USFL Draft 2022 Results: QB Shea Patterson Goes No. 1 Overall to Michigan Panthers

The Michigan Panthers selected quarterback Shea Patterson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 United States Football League Draft on Tuesday night.

Patterson played two seasons for the Michigan Wolverines in 2018 and 2019. The announcement was made by NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski.

The Panthers are coached by former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher.

The league plans to begin play April 16 and is owned by Fox Sports, which will be its broadcast partner. This USFL has no ties to the original league that ran from 1983-85.

The first round of the USFL draft was dedicated exclusively to quarterbacks. The remainder of the round went like this:

2. Tampa Bay Bandits - Jordan Ta'amu

3. Philadelphia Stars - Bryan Scott

4. New Jersey Generals - Ben Holmes

5. Houston Gamblers - Clayton Thorson

6. Birmingham Stallions - Alex McGough

7. Pittsburgh Maulers - Kyle Lauletta

8. New Orleans Breakers - Kyle Sloter

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Patterson had played two seasons for Ole Miss before transferring to Michigan. He set the Ole Miss single-game passing yards record and broke multiple records with the Wolverines, including single-game (regulation) passing touchdowns and consecutive games with four passing scores. His 3,061 passing yards as a senior in 2019 was the second-highest single-season mark in Michigan program history.

Patterson went undrafted in 2020 and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, but he was waived that July. He joined the CFL in 2021 and spent time with the BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes.

Ta'amu also played for Ole Miss and became the Rebels' starting quarterback upon Patterson's transfer in 2018. He passed for 3,918 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding 342 rushing yards and six scores as a senior.

After being released by the Houston Texans in August 2019, Ta'amu joined the XFL and played for the St. Louis Battlehawks. He threw for 525 yards and had five total touchdowns in two games before the season was cut short and the league was eventually dissolved. From there, he bounced around practice squads Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Washington Football Team and Carolina Panthers.

Scott played four seasons for Occidental College (Division III). He finished his career with an SCIAC-record 9,073 passing yards to go with 77 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He played for The Spring League in 2020, becoming the only quarterback to throw for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in the league's five years of existence. Scott was named MVP of the 2020 Spring League Championship.

Holmes played for Tarleton State (D-I FCS) and led the team to its first Lone Star Conference Championship with 2,659 passing yards and 28 touchdowns in 2018. He went 23-2 as the team's starting quarterback. After college, he spent time in the Indoor Football League.

Thorson started 53 games while he played for Northwestern, setting program records for wins (36), passing yards (10,731), completions (991) and passing touchdowns (61). He remains the only quarterback in Big Ten history to throw for 10,000 yards and rush for 20 touchdowns in his career.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Thorson in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft. He also spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, but he never played in an NFL game.

A former signal caller at Florida International, McGough was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round in 2018. He bounced around with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans before returning to Seattle on its practice squad in 2020. He was waived prior to last season.

New York Giants fans will remember Lauletta as the quarterback drafted in 2018 to back up Eli Manning in his second-to-last season. He appeared in just two games and was waived a year later. Lauletta had stints on practice squads with the Eagles, Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons.

Stoter went undrafted out of Southern Mississippi in 2017 and spent time with six different NFL teams without appearing in a game. He was elevated to an active roster for the first time last season with the Minnesota Vikings. The team waived him last month.

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch was drafted in the 12th round, by the Michigan Panthers as well. 

For the rest of the results from day one of the 2022 USFL Draft, follow along with the league's Twitter. USFL training camp is set to begin on March 21.