The UFL season recently came to a close with the DC Defenders beating the Michigan Panthers 58-34 in the title game. The Jets moved fast to sign kicker Harrison Mevis, who had only missed one field goal all season and a few other players have signed deals with NFL teams.
Let’s review how the ex-Jets in this league fared though.
Quarterbacks
Adrian Martinez was one of the stars of the 2024 UFL and he beat out rookie Andrew Peasley for the Jets’ number three job last year after they signed him at the end of the season. Peasley, ironically, found himself in the UFL this year, but he didn’t make much of an impact with numbers of 14 of 22 for 172 yards in a reserve role. He also rushed four times for 33 yards.
Running Backs
An ex-Jet actually led the league in rushing, if you include the postseason, as Deon Jackson had 573 yards and eight touchdowns at an average of five per carry. (He was third in the regular season).
Jackson, who also caught eight passes for 46 yards, was a big contributor to the Defenders’ title run as he had 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the semi-final and another two scores in the title game.
Kalen Ballage missed the second half of the season after a promising start that saw him break the league record with a 77-yard touchdown run. He ended up with 306 yards and two catches.
Pass catchers
Isaiah Winstead and Deontay Burnett both contributed well with 31 catches for 310 yards for Winstead and 30 for 343 and three scores from Burnett.
Denzel Mims lasted just a few games before being cut after having caught five passes for 51 yards.
Offensive Line
Willie Tyler and Alec Lindstrom both started all 10 games with Lindstrom posting the 12th best pass blocking grade in the league despite giving up two sacks. He was 6th in the league with five penalties though. Tyler only gave up three sacks and three penalties but struggled as a run blocker.
The only other two ex-Jets offensive linemen to play over 200 snaps were Vitaliy Gurman and Derrick Kelly II. Kelly struggled, while Gurman was more consistent but did have three penalties in four games.
Defensive Ends
Pita Taumoepenu made headlines as he won the league’s defensive player of the year award after leading the league with 7.5 sacks and tying for the lead with three forced fumbles.
Bradlee Anae had four sacks by week six but only played in three other games as he was unable to add to that figure.
Defensive Tackles
Perrion Winfrey was productive against the run and as a pass rusher, while also leading the league with four deflections at the line. He only had two sacks but was 2nd in the league for total pressures by an interior lineman. Winfrey is the only ex-Jet from the UFL to be signed by an NFL team so far this offseason, having signed with Dallas.
Freedom Akinmoladun also saw plenty of playing time but had a modest impact with one sack but Isaiah Mack actually had the best defensive grade of any UFL player, albeit in just 71 snaps.
Linebackers
Anthony Hines and Noah Dawkins were both productive as they racked up 55 and 41 tackles respectively. Hines, who had five tackles for loss, was 13th in the league in total tackles. Dawkins had four tackles for loss.
Cornerbacks
Myles Jones played almost 300 snaps, making six starts. He had 16 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
Rashad Wildgoose and Derrick Langford also played over 100 snaps each but with minimal impact.
Safeties
Kai Nacua had 45 tackles, two tackles for loss and an 80-yard pick six in the regular season and went on to play a major role in the postseason too. He iced the semi final with a pick-six and then had 10 tackles in the championship game.
KAI NACUA PICK 6!!!!! pic.twitter.com/p7okWXIVH8
— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) March 30, 2025
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Special Teams
Ballage was the only ex-Jet to make an impact in the return game as he averaged 26.7 yards on six returns with a long of 39.
In kick coverage Jerome “Eminem” Kapp once again gave a good account of himself with 10 special teams tackles. Caleb Johnson added six and Nehemiah Shelton had seven.