With the USFL Draft completed, we now have an idea of what each teams’ rosters look like, and how they have developed through 35 rounds of picks. The New Orleans Breakers had a lot of interesting draft picks and grabbed some great offensive firepower overall. In this article, I will be breaking down the two Breakers’ quarterbacks, and how they have performed previously in their careers.
Breakers Analysis – Quarterbacks
Kyle Sloter
Starting off we have the Breakers’ first-round pick in Kyle Sloter, who comes to the USFL with NFL experience. While never starting or playing in a regular-season game, Sloter played in the preseason for the Denver Broncos in his rookie season. He looked exceptionally talented in that time, completing 31 of 43 passes for 413 yards and 3 touchdowns, as well as no interceptions and a passer rating of 125.4. Sloter also had a phenomenal final college season in 2016 for the University of Northern Colorado, accruing 2,656 passing yards on 62.1% completion rate (198/319) as well as 29 passing touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He would tie the school record for most passing touchdowns in a game (6) and break the school record for passing touchdowns in a season (29).
When performing at his school’s pro day, they were told to perform the measurables indoors due to 45 MPH winds. He ran a 4.65 40-yard dash time, and a 9’1″ broad jump which he performed in another person’s sneakers. Sloter also threw with an arm speed of 58 MPH which is 1 MPH away from the NFL Combine record. He also ran a 7.53 3-cone, 4.61 20-yard shuttle, and had a 30.5-inch vertical jump.
Since this, Sloter has spent 2017-2021 in the NFL, primarily on practice squads. Sloter has been on the following teams:
- Denver Broncos (practice squad) – 2017
- Minnesota Vikings (active roster) – 2017-2018
- Arizona Cardinals (practice squad) – 2019
- Detroit Lions (active roster) – 2019
- Chicago Bears (practice squad) – 2020
- Las Vegas Raiders (practice squad) – 2021
- Minnesota Vikings (active roster) – 2021
- New Orleans Breakers (Round 1 Pick 8) – 2022
Overall, we have not seen Sloter play much at all since his rookie season. However, in the time we have seen him play both collegiately and in the preseason, he has been very solid. Another tidbit that is interesting is that Sloter set nearly every record his high school had for football, one of which being total yards (9,200) as well as career touchdowns (87).
Zach Smith
Zach Smith does not have any NFL experience, however, he is a recent graduate of Tulsa University and has had some solid seasons for them in regards to football. While never breaking 60% completion in his four seasons (split 2 and 2 between Baylor and Tulsa) he has always been a proficient passer. His best season was his 2019 campaign with Tulsa, as he was his most efficient then. He played in 12 games, accruing 3,279 passing yards on a 57.3% completion rate. On top of that, he had 19 passing touchdowns to only 9 interceptions and a 132.0 passer efficiency rating.
In terms of his career as a whole in college, outside 2019 he never broke 2000 yards passing. All 3 other seasons he did have minor issues with turnovers as well, however 2019 did seem to dispel that somewhat. His Baylor career was relatively stagnant as he was rarely used, however he did look solid for Tulsa.
From what has been seen in college, he is a high octane passer and has the ability to make plays. His main struggles clearly are his consistency/ability to complete passes effectively. He has also had minor turnover issues, with 34 interceptions in his collegiate career. While Smith is presumably the backup QB for the Breakers, we could see him mixed into games depending on what the coaching staff sees in him.