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*Reevaluating the S19 ISFL Draft - mithrandir - 08-10-2020 Reevaluating the S19 ISFL Draft The prevailing wisdom in sports media suggests that it takes five years to evaluate a draft class. We love instant draft reactions and grades, but it truly takes a while to determine how well a franchise drafted. Did they develop their players well? Did they retain stars or let them walk after their rookie deals? The S19 class was incredibly small, with only two rounds worth of picks that made an impact on the ISFL. That class has now played five years in the ISFL and this article will evaluate each pick in the first two rounds and the draft class for each franchise. Previous articles in series: S18 New to this edition: TPE rank in draft class 1.1:   Mack Arianlacher LB 728 TPE Arianlacher has been an inconsistent earner his entire career, with a middle of the road amount of TPE for a fifth year player. Arianlacher started out his career with promise, playing Defensive End for the Second Line and racking up 33 tackles for loss and seven sacks in his first three seasons. He won defensive rookie of the year for his efforts, but has failed to make a single Pro Bowl in his first five seasons. After three years in New Orleans, the Second Line lost Arianlacher to Honolulu in expansion. The Hahalua took Mack second overall, making him the first player ever draft by Honolulu. He has had two decent years as a linebacker for the Hahalua but never broke out as an elite player after winning defensive rookie of the year. Despite only staying with NOLA for three seasons, the Second Line did grab the only viable starter at any front seven position in the draft, so they get a decent grade here.  Role: Starter TPE Rank: 9th Grade: B+ 1.2:   Deondre Thomas-Fox QB (Now WR) 748 TPE After three years as a mediocre WR2 behind Action Jackson, DTF had a career year in S22 with the late-career emergence of San Jose QB Dan Wright. With Wright having a career season in his final year, Deondre Thomas-Fox had an electric season, almost leading San Jose to a shocking playoff visit, but just falling short with a week 13 loss to Austin. Nevertheless, Thomas-Fox won ISFL breakout player of the year with 1,022 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl berth. In S23, however, in a new role as primary receiver, he regressed without Action Jackson drawing coverage opposite him and with struggling rookie Monty Jack at quarterback. DTF has been a solid player, but has been outperformed by three receivers drafted after him. Pass catcher was the one deep position group in this draft, and San Jose drafted the wrong one. Role: Starter TPE Rank: 8th Grade: B- 1.3:   Austin McCormick TE 986 TPE As is typical with tight ends, McCormick struggled early on his career. Conventional knowledge says that tight ends typically break out in year 3, and McCormick is a prime example of why it takes five years to evaluate a draft class. McCormick made his first Pro Bowl in his third season with 679 yards and six touchdowns. In S22, he had his best receiving year as a pro, taking on a Jimmy Graham type of role in the offense, playing many of his snaps at wide receiver, and leading all tight ends with 905 receiving yards and hauling in 5 touchdowns. That performance was good enough for a Tight End of the Year Award, and he followed that performance up with another Tight End of the Year Award in S23 in a more traditional role as an inline tight end. With an Ultimus victory, three Pro Bowl appearances, and two positional awards, McCormick is one of the biggest stars in this draft. Role: Star TPE Rank: 5th Grade: A 1.4:   Sean O'Leary WR 1104 TPE O'Leary has been one of the only bright spots for Chicago over the last five seasons. O'Leary has been great for five years, with 4,962 receiving yards over that span in which Chicago has either been last or second-to-last in their division each season. O'Leary is already the franchise leader in every receiving stat and presumably has many more years with the Butchers to grow his lead. O'Leary has been among the very best at the position since entering the league, with a draft class leading four Pro Bowl appearances. He has yet to win a positional award, but perhaps with the emergence of quarterback George O'Donnell, he will finally break through.  Role: Star TPE Rank: 2nd Grade: A+ 1.5:   Kacey Dream CB 1011 TPE After picking up two members of their famed Fanta Curtain in the S18 draft, OCO found another gem in Kacey Dream, the only active cornerback in this draft class and one of the best defenders in the draft. Dream stayed down in the DSFL for one season after this draft, putting together one of the most incredible seasons by a cornerback in DSFL history. He won DSFL MVP that year and was called up to the ISFL the following season. He has yet to make a Pro Bowl but had his first great year in the pros in S23, with 4 interceptions and 18 pass deflections. Despite his lack of individual accolades he has been a strong contributor to the franchise as one of the highest TPE earners in the class. OCO gets a good grade here for grabbing the only starter-level talent at the position. Role: Starter TPE Rank: 4th Grade: A- 1.6:   Sweet James-Jones WR 314 TPE (retired) After grabbing the best wide receiver in the draft at pick four, Chicago tried to double up on elite receivers, taking another two picks later. James-Jones never developed into a threat on the field, and his off-field conduct resulted in his suspension from the league after only two lackluster seasons. Especially painful for Chicago is the success of the wide receiver taken with the very next pick. Role: Bust TPE Rank: N/A retired Grade: F 1.7:   Rayne Gordon WR 971 TPE Coming off a dominant 11-2 season in which they lost they Ultimus, Yellowknife had a loaded roster. They added Gordon with their first round pick to eventually join Nate Swift as a replacement for some aging veteran receivers. Yellowknife only got two seasons with Gordon before losing him to Sarasota during the S22 expansion. Gordon has steadily improved over the last four seasons, making his first Pro Bowl in S23, albeit for a team other than the one who drafted him. Role: Starter TPE Rank: 6th Grade: B- 1.8:   Mason Blaylock FS 1132 TPE Another example of why I wait five years to evaluate drafts. After a send-down season in the DSFL, Blaylock had two pedestrian seasons at safety for New Orleans. In S22, Blaylock finally broke through, winning safety of the year by a narrow margin and appearing in his first Pro Bowl and receiving a nomination for breakout player of the year. In S23, Blaylock doubled-down on his previous breakout season with one of the most impressive statistical seasons by a safety in league history. Blaylock became the first player in the modern rules era and the first since S16 MVP Danny Grithead to have at least 5 interceptions and 10 sacks in a season. He won Safety of the Year and made Pro Bowls in each of the last two seasons and was a top contender for Defensive Player of the Year in S23. He is the best player in this class and fell all the way to eighth overall. Role: Star TPE Rank: 1st Grade: A+ 1.9:   Jayson Kearse DE 618 TPE With Kearse as the last decent defensive player on the board, it's hard to fault Yellowknife for this pick. A solid if not spectacular player, Kearse has not made a Pro Bowl. Kearse played three seasons for the Wraiths before being claimed in the S22 expansion draft by Honolulu.  Role: Starter TPE Rank: 11th Grade: B- 1.10:   Gary Lazer-Eyes S/DE 296 TPE There was not much left on the defensive side of the ball in this shallow draft class. Orange County went with another defensive back with this pick, and later converted him to a pass rusher. He washed out of the league last season, getting cut by the Otters after only four seasons with the team. Role: Backup TPE Rank: 16th Grade: C 2.1:   Stevie Vassallo DE 321 TPE Baltimore's first pick of the draft saw them left with few decent options. They grabbed Vassallo with this pick to be a member of their defensive line. After just one year, however, Vassallo left Baltimore for Chicago, where he has been a serviceable rotational player for four seasons.  Role: Low end starter TPE Rank: 15th Grade: C- 2.2:   Quindarius Tyerucker RB 278 TPE After drafting a wide receiver in round one, the Sabercats took another offensive playmaker in the second round, running back Quindarius Tyerucker. Despite his low TPE totals, Tyerucker played four seasons for San Jose, making the Pro Bowl twice and finishing third in franchise rushing yards. He was eventually usurped by higher earners, and was cut after the S22 regular season. With running back Jed Podolak on the board still, San Jose could have done better here.  Role: Starter TPE Rank: 17th Grade: C+ 2.3:   Jed Podolak RB (now WR) 898 TPE In a draft that saw James-Jones and Thomas-Fox selected early in the first, New Orleans managed to find the better receiver at pick 13. Podolak spent two seasons as the third option in New Orleans before being selected by Honolulu in the expansion draft, a common theme in this draft class. He has thrived as the number one option in Honolulu, making his first Pro Bowl in S23. His early departure results in a lower grade than a draft steal like this deserves. Role: Starter TPE Rank: 7th Grade: B+ 2.4:   Tormund Bjornsson DE 120 TPE (retired) Bjornsson never got called up to the active roster, instead retiring after a few seasons with the Minnesota Grey Ducks. Role: DSFL Player TPE Rank: N/A Grade: F 2.5:   Herbert Prohaska K 345 TPE Prohaska never played a snap in Colorado. Instead, Colorado traded him to NOLA before the season began. Still, leveraging any value out of such a late pick in this shallow draft class is a savvy move and deserves some credit. Role: Starter (for NOLA) TPE Rank: 14th Grade: C+ 2.6:   Jordan Jackson K 250 TPE (Retired) Colorado went back to back kickers here with their only picks of the draft, trading one for future picks and keeping the one they liked better. Unfortunately for Colorado, Jackson retired after kicking for just one season for the team while Prohaska is still alive and kicking for the Second Line. Role: One year starter TPE Rank: N/A Grade: F 2.7:   Avon Blocksdale Jr. QB (now TE) 724 TPE Philadelphia found an absolute gem here. Blocksdale converted from QB to TE and has had great success at the ISFL level, making three straight Pro Bowls. As a GM pick, Philly was able to wait and take a great player after multiple inactives had already been drafted in this weak draft class. I will not give them an A here, though, as this pick was written in stone before the draft, so it was not technically a steal. Role: Starter/Star TPE Rank: 10th Grade: B+ 2.8:   Beat S 517 TPE Mr. Beat never played any games for Arizona, instead getting traded to Chicago for three players, one of which played some valuable snaps for Arizona. He played in Chicago for two years before heading to Sarasota in expansion. This was a solid find this late in the draft and they managed to leverage this pick into a starting WR. Role: Starter (CHI/SAR) TPE Rank: 12th Grade: B- 2.9:   Willie B. Hardagain LB (now WR) 429 TPE (retired) Hardagain also never played for Chicago, but was traded along with Zach Vega and Josh Allen to Arizona in exchange for the previous pick, Beat. Hardagain was never a top level receiver, playing two seasons for Arizona and two for Yellowknife before retiring after S23. Chicago managed to package Hardagain with two others to acquire a solid safety in Beat, the best player involved in the CHI-ARI trade, so they get the better grade. Role: Starter (ARI/YKN) TPE Rank: N/A retired Grade: B+ 2.10:   Brock Phoenix QB 1041 TPE OCO already had a young Franklin Armstrong at this point and were in the midst of their dynasty. However, their GMs made the right move with this pick, taking easily the best player available in Phoenix despite having no need at the QB position. They were able to leverage this late second round pick in a tiny class into a second rounder in S21 by trading Phoenix to the Liberty. This allowed the Otters to grab DT Rapid Eagle, a really solid piece for their defensive line, which they got for basically nothing when only inactives were left on the draft board after Phoenix. Phoenix has yet to make a Pro Bowl for Philly, but is third in QB TPE and no longer has to contend with Cooter Bigsby for Pro Bowl appearances. Role: Starter/Franchise QB for PHI TPE Rank: 3rd Grade: A Other Notable Selections: The rest of the small draft class did not produce anyone of note except for QB Zach Vega, who after spending some time in the DSFL, made a brief appearance in S22 for Sarasota before being replaced by Rose Jenkins. Team Grades:   Arizona Outlaws: B- Only had one late pick in the first two rounds of this draft but managed to get a rotational wide receiver.   Austin Copperheads: N/A They had no picks of consequence in this one, so I'll defer judgement.   Baltimore Hawks: C- Grabbed a replacement-level defensive lineman with the eleventh overall pick who left after just one season.   Chicago Butchers: B They had one of the best picks of the draft in O'Leary, a franchise-changing receiver, but also had the worst pick with draft bust WR Sweet James-Jones. Traded for a decent safety as well, so they came away with two starters from a bad draft class.  Colorado Yeti: C- Drafted two kickers in the second round but kept the wrong one.  New Orleans Second Line: A+ People might call me biased as a current Second Line player, but they loaded up on picks in this draft, took four of the top nine players in total TPE, and drafted the only two players in this class to win positional awards, with McCormick and Blaylock both winning their positional awards in both S22 and S23. Blaylock is the best player from this draft class in both TPE and individual accomplishments. If Arianlacher and Podolak had not been claimed in expansion, the Second Line would have four high level players from a class with less than 15 active players still in the league.   Orange County Otters: A- They snagged two of the top four earners in this class. They got a great CB talent in Dream, a backup defender in Lazer-Eyes, and managed to turn a practically useless pick into a S21 high level starter.   Philadelphia Liberty: B+ Did not have much draft capital in this one but got their obligatory GM selection in this draft, three time Pro Bowl tight end Blockdale Jr.   San Jose Sabercats: C+ Not a great draft. They got a solid WR and a solid RB in this draft, but passed on better options at both positions, most notably taking Deondre Thomas-Fox instead of Sean O'Leary, Austin McCormick, or Rayne Gordon.   Yellowknife Wraiths: C- The Wraiths had two solid picks in Gordon and Kearse, but both left in expansion leaving them empty handed. Early second rounder Bjornsson was a total whiff.  That's all for this short edition of reevaluation draft classes. Until next season, Mithrandir RE: Reevaluating the S19 ISFL Draft - Nokazoa - 08-10-2020 Time to update and flex all the TPE I have RE: Reevaluating the S19 ISFL Draft - Blueline - 08-10-2020 Great article. I had no idea that my player led the franchise receiving stats. Thanks for this write up and showing me that.