Last season, Jacob Saylors was the UFL star who caught the attention of the NFL. This year, I think one of the most deserving players in the UFL of an NFL opportunity has to be Chris Rowland. Chris Rowland broke Jerry Rice’s HBCU record for most receptions in a single season in 2019 and finished his collegiate career with 3.74 YPRR and a passer rating when targeted of 121.3. Coming out of Tennessee State, Rowland was an explosive receiver with a compact build, good lower body twitch, and 4.4 speed. But he went undrafted mainly due to his lesser competition and his lack of size at 5 ft 6 inches 180 lbs. Despite going undrafted, he made the roster for the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. Unfortunately, he barely saw the field (mainly due to the cancellation of preseason). He was out of the NFL completely by November 2021 and it looked like he was going to wash out of top-flight professional football. I honestly never expected to write about him again. But Rowland’s career was revived during his time with the DC Defenders where he won a UFL Championship and was named to the All-UFL team as a receiver and return specialist. He led the UFL in kick return yards in 2024 with 1,223 return yards. This season he leads the UFL in kick return yards per game (29.0) and he’s the WR1 for the Orlando Storm who are 8-2 and top of the league. Rowland has dominated in the slot averaging 7.5 targets per game and he has a 70.7% reception rate. Rowland has also popped 2 of 7 runs for 10+ yards—he’s been borderline efficient as a gadget threat throughout his professional and collegiate career. At his size and age (28), the odds he gets another NFL contract are extremely low. UDFAs have higher hit rates than UFL players and they come on cheap 3-year deals which are eligible for restricted free agency. And at ages 21-23, they have better development potential. For Rowland, his selling point to teams is that he’s nearly a clone of Wan’Dale Robinson style wise, and Robinson just got $38 million guaranteed from Tennessee. If Rowland can instill confidence in a GM that he’s even in the ballpark of a player like Robinson, he will get an NFL contract. I think the teams that should be in contact with Chris Rowland for the summer should be the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay Packers, and Kansas City Chiefs. These teams need more juice in their receiving rooms and/or more slot depth. As for Rowland, he needs to perform in preseason and prove that he can play against higher levels of competition. He doesn’t need to breakout like Victor Cruz, but he needs to prove he’s a pro.