out the 1st round with the Atlanta Legends. They are another tough one for me to choose, but I think they will choose to go experience in the 1st round and select former Colt and Packer, Scott Tolzien.
Round 2
| Team | Player | College |
|---|---|---|
| San Antonio Commanders | Josh Woodrum | Liberty |
| Memphis Express | Alejandro Bennifield | Chattanooga |
| Salt Lake Stallions | Peter Pujals | Holy Cross |
| Atlanta Legends | Marquise Williams | UNC |
| Orlando Apollos | Matt Simms | Tennessee |
| Arizona Hotshots | Austin Allen | Arkansas |
| Birmingham Iron | Brandon Silvers | Troy |
| San Diego Fleet | Josh Johnson | San Diego |
With the snake format of the draft, we now go in reverse order of the first round. Here is where I think most teams will get a compliment to their first round pick. We start with the Commanders selecting former Liberty Flame Josh Woodrum. Woodrum has NFL experience that Trevor Knight doesn’t have and could be a very solid backup.
Next, I’ve got the Memphis Express double dipping on young talent. There has been a lot of buzz for Bennifield in the AAF. I think he has chance to develop into a very good pro QB. He is also a great option for if Hackenberg gets pulled back into the NFL.
The 3rd pick of the 2nd round goes to the Salt Lake City Stallions and I have them selecting Peter Pujals from Holy Cross. Pujals is one of my sleeper picks that I feel could really succeed in Dennis Erickson’s offense.
The Atlanta Legends will stick with one of their regional selection with UNC’s Marquise Williams. Williams could thrive in Childress/Vick’s west coast-style spread offense.
The Apollos will choose to go with experience in the 2nd round and select Matt Simms. At 30, Simms is one of the oldest QBs available in the draft, but could provide a lot of professional experience to the team.
Going with the older, experienced Mettenberger in the 1st round, the Hotshots will go with youth in the 2nd and select 24 year old Austin Allen from Arkansas.
The Iron will also choose to stick within their region, and select former Troy QB Brandon Silvers to backup Sims.
We finish out the 2nd round with the Fleet. Going with the young Perez in the first round, I’ve got the Fleet taking Josh Johnson to round out the 2nd. He’s got some of the most NFL experience from the pool and played his college ball at San Diego.
Round 3
| Team | Player | College |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Fleet | Jack Heneghan | Dartmouth |
| Birmingham Iron | B.J. Daniels | USF |
| Arizona Hotshots | Keith Price | Washington |
| Orlando Apollos | Kevin Anderson | Fordham |
| Atlanta Legends | Kyle Bolin | Louisville |
| Salt Lake Stallions | Eli Jenkins | Jacksonville State |
| Memphis Express | Alex Ross | Coastal Carolina |
| San Antonio Commanders | Dalton Sturm | UTSA |
Round 4
| Team | Player | College |
|---|---|---|
| San Antonio Commanders | Austin Appleby | Purdue |
| Memphis Express | Troy Cook | Tennessee-Martin |
| Salt Lake Stallions | Dustin Vaughan | West Texas A&M |
| Atlanta Legends | Justin Holman | UCF |
| Orlando Apollos | Jesse Hosket | SE Missouri St |
| Arizona Hotshots | Mike Bercovici | Arizona St |
| Birmingham Iron | Tyler Murphy | Boston College |
| San Diego Fleet | Phillip Nelson | ECU |