The 2022 New Jersey Generals were the spring league 2019 Baltimore Ravens. Both were teams that were built around a strong run game and solid defense. They both started slow, but were simply unbeatable in the back half of the season only for them to choke in the playoffs to seemingly inferior teams like Tennessee or in Jersey’s case the Philadelphia Stars.
Although their season didn’t go the way they planned it, they still have a solid base to work with going into the 2023 USFL draft as they have the one of the lowest number of players not returning with 16 guys not returning. They have already replaced many of those 16 guys as they have 24 signings this offseason. They get to add a few more to that list as they will have the 6th overall pick in the 2022 USFL rookie draft. Let’s see how they’re roster looks right now.
The Generals have 58 players rostered as of 2/11/23.
Quarterback
Returning: Deandre Johnson, Texas Southern; Kyle Lauletta, Richmond
Additions: None
Losses: Luis Perez, Texas A&M Commerce
The 2022 New Jersey Generals had one of the most interesting set ups at quarterback. Their top pick Ben Holmes was cut in camp, and they decided to spilt time between pocket passer Luis Perez and mobile Deandre Johnson. Johnson played so well that he won the job, but an injury would sideline him for the back half of the season where Perez would come in and lead them into the playoffs where they would lose to the Stars. Perez was able to sign with the Rams and when that didn’t work out, he opted to jump to the XFL. That leaves Johnson as the clear starter, right? Well, during the season they picked up former 4th round pick Kyle Lauletta after he was cut by the Maulers, and he is very similar to Perez so it wouldn’t surprise me if they go back to splitting time. Overall, this room is solid, but I could see them adding a QB3 to the room.
Skill Positions
Returning:
RB Darius Victor, Towson; Trey Williams Texas A&M; Kingston Davis, Miles
WR Alonzo Moore, Nebraska; Randy Satterfield, Lyon; Cameron Echols-Luper, Western Kentucky; Landon Lenoir, Southern Illinois
TE Woody Brandom, Sam Houston State; Braedon Bowman, South Alabama; Wes Saxton, South Alabama
Additions:
WR De’Mornay Pierson-El, Nebraska; Warren Newman, Jackson State; Marcus Green, Louisiana-Monroe; Darnell Stewart Jr., Michigan State; Chris Platt Jr., Baylor
Losses:
WR Kavontae Turpin, TCU; Darrius Shepherd, North Dakota State; J’Mon Moore, Missouri
TE Mason Sikes, Western Illinois
The talk of the Generals’ skill positions in 2022 surrounded All-USFL WR/PR Kavontae Turpin. Turpin was electrifying over the course of the season and anyone watching knew he’d get a shot in the NFL. He’s made the most of that NFL opportunity as he made the Cowboys roster and made a Pro Bowl in his first season to boot. He won’t be the only loss as Darrius Shepherd was a key contributor who is now a Battlehawk and they traded away WR J’Mon Moore how showed flashes but couldn’t stay healthy. They signed De’Mornay Pierson-El who was in the XFL and AAF to replace at least some of that production. They won’t have to replace all the production though. The Generals have clearly leaned into their hard nose ground and pound style of play as they retained almost all of their running backs and tight ends from last year including 2 of the top 3 league rushing leaders in Darius Victor and Trey Williams. With all of those guys coming back, the Generals are solid at their skill positions and the only possible addition would be another Receiver.
Offensive Line
Returning:
T Terry Poole, San Diego State; Calvin Ashley, Florida A&M
G Robert Myers, Tennessee State; Evan Heim, Minnesota State–Mankato, Brandon Haskin, Tennessee State
C Jake Lacina, Augustana
Addition:
T Isaiah Battle, Clemson; Jahmir Johnson, Texas A&M; Chibueze Nwanna, Charlotte
C Toleafoa McMoore, Vanderbilt; Saige Young, Vanderbilt
Losses:
T Justin Calderon, Chadron State
G Garrett McGhin, East Carolina; Mike Brown, West Virginia
The Generals offensive line was elite last year. New Jersey averaged 160 yards per game rushing which is good for best in the league and only gave up 16 sacks over 10 games which was the least in the league. This offseason saw them lose All-USFL Guard Garrett McGhin to the Arlington Renegades but there weren’t any other significant losses. They were able to keep their other All-USFL lineman in Terry Poole and every other starter on the line except for McGhin. They will look to replace McGhin with Isaiah Battle who was with head coach Mike Riley in the XFL with the Dragons in 2020. Battle was drafted by the Maulers but didn’t report and was a part of the first ever trade in USFL history. It would be mildly surprising to see them use a pick on their offensive line.
Defensive Line
Returning:
DL Toby Johnson, Georgia;
EDGE Bryson Young, Oregon; Tyshun Render, Middle Tennessee State; Hercules Mata’afa, Washington State; Kolin Hill, Texas Tech; Deyon Sizer, CSU Pueblo
Additions:
DL Kenneth Randall, Charleston; Tyrone Truesdell, Florida; Kevin Thurman Jr., Arkansas State
EDGE Justin Cates, North Carolina A&T
Losses:
DL Destiny Vaeao, Washington State; Kalani Vakameilalo, Oregon State
The front 4 was a mixed bag in 2022. They were able to completely stuff the run in a run-first league only giving up 73 yard per game when no one else averaged under 110. The issue was they couldn’t get after the quarterback. Only 10 sacks in 10 games was rough and by far a league low. They had a quiet offseason only losing one starter in Destiny Vaeao to the XFL and signing 4 others. For my money they need to get a difference maker at edge rusher cause that pressure rate isn’t good enough and it wouldn’t surprise me if they used their 6th overall pick on that.
Linebacker
Returning: D’Juan Hines, Houston; Chris Orr, Wisconsin; Jalen Choice, Jacksonville State; Mike Bell Jr., Fresno State
Additions: Willie Eubanks, The Citadel; Bryan Wright, Cincinnati
Losses: Angelo Garbutt, Missouri State
The linebacker core was pretty solid in 2022 and it seem like they’re going to run it back in 2023. They get to run it back with their starting linebacker core which includes the Generals leading tackler in D’Juan Hines and the other two starters in Chris Orr and Jalen Choice. With all the turnover that this league as a whole faced, getting a LB room fully back is going to pay dividends as far as continuity goes. It would be very surprising to see them draft another linebacker; I think they’re set.
Secondary
Returning:
CB DJ Daniel, Georgia; Trae Elston, Ole Miss; Christian Tutt, Auburn
S Dravon Askew-Henry, West Virginia; Shalom Luani, Washington State; Paris Ford, Pitt
Additions:
CB Iman Marshall, USC; Marcus Lewis, Maryland; Blake Countess, Michigan; Adehkeem Brown, Quincy; Michael Sam, La. Tech; Jermaine Ponder, St. Francis; Meiko Dotson, Florida State
Losses:
CB Devante Bausby, Pittsburg State; DeJuan Neal, Shepherd; David Rivers, Youngstown
During year one, the Generals secondary gave up the most passing yards per game at just under 200 a game. The generals are turning the page mostly at cornerback as that room will look very different. They lost 2 CBs to the XFL in Devante Bausby and DeJuan Neal. They have added a lot of guys to that room to replace them like Marcus Lewis who spent 2022 on the Philadelphia Stars and Iman Marshall who was a former 4th round pick for the Ravens. The safety position is going to face a lot less turnover as everyone is back including their starting two safeties in Dravon Askew-Henry and All-USFL player Shalom Luani. I could totally see them adding to their cornerback group in the draft depending on who is there.
Final Thoughts
The Generals don’t have a lot more they need to complete their team. A large part of that is the fact that they are already at 62 players roster before the draft even starts. They could use edge rusher, cornerback, and maybe a wide receiver to round out their roster. This team ended their season on a bad note, but they look ready to dominate in season 2 and prove that this is a championship caliber team.
How do you think the New Jersey Generals will do in 2023? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
