Offseason Roster Outlook - Pittsburgh Maulers
A 1-9 season calls for an overhaul of both players and personnel. How are the Pittsburgh Maulers navigating through the offseason?
The Pittsburgh Maulers have been far and away the most active franchise in the USFL this offseason. Pittsburgh’s front office has been hard at work reconstructing their roster ahead of the 2023 season. Head Coach Kirby Wilson and newly hired General Manager Lonnie Young are scouting far and wide to fill the holes on this team. The Maulers have led the charge in signing free agents, signing twenty-one players in total. The Maulers have a part of USFL history this offseason as well, having been involved in the first ever trade in the league’s history. Below we’ll examine all three phases of the team and break down the signings Pittsburgh has made so far this offseason.
OFFENSE
Coming off a 1-9 season and finishing the year as the worst team in the USFL, the Maulers are making what appears to be a complete overhaul on offense. The team has signed three different Quarterbacks in Chase Fourcade, James Morgan, and Troy Williams. The team currently lists Quarterbacks Vad Lee and Roland Rivers III on the active roster, bringing that total to five. After the departure of Quarterback Josh Love mid-season, the Maulers were unable to sustain any continuity at the QB spot. Pittsburgh has plenty of talent to evaluate moving at this position moving forward. A clear-cut path to the QB1 job is virtually nonexistent at this point in the offseason. This will be the most intriguing Quarterback battle leading up to the 2023 regular season. It will be fascinating to see who emerges as the starting Quarterback for this team next year.
As we shift to Running back, the Maulers did an excellent job of scouting and evaluating talent heading into the 2022 season. With Kirby Wilson’s extensive resume as a Running backs coach in the NFL, it was a given that he’d get this position nailed down. Madre London and Garrett Groshek combined to rush for 744 yards last year. With third string ball carrier James Gilbert still on the roster, the team has added to that impressive backfield in the form of former Indoor Football League Running back Duane Gary. With Kirby Wilson’s offense being “run-centric”, the Maulers have also added Fullback Mason Stokke out of Wisconsin to the RB room. I would expect better statistics out of this group in 2023. A complete offseason to continue to learn the offense should do wonders for this talented group of backs.
Getting to the Wide Receiver and Tight End positions, the Maulers will need to rebuild this group. The loss of wideout Bailey Gaither is a big one. Tre Walker and DelVon Hardaway combined for just one receiving touchdown last season as Pittsburgh finished tied for last place in passing touchdowns with eleven. It’s obvious that this team needs to upgrade its weapons on the outside. To start, The Maulers front office added wideout J’Mon Moore via trade with the New Jersey Generals. Additionally, they’ve signed free agent receivers Hunter Rison and Josh Simmons. Rounding out the group are Isiah Hennie, Jalen McCleskey, and Xavier Lewis, who we assume will be returning to play in the USFL in 2023. It’s tough to judge the signings this early into the offseason, but it’s clear that the Maulers need to address this position. Look for the team to continue to scout and address this weakness on offense.
Closing the book on pass-catchers, Pittsburgh has themselves a stud at Tight End in Matt Seybert. The depth at the position could use an upgrade, however. The Maulers front office has taken notice of that and brought in Datryan Evans to help bolster depth and versatility at the TE spot. Tight Ends Artayvious Lynn and Hunter Thedford should be returning next season as well. This will be another interesting camp battle as USFL teams typically carry two or three Tight Ends into the regular season.
Rounding out the offense is the offensive line. A unit that some would call “so-so”, the Maulers o-line has plenty of size and versatility. The Maulers clearly feel that they have a solid group up front, having traded the rights of Offensive Tackle Isiah Battle to the New Jersey Generals in exchange for the above mentioned Wide Receiver J’Mon Moore. Even still, Pittsburgh has been active in acquiring new talent along its front, welcoming free agents Jerome Brown and Colby Thomas this offseason. In total, the Maulers carry twelve offensive linemen on the roster and should have plenty of great camp battles for starting positions as training camp approaches.
All in all, the Maulers have added eleven new players to its offense so far this offseason. With the USFL game being fast and physical, upgrading and adding depth to offense is paramount for the Maulers. Kirby Wilson and Lonnie Young have their work cut out for them, but they’ve done a great job thus far of adding talent to an offense that needs more firepower and explosion in 2023.
DEFENSE
As we switch sides of the ball, the Maulers have added eight players in total along the three levels of its defense. While Pittsburgh has lost minimal talent on offense, the same cannot be said on defense. The defense will need to improve in a multitude of areas, having given up nearly 300 yards of offense per game. As we start up front, the Maulers have not added any Defensive Linemen this offseason and lost Defensive Tackle Jeremiah Pharms, Jr. to the NFL. They carry eight players into the offseason, as led by Boogie Roberts and Christopher Okoye. That being said, Pittsburgh still has great depth along its defensive front. Look for the Maulers to bring in a young, developmental pass-rusher to get after the quarterback as the offseason rolls on.
As we get to the second level of the defense, Pittsburgh has lost arguably its best player in Carlo Kemp to the NFL. While Kemp is a huge loss for this defense, the Maulers have another stud in its linebacking core in Kyahva Tezino. Other linebackers on the roster include Blaze Alldredge, Dale Warren, E.J. Ejiya, Malcolm Howard, and Zane Zandier. With decent depth overall, Linebacker is a position that the Maulers could look to add to in free agency as the offseason continues.
The Maulers secondary took a hit following the conclusion of the 2022 season. Pittsburgh lost Cornerbacks Terrell Bonds and Shakur Brown to the NFL. Despite that, the Safety tandem of Arnold Tarpley and Bryce Torneden was fantastic in 2022. Pittsburgh has added additional depth to the secondary during the offseason, signing Cornerbacks Trajan Bandy and Shedrick Kirk to the roster. Still on the roster are Cornerbacks Caleb Ham, Eric Burrell, Sedevyn Gray, and Beau Tanner. Defensive Backs Xavier Lewis, Eli Walker, Jaylon McClain-Sapp, Keith Gipson Jr., Malcolm Elmore, and Prince Charles Iworah complete the list of players in this impressive group. Having lost two players to the NFL, it seems the Maulers have added replacements in their secondary. Although both Bonds and Brown had short stints in the NFL, they could very well make their way back to the USFL and rejoin the Maulers for the 2023 season. On the defensive side of the ball, the battles for starting positions at Cornerback and Safety are sure to be action packed and full of excitement. The Maulers Front Office has made a significant push to acquire new talent in the secondary having lost a few key players on the back end.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Rounding out the Pittsburgh Maulers is the special teams unit. This unit has lost their Kicker and Long Snapper to the NFL. Former Kicker Ramiz Ahmed, who led the USFL in average kickoff yards as well as holding the USFL record for longest field goal made at 61 yards, will be replaced by former University of Redlands kicker Nathan Herlihy. The punting duties appear to be up in the air, as Pittsburgh has brought in former Philadelphia Stars Punter Matt Mengel to compete with Max Duffy to handle the punting duties. Rounding out the special teams core in new Long Snapper Luke Barnes. Previous Long Snapper Mitchell Fraboni is enjoying success in the NFL, as he is now part of the Denver Broncos 53-man roster. Barnes will need to fill the void left by Fraboni and sure up the long snapping responsibilities for the Maulers in 2023.
With the Maulers roster currently sitting at 69 players, the team can add an additional six players ahead of training camp. Positions of need include Running back, Defensive End, and Linebacker to name a few. All in all, this front office has done an excellent job of evaluating the roster from top to bottom. Glaring needs have been filled in free agency and via trade. As we head into the 2023 season, no team in the USFL needed a retooling more than that Maulers. We’ll wait and see how these moves play out in 2023 as the Maulers look to improve immensely in the North Division.