Players to watch: Several Seattle Dragons have local ties

The debut of the second installment of the XFL is this Saturday, and the Seattle Dragons will play in the first game of the season on the road against the D.C. Defenders.

Seattle Dragons’ Jim Zorn in familiar situation in leading new franchise

Football fans in the Seattle area are familiar with Dragons general manager and head coach Jim Zorn, who was the first quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, but they may be surprised at how many players have ties to the Seattle area.

With that in mind, here are a few players to watch for this season. Most listed have a connection to Seattle predating their signing with the Dragons and may be familiar to those in the area.

WR Kasen Williams

One of the most notable names for the Seattle Dragons is wide receiver Kasen Williams.

Williams played at the University of Washington for four seasons and totaled 16 touchdowns after a lofty prep career at Skyline High School in Sammamish. He was a four-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports and a five-star by Scout.

The day before the day before. Also known as, Kasen Williams (2) days before our season opener. #ForTheLoveOfFootball | #BreathingFire 🔥🐲 pic.twitter.com/yYVTVOrV1U

— Seattle Dragons (@XFLDragons) February 6, 2020

In his sophomore season, Williams had 878 yards and six touchdowns and looked like he would be a force for the next two seasons, or that he may be so successful he’d leave school early.

Unfortunately, Williams broke his fibula eight games into his junior season and struggled to recover while at Washington. He played in nine games for the Huskies and had just 20 catches for 189 yards that year.

Williams went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals but was released after failing his physical.

The Seahawks then invited him to their rookie training camp where he earned a spot on the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster before the 2015 season ended. The 2016 was more of the same, spending most of the year on the practice squad before being promoted towards the end of the season.

After a strong preseason showing in 2017, Williams was released and picked up by the Cleveland Browns. He was later waived and signed to Cleveland’s practice squad and after signing a reserve/future when the season ended, Williams was released, and the Indianapolis Colts picked him up in the offseason before releasing him ahead of the start of 2018.

He was selected in the seventh round of the skill players portion of the drafts.

“I think he’s going to solidify himself as a player to watch out for,” Zorn said of Williams to 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton.

WR Keenan Reynolds

Keenan Reynolds was a star quarterback for Navy in college running their option-running attack. He threw and ran for over 4,000 yards during his four-year Navy career and he has the most career rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns (non-passing) and rushing yards by a quarterback in NCAA history and his No. 19 is retired by Navy.

.@kreynolds_19 with the one-handed grab of the day. #ForTheLoveOfFootball | #BreathingFire 🔥🐲 pic.twitter.com/8Uwqx9R11P

— Seattle Dragons (@XFLDragons) February 4, 2020

After Navy, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft and was on the team’s practice squad that year.

After a stint with the Washington Redskins in 2017, Reynolds played with the Seahawks in 2018. He was on both the practice squad and active roster for the entirety of the season. He re-signed with the team after the season and was waived before the 2019 season.

“He’s going to be a factor … He’s going to be really critical,” Zorn said of Reynolds. “He’s really smart and can play multiple positions. He’s going to help us on special teams … he is going to be our emergency QB as well.”

Reynolds was recently voted one of four team captains as well.

QB B.J. Daniels

Quarterback B.J. Daniels also spent time with the Seahawks, but as a receiver. He will be the backup to starting quarterback Brandon Silvers, who played collegiately at Troy and also played in the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its lone season of existence.

Daniels was a four-year starter at the University of South Florida and passed for over 8,000 yards and ran for over 2,000 yards during those four seasons. In total, he had 77 touchdowns.

He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft and was waived in October before the Seahawks claimed him. He spent extended periods of time on Seattle’s practice squad and made the switch from quarterback to receiver in 2015. As a receiver, he joined the team’s active roster before being waived.

He later spent time with the Houston Texans, New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. He later joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League before joining the AAF’s Salt Lake Stallions on injured reserve.

DT Taniela Tupou

Taniela Tupou is about as local of a product as you’ll find playing for the Seattle Dragons, having played high school football at Archbishop Murphy in Mill Creek. Tupou played defensive tackle for the Huskies from 2011 to 2016 and recorded 59 tackles in 46 games. Since graduating from UW, Tupou has bounced around during his professional career.

Tupuo started his NFL career in Seattle with the Seahawks as a fullback and a defensive tackle and made the team’s Week 1 roster but was released days after the game. He spent 2017 with the Atlanta Falcons, spending time on both the active roster and the team’s practice squad. He spent a little over a week with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 but after his release he hasn’t been with an NFL team.

Tupou played in the upstart AAF for the San Diego Fleet. He had a sack, 13 tackles and four tackles for loss before the league folded.

The Dragons selected him in the seventh round of the front-seven portion of the XFL Draft and Tupou will start the season on injured reserve.

OT Isaiah Battle

Seattle’s first pick for offensive line was tackle Isaiah Battle, who spent time with the Seahawks in 2017.

Battle played collegiately at Clemson and was selected in the fifth round of the NFL’s supplemental draft by the then-St. Louis Rams. He spent most of his rookie and second seasons on the Rams’ practice squad.

He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 and was then traded to the Seahawks and later was placed on the team’s practice squad. He was released and signed a future/reserve deal with the Carolina Panthers after the 2018 regular season and was waived a few months later.

CB Mohammed Seisay

Mohammed Seisay is another name that Seattle fans may recognize, as he spent parts of 2015 and 2016 with the Seahawks.

Seisay played collegiately at the University of Memphis before transferring to the University of Nebraska. He had two interceptions and 34 tackles during his college career.

Seisay signed with the Detroit Lions after going undrafted in the 2014 draft and appeared in 13 games for the Lions during his rookie year and accumulated five tackles.

He later spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnepeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League as well as the Memphis Express of the AAF.

Seisay was the Dragons’ ninth selection in the defensive backs portion of the draft.

TE Connor Hamlett

Connor Hamlet is a big target at tight end for the dragons, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing roughly 260 pounds. He’s also a local product, playing football at Meadowdale High School before playing collegiately at Oregon State University.

While playing for the Beavers, Hamlett appeared in 47 games and caught 104 passes for 1,109 yards and 10 touchdowns.

It was initially thought Hamlett would retire and not pursue an NFL career due to injuries because of comments he made to a newspaper, but he pursued a professional career and went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft.

He has since played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys.

With the Browns, Hamlett logged his only NFL catch, a 17-yard touchdown reception from former Seahawks backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst against the New England Patriots.

He also played in the AAF last season, appearing in eight games for the Arizona Hotshots, catching five passes for 40 yards.

Hamlett is one of five tight ends currently on the Seattle Dragons’ roster.

Brandon Silvers

Just for the fun of it, we’ll throw Silvers in here.

No, he doesn’t have a Seattle connection aside from playing for the Dragons, but he is the team’s starting quarterback and was the first player to join the team as he was the Dragons’ assigned quarterback.

Droppin' dimes. (@Bsilv_12) #ForTheLoveOfFootball | #BreathingFire 🔥🐲 pic.twitter.com/GRoaHiwkxT

— Seattle Dragons (@XFLDragons) February 5, 2020

Silvers saw extended action during his four years at Troy University in Alabama and put up impressive college numbers. In 48 games at Troy, Silvers threw 71 touchdowns to go along with 10,677 passing yards. He completed 64.4% of his 1,503 career passes, threw 29 interceptions and added 16 rushing touchdowns as well.

Silvers played with the AAF as well, starting three games for the Memphis Express. Overall, Silvers had four touchdowns, two interceptions and 799 yards, completing 64% of his passes.

“He played at (Troy) and has not had a chance, really, to show anything in the NFL and he’s going to have his chance to show what he can do here,” Zorn said of his starting quarterback.

The inaugural episode of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Dragons Insider with Lydia Cruz and Maura Dooley aired Wednesday night. Did you miss the show? Listen to it at this link or in the player below.

Follow 710Sports.com’s Brandon Gustafson on Twitter.

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