Houston Gamblers USFL Preview 2022: Season Win Total Picks, Odds and Predictions

Houston Gamblers Team Preview

With the 5th overall pick in the USFL draft, the Houston Gamblers picked up Clayton Thorson. Thorson played his college ball for the Northwestern Wildcats from 2015 through 2018. In his time there, he completed total of 991 passes on 1696 attempts which had him at 58.4%. He racked up 10, 731 yards in his collegiate career and threw 61 touchdowns compared to 45 interceptions. His final three years under helm had him at a QB rating of over 120 each season. At one point Thorson had started in 53 straight games which was a Big Ten record and tied Colt McCoy out of all Power Five conference schools. He owns several Northwestern career records that included the most wins at 35, completions, touchdowns and yards through the air. He is the only QB in Big Ten history to throw for over 10,000 yards and rush for 20 touchdowns in a career.

Thorson was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2019 NFL draft in the fifth round but was waived later that year. He was then picked up by the Dallas Cowboys to play on the practice squad. He signed a reserve contract with them but was eventually waived in September of 2020. His last stint in the NFL was with the New York giants practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for two games in the 2020 season and was eventually waived after being placed on IR.

The Houston Gamblers went to the defensive side of the ball for their next pick and took defensive end Chris Odom. Odom was a member of the Arkansas State football team from 2013 through 2016. In that time, Odom played 40 games and was an average player for his first three seasons with the Red Wolves. However, he had a breakout year in his senior season with 53 total tackles, 17.5 for loss and 12.5 sacks. His 17.5 tackles for loss were fourth all time in the Sun Belt conference while his four forced fumbles in 2016 has him sitting number one all-time in the conference. He went undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft but was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons. He spent time with Falcons, Packers and Redskins in the NFL. He also had stints in the AAF and CFL.

Ahmad Gooden was Houston's third pick who played his college ball for the Samford Bulldogs. He was named first team All-Southern Conference and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 as a junior. He racked up 101 tackles with 15.5 for loss that season, in addition to 5.5 sacks. Over the course of his college career Gooden had 273 tackles, 22 sacks, two forced fumbles and five pass breakups. This led to Gooden getting picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos. He also spent time with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.

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In the backfield for the Gamblers will be Dalyn Dawkins. Dawkins played one season for the Purdue Boilermakers in college before transferring to Colorado State in 2015. He played great for the rams and had an exceptional season in 2017 with a total of 1,399 yards on the ground via 226 carries (6.2 YPC). He had 8 touchdowns on the ground that season and caught 26 passes for 252 yards out of the backfield. Dawkins was picked up by the Tennessee Titans after going undrafted in the 2018 NFL draft. He was released, picked back up, elevated to the active roster and waived before getting picked back up. He was eventually waived for good in December of 2019. He spent a short amount of time with the Detroit Lions before getting released in December of 2020. He'll have a new lease on his professional football career when he plays for Houston.

Tony's Pick: Vegas has the Houston Gamblers towards the bottom of the league in terms of winning the first championship. We think they'll be overmatched this season and will finish toward the bottom of the league.

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