Looking Ahead To The 2027 Pack

Last year, we all got a taste of how the season could go. After starting 0-3 and social media already chirping, Head Coach JR Wells and the Wolfpack were able to turn it around and make the playoffs. That doesn't happen by accident. The ownership stayed patient. Coach JR Wells kept preaching the same things he had been preaching since he started coaching the Pack. However, the locker room bought in, and the fans in Everett howled through all of it. 

Now, as we all get excited for the next season of Arena Football One in 2027, we're already starting to see some of the players that will be on the field. Washington has started putting names on paper. Some you already know. Others, you'll get to know quickly. Let's take a look at the Wolfpack signings as of September 29th! 

Aakiel Greer

If you watched this team last year, you already know what Aakiel Greer means to the team and organization. Coach Wells has called him "The Mayor" for a reason. His teammates made him a captain. By the end of the year, the rest of the league had him on the first AF1 All-Star team. Greer caught 54 passes, a Wolfpack single-season record, and did it while the offense was still getting going. Through quarterback changes and injuries, he finished in the Top 10 in the league in catches, yards, touchdowns, and yards per game. 

That is a lot of production, and he is back. There may have been other opportunities. However, when I talked to Aakiel last year, he said JR is loyal to him and gave him this shot. Therefore, he's loyal to JR and the Pack. He continues to show up. Continues to lead, and he continues to set a mark every receiver in the building strives for. 

The 6-4 target out of Saint Augustine's has been in Everett long enough that we all know what he's capable of, and we can't help but be excited that he's back. 

Deshon Williams

Deshon Williams is 6-3, 240 pounds, and plays like the field is too small for everybody else. The twin towers of Greer and Williams are back. Williams has been with the Pack since Day 1. Last year, in his first game back in the Pack uniform, he had a walk-off touchdown. Against Beaumont at home, Williams had six catches for 124 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn't his only multi-touchdown game. Williams is an absolute machine, and he's clutch when time is running out. 

Williams played his college ball at Washington. He's been in this state for awhile now and is ready to continue to succeed with the Wolfpack. He is big enough to run through people and stubborn enough to keep working when the game is messy. Bringing him back for 2027 is one of the moves that doesn't need a sales pitch. We know what he can do. Having him and Greer as the leading receivers gives the Wolfpack one of the best WR duo's in the league. The sky's the limit when these two get going. 

Donyai Dixon

The offense got a lot of attention last year and rightly so. However, the defense, especially in the secondary, was crucial as well. Donyai Dixon was a big part of that, and he's back. 

Dixon is 6-3 and came to Everett by way of UNLV, with stops at Ventura College and CSU-Pueblo before that. The junior-college tape is still the one that really jumps out. At Ventura, he was an All-American and the Northern Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with six interceptions. Three of those went for touchdowns. 

He brought that same habit to the Wolfpack. In the Nashville game, he forced two fumbles, recovered one, and picked off a pass. He plays with a ton of heart and has the size to cover the taller receivers, as well as the speed to keep up with them. Dixon is a Baltimore kid with long arms who plays the ball in the air. That combination works in this league, and Dixon has already shown that for the Pack. He's a huge addition to bring back. 

Lynn Bowden Jr.

Those were the names we knew. Now let's talk about the names you'll know. As a football fan, this signing caught my attention. Lynn Bowden Jr. is a 5-11, 205-pounder who has been a problem for defenses since his days at Warren G. Harding in Ohio. Kentucky fans still talk about 2019. When the Wildcats ran out of quarterbacks, they handed the job to Bowden, a natural receiver, and he ended up leading the SEC in rushing with 1,468 yards. He won the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football, made All-American, and then threw a game-winning touchdown in the Belk Bowl after running for 233 yards. 

The Raiders took him in the third round in 2020. He ended up playing for Miami, New England, and New Orleans. Twenty-six NFL games and a little UFL after that. Through all of it, the same thing stayed true. You can line him up at quarterback, receiver, or in the backfield, and he'll find a way to move the ball. His versatility is a huge asset.

Arena football is built for a player like that. With smaller rosters, having somebody who can contribute all over the field is crucial. Plus with tight spaces, motion, and a desire to create mismatches, Bowden embodies what you're looking for. For a Wolfpack team that learned how to win ugly and win late last year, adding a guy who can do a little of everything is huge. Whatever the depth chart ends up saying for his position, just know he is going to be on it and make big plays. 

Joedrick Lewis

Dixon wasn't the only addition to the secondary. They also brought in defensive back Joedrick Lewis. He's a 5-11 defensive back out of Ball State. The best way to describe him is a ball-hawking defender. He's from Houston and played at Southeast Missouri State and then Ball State. 

At Southeast Missouri State in 2023, he started nine games at free safety, had three interceptions, 10 pass breakups, and finished near the top of the league in passes defended. In 2025 at Ball State, he picked off three more and finished with 29 tackles. He just finds a way to pick the ball off. 

He can also return kicks, which matters in a game where one clean return can flip a game. Lewis looks like the kind of addition Wells will love. Speed, toughness, tenacity, and someone who will force turnovers. He's not just flashy for the sake of it. It's who he is, and he'll find a way to get the ball. 

Hector Cisneros

The last name on this first list of players doesn't come with a pile of highlight-reel stats. He doesn't need them. Offensive linemen are often unsung heroes. Hector Cisneros is a 6-6, 340-pounder out of Reedley College and San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno. You don't need a long scouting report after those numbers. That's a big man. 

Washington's best football last year had a physical edge to it. The wins weren't always pretty, but they were earned. A lineman with this kind of size gives the Pack another option in the trenches, whether he is protecting the quarterback or moving somebody out of the way near the goal line. 

Sure, skill players may sell tickets. However, big guys make the points possible. It starts in the trenches, and Cisneros is ready to run people over and make space for his skill players. 

More names will be coming. However, that's a look at the first six players the Wolfpack have confirmed contracts with. Gear up for 2027 and get ready to Howl in Everett. We all know something special started last year. Now, the Wolfpack will return to keep writing the story, and achieve more of their goals.