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| Melvin Driggers, QB, Tampa Bay Bandits |
A look at the activities between the end of the 1983 season and the beginning of the 1984 season as the USFL/WFL enters it second decade. We remain the second-longest continuously active user-created league in MFN.
Draft
A high-ceiling, low-volatility QB in the drat happens, well, almost never. So it came as no shock when the Tampa Bay Bandits took Arizona State QB Melvin Driggers with the first pick in the 1984 draft.Driggers has 42 vol and, barring a training camp disaster, can look forward to 100 ratings in accuracy, field of vision, and looking off defenses. He already has 96 intelligence. Fourth-year QB Joe Martin has a career 37.65 QBR in two seasons as Tampa Bay's backup, so Driggers has a clear path to a starting role.
The Bandits acquired the first pick from the Georgia Force, sending them the No. 4 pick (LDE Shawn Hicks) as well as future second- and third-round selections.
Boston nabbed Notre Dame CB Willie Lawhorn with the second pick. Lawhorn's ratings are potentially great, but his 80 volatility scared off everyone but the Breakers.
San Antonio went with a much more sure thing at No. 3, picking Penn State MLB Stephen Ray Vaughan. With only a 20 vol and many potential ratings in the 100 range, Vaughan is likely to anchor the Gunslingers defense for many seasons to come.
The draft concludes Monday. The first preseason games take place a week later.
Free Agency
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| Michael Sonnenberg, WR, DEN/JAX |
- WR Michael Sonnenberg, previously a star for nine seasons with Denver, signed with Jacksonville. The 10th-year pro accounted for more than 9,300 yards and 76 TDs with the Gold, including a memorable 1976 season (2,111 yards, 18 TDs). The Bulls offered him a one-year deal for $8 million.
- DT Nathan Branch, a mainstay of the Memphis Showboats defense for eight seasons, signed with Shreveport. Branch spent the last two seasons in Denver.
- WR Randy Christmas signed with Memphis. He caught 45 TD passes during his first three pro seasons with the Baltimore Stars and is entering his 11th season.
- Jacksonville coach hectorg93 nominated running back William Guerro for All-Pro honors last season, but allowed him to walk away via free agency after the season ended. Guerro signed with the Memphis Showboats, with whom he had spent three seasons before going to the Bulls.
- WR Chuck Mayfield fielded offers from 13 teams before settling on a six-year, $68.4-million pact with the Los Angeles Express, who immediately switched him to RB. Mayfield averaged 15 yards per reception during his four seasons with the Oklahoma Outlaws.
- Twelve teams made offers to former Boston LG Franklin Thompson before he went to New Orleans for four years and $62 million. The eighth-year pro has solid ratings (86 strength, 91 run block, 82 pass block), but the $15.5-million per season average annual value may be the highest for an offensive lineman in league history.
