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+---- Thread: *Significance of Wraiths Trades (/showthread.php?tid=3366)
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - kckolbe - 08-16-2017
Spike Crown may be building a reputation for himself as an expert wheeler and dealer, but what yesterday’s two franchise-altering trades really revealed is that the general manager of the Yellowknife Wraiths can not be trusted to build a team through the draft.
While this season’s Wraiths may be known as an offensive powerhouse carrying a weak defense, that had not always been the case. Yellowknife had boasted a very impressive offense in Season One, finishing 2nd in points scored and 4th in yards gained. What has been glossed over, though, was that the defense was right there with them. The Wraiths defense was 3rd in both points and yards allowed. In fact, the stingy defense may have been the reason the Wraiths scored more points than their below average yardage should have warranted. After losing defensive end Tyler Varga, defensive tackle Mark Ramrio, wide receiver Alexander LeClaire and linebacker Sinjin Flimjollywop to the newly forming Las Vegas Legion in the offseason, Yellowknife was given a large assortment of draft picks to replace their lost talent with, and General Manager Spike Crown clearly intended to do that.
His first move was to trade up and grab Dermot Lavelle, not only a top prospect, but also the cornerback who had played on waivers with the Wraiths in Season One. Many, myself included, hailed the trade and the ensuing pick as a sign of loyalty, just a team getting one of their own guys back. However, now that the Season Two draft class is over halfway over, it seems that Crown was simply afraid to waste a high pick on an unknown. If Season Two so far is any indication, he was right to be.
While Lavelle has been everything he was expected to be, that should not be surprising given that he spent his entire pre-rookie year (an odd, yet not uncommon, occurrence in the NSFL) with the Wraiths. Not only did he have talent, he had an entire season with the team for Crown and his scouts to evaluate his fit on the team. We give this pick a solid A+, but that doesn’t really say much about Crown’s scouting prowess. Had he missed on the pick despite all that, he would have been fired by now. Even Matt Millen could have nailed a pick like that after a couple of tries.
His next pick, at number five overall, was defensive tackle Bork Bjornsson. Having lost Mark Ramrio and Tyler Varga, this was a very sensible pick. Bork was a large presence on the defensive line in college, and his mass would clearly be an asset on a defensive line that was sorely lacking in physical strength. The pick would be even more important given that the Wraiths would not draft another defensive lineman this year, meaning that Bjornsson would have to anchor a 3-4 defensive line on his own. Unfortunately, Bjornsson would actually lose some of his impressive size by the early season, now lacking the mass to really eat up double teams as effectively as expected. Overall, we’d have to give this a B. The talent was there, but he wasn’t the right fit for the team, which has now fallen to last place in rushing yards allowed.
Coverage Linebacker Kevin Cushing was selected 13th overall, clearly intended to replace Sinjin Flimjollywop, but that just hasn’t been the case. Currently, Cushing trails the Legion player in passes defensed and interceptions. Even more indicting of his failure, A.C. Hackett was acquired via trade from San Jose. The new Wraith is one of the league leaders at the position, but was seemingly brought in to do what Cushing can not. If anything shows that Cushing’s acquisition was a failure, surely a player that fulfills not only the same role, but the same niche role, provides that evidence. With zero interceptions, zero passes defensed, only one sack and 57 tackles (tied for 11th in the league), we can’t grade the Cushing pick as any higher than a D. After all, being graded one of the most disappointing linebackers in the league is not exactly what you want from a second round pick.
At 25th overall, the Wraiths went on to pick strong safety Marcus Kane. The pick made sense from a scheme standpoint. With the defensive line significantly weakened and the replacement linebacker seeming to be a coverage-focused player, the Wraiths would need another able tackler on the field unless they wanted to be horrible on the field (spoiler: they would be extremely horrible). Unfortunately, Kane has not been that person. Through nine games, free safety Alex Hansen and cornerback Levon Novel have both had more tackles. In addition, cornerback Dermot Lavelle has just as many. Does this sound like the kind of player who has been a factor in the tackling game?
After four straight defensive picks, the Wraiths finally decided to shore up their defensive line, with Season Two waiver rentals Busters Brownce and D’Brickashaw Ferguson needing replacement. The idea made sense, but Tyron Smith, selected 29th overall, was just not worthy of the pick. After negotiating a fairly impressive rookie contract (11 million over 3 years), Smith’s work ethic seemingly disappeared. While arguably a bigger disappointment than Kevin Cushing, Smith was still an upgrade at a difficult position to find talent in, and the fourth round pick was nowhere as significant. We give this a C.
Trivia question: What do wide receiver Darren Smallwood, linebacker Luke Chunk, offensive linewonman Jazzy J, running back Domantas Sabonis, and cornerback Rafael Reyes all have in common? If you answered “they were all drafted by Yellowknife and now play somewhere else in the league” you would be wrong. Sabonis, somehow, doesn’t play anywhere, having retired within a couple of months of signing. Let’s look them all over.
Jazzy J was traded to the Liberty, along with a pick next year, for Matt James, who has also been a complete bust. At least James was cheaper.
Rafael Reyes and Jonathan Shaloiko were traded for Levon Novel and Damien West. This trade is a bit harder to make sense of as Novel converted to CB, meaning that the trade consisted of a wide receiver and a cornerback for a wide receiver and a cornerback. West was clearly an upgrade over Shaloiko, but Reyes may turn out to be an upgrade over Novel. This was a short term win for Yellowknife, but Baltimore may benefit more in the long run.
Luke Chunk, along with a pick next year, was traded to San Jose for AC Hackett. Hackett had seemed as though he lacked long term interest in San Jose, and with his contract winding down, Crown took the risk of losing everything to send Chunk, who had been starting as a defensive end AND give up a mid round pick for the opportunity to lock up one of the best linebackers in the league. If it works out, the Wraith’s defense will improve vastly. If not, Yellowknife will find a way to get even colder.
Darren Smallwood, along with two future picks, was traded to San Jose for Bailey Cook. This is far and away the biggest trade, and for multiple reasons. One, the Wraiths gave up more for Cook than they did for all their other acquisitions COMBINED. Two, it’s the only trade where they gave up a 1st or even second round pick. Three, perhaps most importantly, it’s the only trade that didn’t, in some way, add value to the Wraiths defense, which is the side of the ball they really needed help with.
That’s four future draft picks given up since the Season Two draft, with an overall focus on helping the offense. Now, if the defense is where the help is most needed, why focus the offense? I believe it comes down to both value and realization of limits. Crown, for all his negotiating skill, has not gotten what he expected out of his defensive draft picks. Despite a massive investment, it just hasn’t been that great. Offense, on the other hand, has bailed the team out of some tough games. I think his theory is that if he can just add one BIG weapon to help Orosz, then the defense will be on the field less AND will be able to get away with giving up more points.
All that remains to be seen is what happens with next year’s picks. Despite the huge loss of draft capital, the Wraiths still hold three picks in the first two rounds, one of them the #2 overall. Their weakness at defensive line will definitely be their biggest need, but will they know which rookie to draft? Or, with Crown now doubting his drafting ability, will they just trade for a veteran?
((1459 words, give 10% to @RainDelay, 10% to @Deusolis, 10% to @Bzerkap))
GRADED
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - Bzerkap - 08-16-2017
Great article!
Quite a fair evaluation of my ability as a GM. I've made some poor gambles and some good guesses. I believe the rest of the season and the S3 draft will be what defines my legacy. I have confidence I will hit on all three of our picks.
I would say the biggest negative to my drafting was mistiming the OL and DL runs very early in the draft and not coming away with a haul. I won't make that mistake again this year. Our team is solid all the way around and this game is won in the trenches, so I intend to upgrade that.
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - kckolbe - 08-16-2017
(08-16-2017, 11:07 AM)Bzerkap Wrote:Great article!
Quite a fair evaluation of my ability as a GM. I've made some poor gambles and some good guesses. I believe the rest of the season and the S3 draft will be what defines my legacy. I have confidence I will hit on all three of our picks.
I would say the biggest negative to my drafting was mistiming the OL and DL runs very early in the draft and not coming away with a haul. I won't make that mistake again this year. Our team is solid all the way around and this game is won in the trenches, so I intend to upgrade that.
Three DEs were picked right after Tyron Smith. That hit your plan pretty hard, I bet. I could have written it that way, felt more like being a douche.
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - bovovovo - 08-16-2017
(08-16-2017, 12:55 PM)kckolbe Wrote:His next pick, at number five overall, was defensive tackle Bork Bjornsson....Overall, we’d have to give this a B.
First of all, how dare you.
Secondly, yeah you're probably right lol
Great article as always :cheers:
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - Bzerkap - 08-16-2017
(08-16-2017, 12:10 PM)kckolbe Wrote:Three DEs were picked right after Tyron Smith. That hit your plan pretty hard, I bet. I could have written it that way, felt more like being a douche.It always is lol. Great article again
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - ErMurazor - 08-16-2017
Pretty good article.
I think you're selling the Liberty short guaranteeing that they're going to be the second worst team in the league. I don't think the Legion will pass them and San Jose is doing their best "Suck for Luck" impression.
I wouldn't be surprised if that pick turns into #3 overall.
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - SimmerDownBruhh - 08-16-2017
It's Alexandre LeClair*
Other than that, another very well thought out article by you, my brotha!
#WraithsNation
*Significance of Wraiths Trades - kckolbe - 08-16-2017
(08-16-2017, 11:48 AM)ErMurazor Wrote:Pretty good article.
I think you're selling the Liberty short guaranteeing that they're going to be the second worst team in the league. I don't think the Legion will pass them and San Jose is doing their best "Suck for Luck" impression.
I wouldn't be surprised if that pick turns into #3 overall.
Yeah, with the Cats having lost to the Legion and likely to lose to either the Outlaws or Yeti at home, I think you are absolutely correct. I was thinking they had one more win, shoulda checked.