San Diego Fleet protect Josh Johnson with 1st pick in inaugural AAF QB draft

Published Nov. 28, 2018 5:01 p.m. ET

John Horvath

It is official: Josh Johnson is headed back to San Diego.

On Tuesday, the San Diego Fleet chose to protect former University of San Diego star Josh Johnson with the first overall selection in the Alliance of American Football's inaugural QB draft. The Fleet had the option of protecting one of the three quarterbacks on their roster or picking an unprotected one. They chose the former:

https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNet/status/1067589993462263810

https://twitter.com/Fam1stFamilyQB/status/1067602336799846401

Johnson, who led the Toreros to three consecutive Pioneer League championships from 2005-2007, was inducted into the USD Hall of Fame in 2015. He led his team to a 30-4 record during his four collegiate seasons before being drafted in the 5th round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2008 NFL draft.

Johnson ended up playing in 29 regular-season games over the course of his NFL career. He completed passes at a 54.2% clip, with five career touchdowns and 10 career interceptions. He saw regular-season playing time with the Buccaneers, Bengals, and Browns. The 32-year-old also spent time in the 49ers, Colts, Bills, Giants, and Texans organization.

In the second round, the Fleet selected another QB that San Diego football fans are familiar with: Mike Bercovici. Bercovici began his brief NFL career with the then-San Diego Chargers back in 2016, signing as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State University. Bercovici was the starting QB for the Sun Devils in 2015; throwing for 3,854 yards with 30 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.

https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNet/status/1067603064863879168

Bercovici's time in San Diego did not last very long. He was released by the Chargers at the end of training camp during final roster cuts that same year. Although he returned to the Bolts on a futures deal in January of 2017, he was waived during training camp.

The 25-year-old also spent time on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad in 2017.

Led by head coach Mike Martz, the Fleet selected Phil Nelson in the third round and Alex Ross in the fourth round to cap off the four-round draft.

On Tuesday, the Fleet also unveiled the uniforms that they will be wearing for the upcoming season:

https://twitter.com/AAFFleet/status/1067583898253737984

The AAF season is slated to begin for the Fleet on February 9 in San Antonio, which is the Saturday after the Super Bowl. Their first game in San Diego will be at SDCCU Stadium on February 17th against Atlanta.

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