The St. Louis Battlehawks have overseen one of the more notable quarterback transitions this offseason. After having one of the more stable quarterback rooms for the last two seasons led by Aj McCarron news came out that the most popular team in spring football would be moving on from McCarron. During this transition did they tip their hand to a shift in offensive philosophy?
In what became a rather contentious divorce, McCarron made it known he was not happy with how the Battlehawks, General Manager Dave Boller, and Head Coach Anthony Becht handled his release. He even went on to say that he was shocked at how the XFL operated after his first game when he found out both teams flew on the same plane, stating in an interview that if not for his kids, he would have retired right then. “I didn’t sign up for this s***.” He would go on to say that after his release was handled poorly he wanted to return to the UFL on a team that would play St. Louis twice.
Questions arose immediately after this news about where McCarron would land, and on top of that who the Battlehawks would bring in to replace him. We now have the answer to that question as it was announced today that the Battlehawks have signed three quarterbacks. Lost in that shuffle is the thought that another spring football veteran, Brandon Silvers, likely will not be returning.
This included one that finished 2023 and returned for the 2024 season with the team in former Green Bay Packer Manny Wilkins, a favorite of GM Dave Boller. The other two players signed come with some name recognition from their college careers. Max Duggan was released earlier this year by the Los Angeles Chargers and Chevan Cordeiro who had spent some time with the Seattle Seahawks.
Although the roster is still very much subject to change, it appears as if St. Louis, will move forward with three players with a combined two starts at the professional level. With only Manny Wilkins having any previous experience in their offense.
Table of Contents
Max Duggan
Max Duggan is best known for his time with TCU where he became a starter almost immediately and would go on to be the primary starter for four seasons. Playing in 47 games starting 43 he compiled a 25-18 record including a trip to the National Championship game where his team was blown out by Georgia in a 65-7 loss. He threw 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the loss.
Duggan would declare for the 2023 NFL Draft having attempted 1,225 passes, completing 739, or 60.3% for 9,618 yards 73 touchdowns to 28 interceptions. His best season came in 2022 during TCU’s National Championship run when he compiled a career-high 4,021 yards from scrimmage and 41 total touchdowns. The dual-threat passer managed 488 carries for 1,856 yards and 28 touchdowns during his four-year run as the starter for TCU. This included a career-high 10 rushing touchdowns in 10 games during the 2020 season.
Chevan Cordeiro
Cordeiro is a four-year starter who spent six total seasons in college. He started 46 total games appearing in 15 more. He spent four seasons with his home-state Hawaii University before transferring to San Jose State where he said he rediscovered his love for the game. Having joined San Jose State with over 800 career passing attempts, for 6,167 yards, 45 touchdowns to 22 interceptions, as well as 1,083 rushing yards, and 13 touchdowns he was expected to start from day one.
With San Jose Cordeiro took his career to new heights. Despite playing in just 25 games for his new school, he virtually matched his stat line with Hawaii that was compiled while being active for 36 games. In his first season in 2022, he set career highs for passing completions, attempts, yards, touchdowns, and quarterback rating as a starter. His second season with San Jose State was nearly as successful.
He would declare for the 2024 NFL Draft with over 12,000 passing yards, 1,639 all-purpose yards, 88 passing touchdowns, 25 rushing touchdowns, and 32 interceptions. He also added 5 punts for 180 yards. He compiled a 27-19 record as a starter.
Manny Wilkins
Manny Wilkins is a unique case for any spring football player. After graduating from Arizona State in 2019, he displayed dual-threat ability during his three years as a starter. Having sat on the bench as a backup for his first two seasons he took over in 2016 starting the next 35 games for ASU.
Wilkins declared for the 2019 NFL Draft with 1,114 passing attempts, 704 completions, 8,264 yards 52 touchdowns to 23 interceptions. Possibly the most important factor in his game was his ability to run the ball. He had 385 rushing attempts for 1,035 net yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. His career-long was a 45-yard jaunt for a touchdown. He too had 5 punt attempts for 181 yards, all of which landed inside the 20-yard line.
He would spend time on the practice squad with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie. He was released in April of 2020 immediately following the conclusion of the 2020 draft. The same year the Packers selected Jordan Love in the first round.
Wilkins remained a free agent until the tail end of 2023 when the Battlehawks came calling due to some depth concerns. He remained with the Battlehawks in 2024 where he would see his first regular season action as a professional quarterback appearing in 5 games, starting 2. Attempting 50 passes he completed just over half of them (27) for a 54% completion rate. He managed 1 touchdown, to 3 interceptions. He added 24 carries for 141 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.
Battlehawks Look to Transition to More Run Heavy Scheme
The decision to run with these three players points to an offensive philosophy change with St. Louis looking to utilize the quarterback run game to diversify their offense. Over 2 seasons, McCarron showed some mobility but did not display the kind of athleticism that the three players now on the roster do. Running just 52 times for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns in 18 games.
Offensive Coordinator Bruce Gradkowski is no stranger to utilizing a running quarterback. Gradkowski was a dual-threat quarterback in his own right during his career, compiling just over 4.0 yards per carry during college to the tune of 1,018 yards and 14 touchdowns. He added 88 carries for 329 yards during his 11-year professional career.
Gradkowski seemingly wants to get back to his roots with his 2025 iteration of his offense and it appears Dave Boller and Anthony Becht are giving him players with the physical tools to do just that. Duggan ran a 4.52 at the 2023 Combine, Cordeiro ran a 4.63, and Wilkins was once clocked in the 4.7 range at his pro day. He was not going to be able to incorporate this style of offense with McCarron or Silvers running the show in 2025. Suddenly the messy divorce is starting to make more sense for fans in St. Louis.
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