Battlehawks’ Hakeem Butler Turns Another All-UFL Season Into an NFL Pitch

Hakeem Butler is coming off another productive UFL run, and his message to the NFL is simple: he is ready when the opportunity arrives. The St. Louis Battlehawks receiver, listed at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds, followed up an All-UFL season by leading the league in receiving yards (641) and yards per catch (22.1) in 2026. He also won the UFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2024, and Proehl believes Butler’s combination of size and big-play ability should translate beyond spring football.

The subplot is that Butler’s professional path has been less about production than timing. Originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he missed his rookie season due to a broken hand, then spent time with multiple NFL organizations before settling into a role where his talent became a centerpiece again. On the Battlehawks, Proehl has worked directly with Butler since he joined the organization in 2023, building the matchup awareness and two-way play style the coach thinks NFL evaluators have not fully seen.

Proehl’s argument is not that Butler lacks tools. It is that he has not been given enough of the right kind of chance early. “No one ever gives him a chance to where he gets comfortable,” Proehl told FOX Sports. “It’s like, if he doesn’t have success early, ‘OK, get rid of him. He can’t do it.’” Proehl also framed Butler as a possible hybrid tight end/receiver at the next level, drawing a comparison to Greg Olsen’s kind of profile.

On the field, Proehl pointed to improved speed as one concrete example. He cited a 75-yard catch-and-run against the D.C. Defenders earlier in the season in which Butler reached 22 mph. Proehl added that Butler is not a distraction, saying the receiver’s competitiveness shows up in how he communicates when the offense is not getting him targets, rather than through frustration. Butler, for his part, said he has moved beyond trying to prove a point. “At this point I’m just trying to be the best version of myself,” he said, adding that he is “cool” with whatever role he is brought in to play.

That conversation is occurring alongside the Battlehawks’ current title chase. St. Louis will host the Louisville Kings in a UFL semifinal on Sunday, June 7, at 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET) from the Dome at America’s Center, with the winner advancing to the United Bowl. FOX Sports noted the Battlehawks are the only franchise to qualify for the playoffs in each of the UFL’s first three seasons. St. Louis has also shown volatility heading into the weekend, losing two of its last three games, even after beating Louisville earlier this year, 16-3.

For Butler, the next step is straightforward but difficult: keep producing when attention tightens. Proehl said St. Louis is planning to “go back to the basics,” focusing on getting the ball out quickly and getting it to Butler in a way that relieves pressure on quarterback Louis Perez. If Butler can deliver chunk plays and keep forcing single coverage or mismatch looks, it will add another data point to the question the NFL keeps treating as unfinished business: whether his game can be packaged as more than a highlight-maker, and instead as an everyday threat. There is still no confirmation of an NFL call, but Sunday’s game provides a stage where Butler’s skill set is hard to ignore.