After finishing our All College Conference series, we realized there was one thing missing, the independent schools. The biggest of these being Notre Dame. ND almost has enough NFL players to form their own team, but since they don’t, we combined in the rest of the schools that don’t have a conference association this year. This Includes ND, BYU, Army, UMass, Liberty, New Mexico State, Hampton, and North Alabama. After looking at the pool of players, we decided to go with a single back, 2 TE base offense and a 4-3 base defense.
The Criteria
Our normal criteria goes out the window with this roster. With a limited pool to pick from, we couldn’t sick with the criteria on rookie contracts. The roster also fell about 6% under the salary cap floor.
- The roster must be under the current salary cap of $177.2M
- We use an even spread of rookie deals roughly based on league averages: 8 from 2017, 6 from 2016, 5 from 2015, and 1 player from the first round of the 2014 draft that is on their 5th year extension (where applicable)
- These rookie deals will also be spread throughout different rounds of that years draft, to better simulate an actual roster
- We will include one rookie from each round of the draft (were applicable)
- Each college in the conference will be represented
- We will have a well rounded roster that includes role players and special team
The Offense
Quarterbacks
| QBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| DeShone Kizer | Taysom Hill | Josh Woodrum |
| GB | NO | AAF |
| $690K | $555K | $480K |
| Notre Dame | BYU | Liberty |
We had 2 options for quarterback on this all independent roster, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and BYU’s Taysom Hill. Hill is the sexier pick for starting QB, but I’ll give the nod to Kizer since he has starting experience in the NFL. And I know they say if you have 2 QBs, you don’t have one, but I could actually see them being used together in this offense. Backing them up will be former Flame Josh Woodrum. At the time we put this roster together, Woodrum was on roster with the Ravens, but he is currently working out in San Antonio getting ready for the AAF’s new ‘Pick or Protect’ QB Draft (if you don’t know what that is, check out our latest mock draft, AAF QB Draft – 4 Rounds)
3 roster spots filled, 50 left
$1.725M Spent | $175.475M Left
Running Backs
| RBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Theo Riddick | Jamaal Williams | CJ Prosise |
| DET | GB | SEA |
| $4.138M | $696K | $833K |
| Notre Dame | BYU | Notre Dame |
| Josh Adams | ||
| PHI | ||
| $480K | ||
| Notre Dame |
Starting at running back is our one veteran of the group, the Lions’ Theo Riddick. Backing him up are 2017 4th round pick out of BYU, Jamaal Williams, and 2016 3rd round pick out of Notre Dame, CJ Prosise. Rounding out the RBs is the Eagles’ Josh Adams. He signed with the Eagles as an UDFA and landed on the practice squad, but has since been pulled up to the active roster and seen some playing time.
4 roster spots filled, 46 left
$6.147M Spent | $169.328M Left
Wide Receivers
| WRs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Golden Tate | Will Fuller | TJ Jones |
| PHI | HOU | DET |
| $9.351M | $2.772M | $1.907M |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| Tajae Sharpe | Jaleel Scott | Equanimeous St. Brown |
| TEN | BAL | GB |
| $699K | $625K | $510K |
| UMass | New Mexico State | Notre Dame |
Starting at wide receiver is former Lion, now Philadelphia Eagle, Golden Tate. He would look to lead this young WR corps. Starting opposite him is speedster Will Fuller. Stepping into the slot in 3 wide sets is another ND alum, the Lions’ TJ Jones. Backing up the outside is our first Minuteman of the roster, from the Titans, Tajae Sharpe. We finish out the wide receivers with a pair of rookies, 4th round pick out of New Mexico State, Jaleel Scott, and 6th round pick out of Notre Dame, Equanimeous St. Brown.
6 roster spots filled, 40 left
$15.864M Spent | $153.464M Left
Tight Ends
| TEs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Rudolph | Tyler Eifert | Ben Koyack |
| MIN | CIN | MIA |
| $7.675M | $4.625M | $630K |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| Durham Smythe | ||
| MIA | ||
| $638K | ||
| Notre Dame |
2 top tier tight ends at the top of the depth chart, with all 4 coming from the Fighting Irish. We start with the Vikings’ Kyle Rudolph, then the Bengals’ Tyler Eifert starting opposite. Backing them up are a pair of teammates from Miami, Ben Koyack and 4th round pick Durham Smythe.
4 roster spots filled, 36 left
$13.568M Spent | $139.896M Left
Offensive Line
| OL | ||
|---|---|---|
| T Alejandro Villanueva | T Ronnie Stanley | G Zach Martin |
| PIT | BAL | DAL |
| $4.095M | $5.587M | $9.341M |
| Army | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| G Quenton Nelson | C John Sullivan | T Mike McGlinchey |
| IND | LAR | SF |
| $4.343M | $6.375M | $3.335K |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| T Sam Young | T Michael Ola | G Vladimir Ducasse |
| MIA | NO | BUF |
| $1.315M | $480K | $1.533M |
| Notre Dame | Hampton | UMass |
| C Nick Martin | ||
| HOU | ||
| $1.302M | ||
| Notre Dame |
To fill out a full 53 man roster, we had to stock up on the offensive line. And it is just a stacked as you’d image. Starting at left tackle is our only Black Knight of the roster, the Steelers’ Alejandro Villanueva. Playing the other bookend is honestly a toss up between 1st round picks; from 2016 Ronnie Stanley and from this season, Mitch McGlinchey. I’ll give the edge to Stanley since he has the experience. Backing them up are the Dolphins’ Sam Young and our only Hampton Pirate, Michael Ola. Starting at guard, we have the Cowboys All Pro, Zack Martin, and 2018 6th overall pick, Quenton Nelson. Backing them up is current Bills guard, Vladimir Ducasse. Moving into center, we have the Rams’ John Sullivan. Backing him up is the Texans’ Nick Martin. It is no surprise the entire starting offensive line is from Notre Dame.
10 roster spots filled, 26 left
$37.706M Spent | $102.19M Left
Offensive Spending Breakdown
The offense accounted for 51.2% of the total team salary. The offensive line obviously accounted for the majority of this, with 50.3% of the total spending on the offensive.
The Defense
Defensive Line
| DL | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stephon Tuitt | Ezekiel Ansah | Sheldon Day |
| PIT | DET | SF |
| $5.432M | $17.143M | $630K |
| Notre Dame | BYU | Notre Dame |
| Romeo Okwara | Isaac Rochell | John Denney* |
| DET | LAC | MIA |
| $635K | $555K | $720K |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | BYU |
| Andrew Trumbetti | Tejan Koroma* | |
| CHI | KC | |
| $480K | $480K | |
| Notre Dame | BYU |
Some good talent at the top but not a lot of depth for this defensive line. Starting at the defense ends are teammates from Detroit, Ziggy Ansah and Romeo Okwara. Stephon Tuitt will move from his current 5tech DE spot in the Steelers 3-4 defense to the 3tech in this 4 man front. We round out the starting line with the 49ers’ Sheldon Day. Backing them up is 2017 7th round pick from Notre Dame, Isaac Rochell, and a pair of UDFA rookies: Andrew Trumbetti and Tejan Koroma. Koroma currently plays center, but to fill out the depth of this defense, he’ll move over to play DT, and has the frame for it. Rounding out the defensive line is current Dolphins’ long snapper, John Denney. Denney played defensive end for BYU, recording 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sack in his senior year. He’ll be called upon to return to the d-line on this roster and backup the long snapping duties.
8 roster spots filled, 18 left
$26.075M Spent | $76.115M Left
Linebackers
| LBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jaylon Smith | Fred Warner | Kyle Van Noy |
| DAL | SF | NE |
| $1.771M | $733K | $3.573M |
| Notre Dame | BYU | BYU |
| Manti Te'o | James Onwualu | Greer Martini |
| NO | FA | FA |
| $2.8M | $555K | $480K |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
Starting at Sam backer is 2014 2nd round pick out of BYU, Kyle Van Noy. He’ll look to be on the field on early, rushing downs, and could provide additional pass rush when needed. Starting at Mike backer is 2016 2nd round pick out of Notre Dame, Jaylon Smith. Smith has recovered well from his gruesome college injury, is playing well for the Cowboys, and would look to lead this defense. Starting at Will backer is our 3rd round pick out of BYU, Fred Warner. Backing up all 3 positions is current Saint, Manti Te’o. Rounding out the linebackers, we have a pair of special teamers that are currently free agents, but were on a roster at the beginning of this season. Most recently on the roster for the Chargers, James Onwualu. And UDFA that was most recently with the Packers, Greer Martini.
6 roster spots filled, 12 left
$9.912M Spent | $66.203M Left
Cornerbacks
| CBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Janoris Jenkins | Keivarae Russell | Davon House |
| NYG | CIN | GB |
| $13M | $705K | $720K |
| North Alabam | Notre Dame | New Mexico State |
| Michael Davis | Cole Luke | |
| LAC | CAR | |
| $555K | $483K | |
| BYU | Notre Dame |
We start the corners with our only North Alabama alum of the roster, Janoris Jenkins. It will be a battle for the other starting corner, but as of right now, I think the Chargers Michael Davis will win out that battle. Stepping in at the nickel corner is the Bengals 3rd round pick from 2016, KeiVarae Russell. Backing them all up is the Packers Davon House. We round out the corners with special teamer Cole Luke.
5 roster spots filled, 7 left
$15.463M Spent | $50.74M Left
Safeties
| Ss | ||
|---|---|---|
| Harrison Smith | Daniel Sorensen | Matthias Farley |
| MIN | KC | IND |
| $10M | $5.3M | $630K |
| Notre Dame | BYU | Notre Dame |
| Walt Aikens | ||
| MIA | ||
| $1.3M | ||
| Liberty |
We start the safeties with our best defensive player of the roster, free safety Harrison Smith. Starting next to him at strong safety is our last BYU alum, Daniel Sorensen. Backing up Sorensen is the Colts’ Matthias Farley. Finally, backing up Smith is the Dolphins 4th round pick in 2014 out of Liberty, Walt Aikens.
4 roster spots filled, 3 left
$17.23M Spent | $33.51M Left
Defensive Spending Breakdown
The defense accounted for 46.9% of the total team salary. There was an even distribution of money, with 3 big money vets in Ansah, Jenkins, and Smith.
Specialists and Head Coach
| ST and HC | ||
|---|---|---|
| K John Lunsfor | P Kyle Nelson* | LS JJ Jansen |
| FA | SF | CAR |
| $480K | $1.15M | $1.055M |
| Liberty | New Mexico State | Notre Dame |
| Head Coach | Andy Reid | BYU |
There were no active kickers or punters to choose from for this roster. We dipped back into free agency for our starting kicker with former Liberty Flame John Lunsford. He most recently competed in Bucs camp for their kicker position. Starting at punter we decided to take one of the 3 long snapper selections we had from the pool, current 49er Kyle Nelson. While Nelson doesn’t have experience punting, he is a life-long long snapper, meaning he has definitely spent some time firing off kicks while messing around at practice over the years. Finally we come to our actual long snapper, since he’s the only one with a 1st team All-Pro honor, JJ Jansen
Former BYU offensive tackle Andy Reid will lead this team as head coach.
3 roster spots filled, 0 left
$6.04M Spent | $30.825M Left
The Starting 22
| Offense | |
|---|---|
| QB | DeShone Kizer |
| RB | Theo Riddick |
| Z | Golden Tate |
| X | Will Fuller |
| TE | Kyle Rudolph |
| TE | Tyler Eifert |
| LT | Alejandro Villanueva |
| LG | Quenton Nelson |
| C | John Sullivan |
| RG | Zack Martin |
| RT | Ronnie Stanley |
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| DE | Ezekiel Ansah |
| DT | Stephon Tuitt |
| DT | Sheldon Day |
| DE | Romeo Okwara |
| Sam | Kyle Van Noy |
| Mike | Jaylon Smith |
| Will | Fred Warner |
| CB | Michael Davis |
| CB | Keivarae Russell |
| SS | Daniel Sorensen |
| FS | Harrison Smith |
2019 Draft
New for this year, we are including a mock draft for each team for the 2019 NFL Draft. Each player is within a round of where we have them projected as of the time of this post.
| Round | Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry Tillery | DT | Notre Dame |
| 2 | Julian Love | CB | Notre Dame |
| 3 | Corbin Kaufusi | DE | BYU |
| 4 | Chase Claypool | WR | Notre Dame |
| 5 | Terrill Hanks | LB | New Mexico State |
| 6 | Chris Johnson | S | North Alabama |
| 7 | Ului Lapuaho | OT | BYU |