RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
The 2025 UFL MVP race continues to pick up steam, with a pair of quarterbacks topping the rankings.
Bryce Perkins has guided the Michigan Panthers to a 3-2 mark, tied atop the USFL Conference, while Jordan Ta’amu has the DC Defenders sitting at 4-1, atop the XFL Conference.
Where do Perkins and Ta’amu land in my latest MVP rankings, and is Arlington QB Luis Perez gaining ground in the race?
Here’s a look at my fifth UFL MVP power rankings of the season.
[MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League]
UFL Top 10 Plays From Week 5
5. St. Louis Battlehawks RB Jacob Saylors
Week 5 stat line: 73 total yards on 14 touches
Week 5 result: 32-27 win vs. Michigan
While his production has dipped in recent weeks, Saylors remains one of the most prolific rushers and receivers in the league with 255 rushing yards and 202 receiving yards through the first half of the season. He ranks in the top 10 of each category.
Saylors is tied for first place with Arlington Renegades tailback DeVeon Smith for rushing TDs this season with four and ranks just behind Arlington tailback Kalen Ballage in rushing yards per game at 51. Ballage, who leads the league in rushing with 276 yards, is inching closer toward becoming an MVP candidate himself.
4. Houston Roughnecks QB Jalan McClendon
Week 5 stat line: 22-of-31 for 171 passing yards
Week 5 result: 27-3 win at San Antonio
The Roughnecks won just once in 2024. In 2025, they doubled that tally through the first half of the season and put themselves within striking distance of a playoff spot in the USFL Conference after settling on McClendon as their starting QB.
While his numbers weren’t eye-popping in Week 5, McClendon’s ability to throw the ball downfield and his cool demeanor have changed the attitude of an offense that had been stagnant.
Now, with wideout Justin Hall at his disposal, McClendon has an opportunity to help the Roughnecks reach the playoffs for the first time in a wide-open USFL Conference. Houston is just a game back of first place.
3. Arlington Renegades QB Luis Perez
Week 5 stat line: 22-of-33 for 268 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Week 5 result: 37-33 loss vs. D.C.
Perez’s play has been steady throughout the season. He is the only player to see more than 100 of his passes end in completions while being just one of two players with a completion percentage above 70% in the league.
Given the balance the Renegade offense has shown with the league’s most prolific rusher and its second-most prolific passer, Perez’s performance is that much more impressive.
2. Michigan Panthers QB Bryce Perkins
Week 5 stat line: 21-of-25 for 235 passing yards, 2 TDs
Week 5 result: 32-27 loss at St. Louis
Perkins played his best game of the season in Week 5, and that’s saying something for a player who was the two-time Offensive Player of the Week heading into an elite passing performance against the Battlehawks. The Panthers are still tied for first place in the USFL Conference and look like the favorite to win it.
Had Perkins been Michigan’s Day 1 starter, it’s fair to ask if his numbers would be better. He leads the league in completion percentage at 72.3%, owns a 3-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio and has accounted for five total TDs this season.
1. DC Defenders QB Jordan Ta’amu
Week 5 stat line: 23-of-46 passing for 308 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Week 5 result: 37-33 win at Arlington
Over the last two weeks, no player has been more prolific than Ta’amu. He averaged more than 300 passing yards per game during this recent stretch, moved the Defenders to 4-1 and has played his best ball against two teams expected to compete for the second spot in the XFL Conference title game behind D.C.
Ta’amu leads the UFL in passing TDs (nine) and total TDs (11) and is the only player in the league to pass for more than 1,000 yards through five games (1,213). If the MVP is awarded to the best player on the best team, it’s difficult to argue how anyone could unseat Ta’amu.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young and subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube.
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