By Brian Gertler
With training camp just under a couple of weeks away, and 75-man camp rosters starting to take shape, it’s time to start thinking about what a potential starting lineup could look like going into the March 30th season debut in Detroit. Given the current signed and unsigned roster spots, here is a projection of what the 2024 Battlehawks starting defensive lineup could look like:
DT: Kevin Atkins and Austin Faoliu
Kevin Atkins is a seasoned professional football player who had a solid year with the Battlehawks in 2023. Atkins appeared in all 10 games last year and had nearly made a starting roster on the NY Giants in 2022. While his stat line doesn’t stand out, Atkins is viewed as a consistent disrupter in the trenches and played the most DT snaps for the Battlehawks last year.
On Monday, the Battlehawks signed former Sea Dragon and All-XFL DT Austin Faoliu. Faoliu had a solid 24 tackles and one sack last year and even had some in-season playing time with the Seattle Seahawks. An Atkins/Faoliu combo up front for the Battlehawk secondary sounds like a match made in heaven!
DE/LB: Pita Taumoepenu, Willie Harvey, Johnny Buchanan, and Jadrian Taylor
The 2023 Battlehawks mostly ran a version of a 2-4-5 Nickel Defense last year, meaning that they primarily had four linebackers on the field at once (two edge OLB/DE and two ILB). Knowing how important these LBs are in their scheme, the Battlehawks focussed heavily on obtaining some of the most sought-after talent through their rookie draft and the more recent dispersal draft.
Pita Taumoepenu is a name almost everyone knows around XFL circles due to his awarding of the 2023 XFL Defensive Player of the Year. Taumoepenu had some time in the NFL with several teams from 2017-21 but showed his true potential for the Vegas Vipers last year. Despite only starting the last five for the Vipers, Taumoepenu recorded 26 total tackles, 4 FF, 8 TFL, and 7.5 sacks. Taumoepenu will be a center-piece to the edge attack for the Battlehawks this season and is almost guaranteed a starting spot.
The sole returning LB on my list is Willie Harvey. Harvey led the team in tackles as an inside backer last season with 59 total tackles. Taumoepenu and Harvey are the two shoe-ins for the starting lineup
Johnny Buchanan and Jadrian Taylor were both drafted in the XFL 2023 rookie draft last June. Buchanan would operate probably more as an ILB while Taylor excels on the edge as more of a DE-type. Both players have great college film and were highly touted as potential NFL recruits. Taylor led all of Conference USA in sacks at UTEP in 2022 and Buchanan led all of FCS college football in total tackles with 150. However, both Buchanan and Taylor failed to make an NFL roster (although Buchanan was invited to a Steelers minicamp last summer).
DB: Ben DeLuca, Lavert Hill, Mykael Wright, Qwynnterrio Cole, and Dravon Askew Henry
With only three of their twelve roster spots returning from last year, the Battlehawks struggled to retain defensive backs going into 2024. Ben DeLuca and Lavert Hill were both outstanding for the Battlehawks last year with Hill making the All-XFL team with two INTs and 25 solo tackles on the season. DeLuca was on pace to have an equally impressive year, but his season was cut short due to a knee injury and he was placed on reserve five games into 2023. Both Hill and DeLuca are explosive starting talents from last year’s team and almost guaranteed consistent starting snaps at their positions.
Mykael Wright and Qwynnterrio Cole are both former Seattle Sea Dragons who come over to the Battlehawks through the dispersal draft. Cole was seemingly snubbed in last year’s all-XFL team selection process even though he produced three INTs and 48 total tackles in the 10-game season. Mykael Wright is an under-the-radar talent who had flashes of greatness near the end of last year for the Sea Dragons. There was one highlight in particular where in week 10 Wright chased down Viper’s WR Matthew Sexton over 85 yards and caused a forced fumble on his own one-yard line.
Dravon Askew-Henry, a seasoned veteran safety, is coming from being signed by (but not playing for) four NFL teams, and a solid season with the now-defunct New Jersey Generals of the USFL. The Battlehawks selected Askew-Henry as their first (fourth overall) pick in the UFL Super Draft. The Super Draft was the third and final phase of the UFL Dispersal Draft where teams from opposite leagues were allowed to take any remaining players from phases one and two. One fun fact about Askew-Henry is that he is cousins (married in) with Pro-Football HOFer Darrelle Revis and views him as a mentor in his professional football career.