The UFL moved its draft up to May 2, two days after the end of the 2011 NFL draft, in part to accommodate the UFL's proposed earlier start in August (since abandoned) for the 2011 season, and also to take advantage of the lockout in the National Football League.
As a result, the UFL made efforts to draft and sign those players before the lockout was lifted.
[1] Pat Devlin, the former Delaware quarterback and one of the higher rated undrafted prospects, was given an offer to be the first overall draft pick, but because the Hartford Colonials also requested he sign a UFL contract as a condition of being picked, Devlin declined.
[2] First overall draft pick Jerrod Johnson defected from the UFL to the Philadelphia Eagles in late July 2011,[3] amid rumors that the Colonials were to be contracted.
[4] He returned to the UFL for the 2012 season, this time with the Sacramento Mountain Lions.