Intro:
Time for what I believe is the largest class in the league. With a total of sixteen prospects, this is going to be a long article, if we don’t split it into two. This one, in my opinion, should have the largest variety between players and the most to talk about just based on pure numbers. I’m excited to see how it goes.
Art here - we’re going to skip any more methodology since there’s a lot of wide receivers to get through. But as a reminder you can review the maths used here. So let’s just show the pretty chart and get into the action.
![[Image: 5VQnW1m.png]](https://i.imgur.com/5VQnW1m.png)
Color code for S26:
26 - Tugg Speedman, 17 - Raphael Delacour, 15 - Mario Messi, 16 - Quavious McGrady, 18 - Schumi Hulkenvettel, 20 - Tater Tosser, 9 - Joey Brady, 13 - Kemorian Moore, 10 - John Smith, 11 - Johnathan Smith, 6 - Dick Grayson, 2 - Arthur Naught, 12 - Johnny Football, 8 - Jalen Washington, 14 - Lalo Salamanca
Color code for S25:
7 - Harley Frank, 0 - Adam C. Spencer, 5 - Crayne Whebet, 22 - Willy Weasel, 1 - Alexander Johnson, 19 - Sory An’Tyler, 3 - Brandon Kirwin, 4 - Bulldog Willard
Explaining the graph:
Yeah, this one’s a bit of a mess due to the sheer volume of wide receiver prospects. But there’s insights to be gained. It's tempting to look at the non-WR stats to see where the pile ups happen, but that only signals the archetype (as I don’t know a wide receiver putting TPE into arm). Instead we can see interesting results from the vertical axis that represent key stats for wide receivers, and it gives us a sense of where each colored line falls amongst their peers. Speed and hands sure do get busy as all lines intersect at unique locations, a good sign we have a diverse set of starting builds and interesting TPE allocations.
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User: zakkyjohns
Color # in chart above: 21
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Tugg Speedman
S25 Match: Adam C. Spencer
Cosine Similarity: 0.942
Other notable matches: Zach Crossley (0.876), Brandon Kirwin (0.862)
Distinguishing attributes: High AGI, High HND, Medium SPD
Why it works:
Art - Let's get it started with zakkyjohns’ player Tugg Speedman who’s matched to Adam C. Spencer. Tugg has a lot of TPE applied and a lot of TPE waiting to be applied after the next update, putting him near if not at the forefront of the S26 loaded WR class (loaded in quantity, at least). So it makes sense that he’s paired with ISFL veteran AdamS’ Adam C. Spencer who’s also a top earner for the S25 class. With the build available from the TPE tracker, Tugg’s main strengths in agility and hands mirrors Adam’s extremely high agility and hands. And while Tugg’s speed is a work in progress (normalized to 0.42) so too is Adam’s (normalized to 0.52). For a first match, I think we’ve hit it out of the park.
Hordle- So like you’ve already pointed out, Tugg’s got a lot of TPE. Judging by his most recent update he’s got 126 TPE which puts him at the top of the class. Adam and Tugg’s are both route runners so it would make sense for their builds to end up going the same way. Tugg’s approach with his TPE seems to be spreading it out between the three major stats. With Speed and Agility being the main focus. It’ll be interesting to see if Tugg’s can get some separation with those higher attributes to allow him to make some easy grabs.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - This is actually fairly tough, since I like the comparison between Tugg Speedman and Adam C. Spencer. If I was to nitpick, then Adam’s hands are the highest in his S25 WR cohort, while Tugg only has the second best hands (in a 4-way tie). Otherwise they even both also share medium intelligence in their classes and medium-high speed. Clearly we can’t rely on the builds for why this doesn’t work, you have anything Hordle?
Hordle- Not really. I agree with you that these two are a good match. Other than some minor stat differences, with Adam obviously having a bit more time to earn TPE, I feel like these two are about even. Tugg’s got some time between now and the first game of the season to earn some more TPE and I think he’s gonna fit well on any team in need of a technical route runner.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Tuggs is fast with great hands. Which is what you want in a WR, there isn’t a jump stat in the sim. So he could probably jump 30ft if you asked him too. The point is that Tugg’s is in a great position to go early if a team needs a WR. Gonna make a bold prediction and say that he’ll be a #1 WR before too long and may even break a record or two in his first season if him and his QB find that chemistry.
Art - Yeah high hopes here for Tugg Speedman. I’m going to be watching how he places his TPE, but really at this point you’ve got to hope Tugg gets a DSFL home that has a QB who can get the ball in the air to him. If you get it in his wheelhouse, Tugg’s taking it to the bank.
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User: 37thchamber
Color # in chart above: 17
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Raphael Delacour
S25 Match: Brandon Kirwin
Cosine Similarity: 0.936
Other notable matches: Adam C. Spencer (0.823), Willy Weasel (0.828)
Distinguishing attributes: High INT, High HND, Medium AGI
Why it works:
Art - In a 180 degree turn from the first match, we now have an ISFL veteran recreate in 37thchamber’s Raphael Delacour being matched with caveman3752’s Brandon Kirwin, who has been inactive since August 13 according to a quick profile check. Man what a change in pace. Well, lets see why the maths thought this was a good decision. If we check out the builds we can clearly see the comparisons. Here’s a run through of the normalized stats for Delacour: agility at 1.04, intelligence at 1.04, speed at 0.28 and hands at 1.34. Now we grab Kirwin’s: agility at 0.97, intelligence at 0.81, speed at -0.14 and hands at 1.37. Some clear similarities in these builds compared to their cohort at least - an emphasis on agility, hands, and (causing the differentiation) intelligence at the cost of speed. For now, at least, you can respect the match, right Hordle?
Hordle- We’ve been here before talking about a recreate. Obviously Chamber knows what they’re doing. Raphael’s got 151 TPE as of the 16th, and can claim a few more before the draft announcement comes on the 2nd of October. 70 speed and 70 hands, he’s going to be reliable and create separation. I do think it’s a bit surprising that he was connected to someone who has been inactive and doesn’t even have an update page. I would have loved to see the comparison between him and Adam C. Spencer. But it is what it is. The two have a very similar stat line, so it makes sense that they were paired together. Chamber’s got nothing to fear about being better than Brandon Kirwin.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - I mean I think I alluded to the point above, but in terms of activity 37thchamber already has more TPE applied than caveman ever did with Brandon Kirwin. So, on one side, Raphael Delacour echoes the build of the ghost of Kirwin, but clearly we’ll now get to see what Kirwin might’ve turned into if the user had kept active. An interesting proposition, considering how different Delacour already appears from most of his S26 class. And in the hands of an ISFL veteran, this should be fun.
Hordle- You’ve pretty much covered it here. An active recreate vs and inactive is unfortunate but that’s math. Delacour’s already ahead of the pack, imo and definitely ahead of Kirwin. It’ll be exciting to see where he goes. I can totally see him and Tuggs competing for some awards down the line.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Not too much to cover with this one. Chamber is active and a recreate. The vet knows what he’s doing.
Art - Exactly. Question will be how high Chamber can fly this season and see what comes out of his (I’m sure brief after a ISFL callup) DSFL career.
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User: KingSean
Color # in chart above: 15
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Mario Messi
S25 Match: Willy Weasel
Cosine Similarity: 0.903
Other notable matches: Zach Crossley (0.854), Brandon Kirwin (0.885)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD, Medium HND, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - Onto number 3 we go, and we have Mario Messi paired to Willy Weasel. Like Adam C.Spencer, Willy Weasel is a S25 player who will come up a fair bit in this article - a quick peek at the numbers explains why: Weasel is right in the middle sweet spot for agility, medium-low on speed and high on hands. So if you have a build meant to catch and with some agility, you’re going to see a Weasel pairing as either the primary or secondaries. As is the case here with KingSean’s Mario Messi - using the build pulled from the TPE tracker there’s an emphasis on hands, speed and intelligence. So the agility is a close match, as are the hands, but the speed is an interesting angle that doesn’t quite lend itself to Weasel being the best match for Messi (as Mario has a 0.83 normalized speed, and Weasel is 0.59). All in all though, the math mostly checks out.
Hordle- Two more route runners. No one’s surprised at that, so let's just get into it. Mario is currently standing at 112 TPE as of the 19th of September. Though his update hasn’t gone through yet, he is currently standing with 82 speed and 70 hands as well as 70 agility. With Weasels last update as of the 11th of august, he is standing at 79 speed and 61 hands. They match perfectly on agility. But Mario already has the advantage with speed and hands. At this point I’m fully expecting everyone to just match with Spencer but obviously that’s not the case. With a glance of the naked eye we can see that Mario is ahead in stats, like I already mentioned. However the math is pulling from the tracker. So at the time that the information was pulled then they were/are more than likely a lot closer in comparison.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - At the same time, I actually really like Crossley as a comparison - just better speed compared to Weasel. And Weasel’s user, Weasel07, has not been on the site since August 18th - so for pure activity I see Crossley’s user ajtigger as a much better baseline for KingSean. So while I can certainly see the Weasel match, I think that there’s some room for a better alignment to match the user.
Hordle - Like I said, Mario is already ahead of Weasel with his last update. 112 TPE for Mario vs the 89 for Weasel.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Mario is blazing fast. At 82 speed he is just 13 stat points away from being at the speed cap. Of course that will be a little harder to reach with the total TPE cost being higher and the 250 TPE total cap of the minors. But he can get right on the edge if he chooses to do so. I can see him also focusing more on hands or agility now to give himself a bit more of an edge against the rest of the class.
Art - Definitely, the build decisions for Mario will be interesting to watch. Not so much at the end of the day, since I have no doubt that Messi is going to turn into a stud in the DSFL (and later ISFL), but in the early weeks of the DSFL. Does KingSean double down on speed at the cost of the other wide receiver relevant attributes? That’s what I’m watching.
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User: DolHaveTheSause
Color # in chart above: 16
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Quavious McGrady
S25 Match: Bulldog Willard
Cosine Similarity: 0.854
Other notable matches: Mark Callous (0.749), Mark Walker (0.749)
Distinguishing attributes: High STR, Medium SPD, High HND
Why it works:
Art - DolHaveTheSause’s Quavious McGrady gets matched with Bulldog Willard, who in the TPE tracker has 50 TPE applied - a low water mark that we’ll move past to analyze the buld and why we got this match itself. First glimpse provides the answer, both have a substantially higher normalized strength than their draft cohort peers in their position: McGrady with 0.04 normalized strength and Willard with -0.55, which is low compared to the overall S25 cohort but is tied for the highest among S25 wide receivers. They also both have relatively high hands attributes, both around 1.34 normalized for their cohort. So strong and nice catching hands, seems like a decent match eh Hordle?
Hordle - Decent match indeed, McGrady was online as soon as yesterday and so was Bulldog. So the two aren’t exactly inactive. Both have similar stat lines and both have the same archetype. Which surprisingly to me is not a route runner but a redzone threat. So we finally have a different archetype to look at. Both have similar strengths like you mentioned with McGrady sitting at 51 and Bulldog at 50. Good speed and good hands. Likely to see both making plays in the redzone looking for some high floated balls.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - I’ll stick to the build for now. McGrady holds an advantage on speed that puts him, relative to the draft cohort, much stronger than Willard (0.58 normalized SPD to -0.07 normalized SPD). If we look at Mark Callous, the secondary pick tied with Mark Walker in cosine similarity to Quavious McGrady, then we notice a similarity in high hands relative to the class and higher speeds, albeit that Callous and Walker have much greater relative speeds versus McGrady to his peers. What do you have Hordle?
Hordle- McGrady’s speed is indeed higher at 77 but not by too much. Bulldog currently has higher hands then McGrady as well. So I believe the math might have taken the two against each other. But I believe that Callous would have also been a good pick. Realistically here I’m just arguing for why it works again.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Similar activity could be an issue but it seems that McGrady is checking the forms and updating if nothing else. Which is a good sign. A low intelligence could lead to some costly mistakes but his speed and hands might be able to get him away from trouble. All in all I think McGrady is filling into the role he will be given by whatever team decides to pick him up. Get past your blocker and get that ball. Look for some contested balls in the air with McGrady’s 51 strength.
Art - When a player starts off with some interesting allocations and build decisions, its exciting to see where they go. McGrady has the highest strength in the S26 prospect pool - does he double down and keep building unique, or revert to the norm and just keep that 51 strength as an outlier? Looking forward to seeing how he progresses and the results on the field.
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User: Bauer
Color # in chart above: 18
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Schumi Hulkenvettel
S25 Match: Alexander Johnson
Cosine Similarity: 0.925
Other notable matches: Sory An’Tyler (0.923), Willy Weasel (0.889)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD, High AGI
Why it works:
Art - Next up is Bauer’s wide receiver Schumi Hulkenvettel. I’m going to use the first name on this one, since that last name is a squint and type one. So Schumi has been matched to Alexander Johnson, of 85 TPE and graduate of Norfolk. Let’s peek under the hood. Johnson has medium agility, medium speed and high hands relative to his draft class peers in S25. McGrady has high agility, high speed, and medium hands relative to his draft class peers. In real numbers, only speed is a close similarity between the two of them - Schumi with a relative speed normalized to 0.83 and Johnson with a speed normalized to 0.52. I guess we can count on pure foot speed for this match, Hordle?
Hordle - I really want to tell people to not draft this guy just because of that last name. But there have been worse names. Regardless, that's not the point of this article. Now we’re looking at speed receivers which is honestly my favorite type. Both of these players' speeds are very close together, it makes sense that on that stat alone they’d be compared. Johnson is rocking 81 as of the 23rd. While Schumi is at 78. The races between these two will be fun to watch in the future.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - I mean while speed is similar, I don’t think agility or hands are similar between Schumi and Johnson. Both metrics are off by at least 0.5 normalized for the draft class, essentially half of a standard deviation. Sory An’Tyler only has worse hands than Johnson, which does bring them closer to Schumi’s realm of hand skill relative to draft peers. Neither Johnson or An’Tyler match Schumi’s speed relative to draft peers, which I think as a wide receiver is Schumi’s calling card in this crowded field. Both are also substantially off Schumi’s agility. Any other reasons they don’t match?
Hordle- Schumi currently has the lowest hands that we’ve seen resting at 60 while Johnson’s is at 70 with a lot of the other WR’s we’ve looked at. This could cause problems in the future for the wide receiver if this skill doesn’t rise. I think Schumi’s agility will set him out from the rest of the group in the speed receivers category.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Schumi is a recreate and Bauer has already played another position that requires speed. Schumi’s fast and agile. But his hands may come back to hurt him. However paired with a QB that can launch the ball deep. I think Schumi can make a name for himself by chasing deep balls down. If his speed continues to rise then he can get major separation and he’ll be just fine.
Art - Definitely agree. Schumi’s in great hands with Bauer here, but I’m looking to see if Schumi keeps on the speed-first train or if hands get some love too moving forward. And if Bauer elects to invest only in speed to other attributes, what does that mean for sim results? Excited to find out.
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User: PuttingMCBedsTogether
Color # in chart above: 20
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Tater Tosser
S25 Match: Harley Fank
Cosine Similarity: 0.956
Other notable matches: Noah Akerele (0.952), Killian Chambers (0.949)
Distinguishing attributes: Medium HND, Medium AGI
Why it works:
Art - Tater Tosser gets tossed together with Harley Fank, the top earner of the S25 draft class with some 244 TPE applied according to the TPE tracker. If we stick to the builds and the pure maths, then agility and intelligence can account for the majority of this high cosine similarity. Tosser has a 1.04 normalized agility while Frank has a normalized 0.94. Both have under -1 relative intelligence. The comparison breaks down on speed - Frank is much quicker relative to the draft class than Tosser is relative to his, but hands are not too far off. All in all, the comparison is what I’d call decent based on an eye test of their builds. What do you think Hordle?
Hordle - Another group of speedy boys. I think this is pretty much summed up. But I agree with you, I think this is mostly based on speed as it is one of the main focuses of the Archetype. Tater’s got the speed to build on.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Well it might be too early to sound the alarms, but we haven’t seen PuttingMcBedsTogether in a little while (since September 17th) and poor Tater Tosser is starting to lose the TPE advantage they had with an early update. With no Ultimus Week or Mock Draft posts, Tosser is going to be at a slight disadvantage moving forward and probably won’t be able to lead the class in TPE like their match Harley Fank. But I’d definitely love to be proven wrong here Hordle.
Hordle- Art, I’m hoping the IA is just a bump in the road. Tater could still make up ground before the first game of the season. But he’s not gonna be anywhere near Fank’s level. Regardless of that, he’s currently going against his s26 competition and not Fank. If he can get back on the grind and raise that speed up he’ll be fine.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Like Art mentioned, Tater hasn’t been on for about two weeks. Causing him to miss out on some free TPE while others in his class are shooting ahead. I am also disappointed that he didn’t make a QB with a name like Tater Tosser. But that’s not my place to judge. If Tater can come back and be active again I’m sure he’ll be fine. If not this maybe a WR that sees an early retirement.
Art - Hordle’s got it. I’ll be watching for activity and hopefully a resurgence of the Tater Tosser.
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User: Exogorthian
Color # in chart above: 9
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Joey Brady
S25 Match: Willy Weasel
Cosine Similarity: 0.940
Other notable matches: Adam C. Spencer (0.926), Zach Crossley (0.872)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND, Medium AGI, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - Next we have Joey Brady matched to Willy Weasel (the Weasel strikes again! - as you’ll see the Weasel either has a very average build, or just connects well to this crop of wide receivers - he’s constantly in either primary or secondary matches. Almost as many as Adam C. Spencer). But moving onto Joey Brady, the match seems to be mostly built around agility and hands - once again the two attributes (mixed with average intelligence) that calls the Weasel out as a match. What do you think Hordle?
Hordle - Starting to lose some steam just based on the size of this class compared to the first two articles. Regardless we press on! Weasels nor Spencer are a bad standard to be compared to. Both are Route Runners like Brady so both are going to have similar stats. I think you covered everything for this one.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Our other Willy Weasel match so far was Mario Messi, so in part this means we can draw a line from Messi to Brady (ironic given the names chosen) through the power of analogies. The problem is that Messi has some wicked speed that separates him from Brady, and Brady for his part has slightly better hands. Which ones are a better match for Weasel? I’d say Joey Brady is the one to mark here. And, unfortunately, Brady hasn’t gotten an update page out yet so here’s hoping that he doesn’t follow in Weasel’s steps in terms of activity. But for now - decent match, I’d say.
Hordle - I think that’s the biggest thing. Inactivity may end up being their biggest match. But Brady and Weasels stats are in similar boats. Like you mentioned, I think they are the closer match then Weasel and Messi.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Activity is going to be a huge issue. Brady has been on in the last few days. But hasn’t gotten out an update page yet. He’s going to be missing out on free TPE if he doesn’t get one soon and this may be a better match then their stats is their activity level.
Art - Another user where what to watch is if they return and how much they earn, not so much the build decisions they’ll make. Here’s hoping they channel this match and go on for a long and successful career.
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User: Glizzy
Color # in chart above: 13
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Kemorian Moore
S25 Match: Sory An’Tyler
Cosine Similarity: 0.943
Other notable matches: Alexander Johnson (0.921), Willy Weasel (0.858)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD
Why it works:
Art - Alright another S26 prospect and a new S25 comparison to evaluate. Let’s see what we got with Kemorian Moore from Glizzy and why the maths thought that Sory An’Tyler was a good fit. Looking at the initial build (all we have to work on), Kemorian Moore put the initial TPE into speed at the expense of other wide out attributes like hands or agility that we’ve seen other WRs go with. Sory An’Tyler, for their part, has the lowest relative hands normalized to the S25 draft cohort. The lower normalized hands relative to the other WR in the cohort is most likely the basis for this match, which is perhaps a little unfair to these players compared to other reasons.
Hordle - So this is an interesting comparison for me. Sory is a speed receiver while Kemorian is a possession receiver. The two are very close in speed, off by only one point I believe? Would make sense why, like previous entries, that this comparison was made.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Well it discounts Kemorian Moore’s speed relative to the rest of the group. With a 0.96 (the highest normalized value of any WR prospect from initial builds) Moore is uniquely positioned within the group to have a head start when it comes to pure footspeed. Yeah maybe the other attributes are lower, but Sory An’Tyler’s speed is not a standout in their class (only half a standard deviation greater than the mean for any S25 player). That’s a change in probability of roughly 15% given a standard distribution. So while I like An’Tyler’s build on some aspects for a match, there’s definitely room for improvement here.
Hordle- My biggest gripe with this comparison is the hands. Sory’s got a 55 in hands. That’s twenty points lower than Kemorian. Sure WR need speed regardless of archetype. But I feel like there were better choices with the other WR’s in the last class. Johnson probably would have been better in my opinion.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Activity hurts. Kemorian appears to not be active in over a month. Which is a really bad sign. Losing out on a lot of free TPE is one thing. But being IA will lead the player to an early retirement.
Art - We sound like a broken record by now, but its clear activity is important in this league. Out of the wide receiver’s we’ve seen so far, we can characterize into two groups: those we want to see more active, and those we’re just excited to watch. I’m hoping Kemorian Moore is in the latter.
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User: Gooney
Color # in chart above: 10
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: John Smith
S25 Match: Sory An’Tyler
Cosine Similarity: 0.943
Other notable matches: Alexander Johnson (0.921), Willy Weasel (0.858)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD
Why it works:
Art - Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t, but Gooney and Glizzy started with identical builds and that’s what we imported. So unfortunately, we’re gonna be copy/pasting from the above breakdown - essentially the match seems to be based on relatively lower hands and agility to the rest of the draft cohort.
Hordle - See above. These two are the same archetype at the very least. Same hands, close if not identical speed.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Beyond the build difference noted above for Kemorian Moore (that this match discounts John Smith’s investment in starting speed right out of the gate, which is significantly greater than Sory An’Tyler’s speed relative to the other wide receivers in the S25 class), we can point to some other differentiators not just between An’Tyler and Smith, but also Kemorian Moore and Smith. For instance, while Gooney is a veteran of the ISFL who joined in 2017, Glizzy is new after joining just this past September. Any other differences we can find Hordle?
Hordle - Not really Art, I believe this is pretty much identical to the last entry.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - I don’t have a lot to say here unfortunately. Low hands is a concern on top of inactivity. Hopefully they’ll come back and get rolling. Still plenty of time to make a difference.
Art - Exactly. Here’s hoping that Gooney’s John Smith goes off.
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User: cpetralla
Color # in chart above: 11
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Johnathan Smith
S25 Match: Crayne Whebet
Cosine Similarity: 0.942
Other notable matches: Owen Holloway (0.929), Scott Mastro (0.928)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - Next up is cpetralla’s new wide receiver Johnathan Smith … which spell check hates and I have to keep retyping. Smith has been matched to Crayne Whebet, the first (and only) time that Whebet is matched to a S26 prospect. What can we point to for this match? Well Smith has high hands and endurance, and high-medium agility, normalized to the draft class. Crayne Whebet also has high hands (over 1 standard deviation), high-medium agility and high-medium endurance relative to the S25 player group. Case closed?
Hordle - Right off of the bat, Cpetrella has been here for awhile. It’s interesting to see a new match up with Crayne rather than another Spencer or Weasel. Both of course are route runners, so the match up there makes sense. Both started out with similar speed and hands. Though Crayne has moved forward with his 134 TPE since then. But like you said this is pretty much what you expect to see from a match up.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - The attributes of agility, hands and endurance all cause these two player vectors to be closely related with a 0.942 cosine similarity. So on the face of it, this is a good match. There’s not even a significant difference in their normalized speed, in the same band of 0.30 - 0.50 normalized to the cohort. I think for differences we need to look out of the field (i.e. builds).
Hordle - I think this comparison is pretty spot on. Both have very similar build paths and similar stats with Crayne being ahead on total TPE.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - J. Smith seems to be a decent build receiver. In the hands of someone with experience he may turn out to be better than decent. Given enough time and activity, Smith could end up near the top of route runners. Already rocking 70 speed, hands and agility. It seems he is trying to stick to a more balanced approach in terms of allocating TPE.
Art - Definitely and that balanced approach is going to be fascinating to watch if it continues. I’d love to see what happens if we get a truly balanced WR, and I’d say we have some interesting S25 players who appear to have gone that route. I’m interested to see what the season has in store here.
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User: Wackeo
Color # in chart above: 6
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Dick Grayson
S25 Match: Willy Weasel
Cosine Similarity: 0.946
Other notable matches: Zach Crossley (0.858), Adam C. Spencer (0.842)
Distinguishing attributes: Medium AGI, Medium SPD
Why it works:
Art - Another Weasel match! This time it's Wackeo’s Dick Grayson who got the match with Willy Weasel. As we remember from Joey Brady and Mario Messi, Weasel’s able to draw comparisons to S26 prospects with relatively high hands and agility to the S25 player group. Messi was a poorer match due to high normalized speed why Joey Brady was, in my opinion, a closer match. With a normalized speed of 0.62, less than both Brady and Messi, Dick Grayson is looking like the strongest Weasel match to date.
Hordle - Speed vs Route! What is this Weasels 4th or 5th comparison? Regardless, both are very close in hands with Weasel having 5 points above Dick at the moment. And in speed the story is similar. Weasel has 81 to Dicks 75. I agree with you, I think this is Weasels best match up. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more coming out of Dick though.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - [Sighing as I have to pull up forums for activity checks related to Weasel] Well Wackeo is around and kicking, he’s been active as recently as yesterday. And there’s an update page. And a free training, activity check. Despite the fact that TPE earning is not exactly setting records to this point, there's the foundation for Dick Grayson to avoid Willy Weasel’s inactive legacy.
Hordle - Activity will play the biggest part in this. Right now both are pretty spot on in terms of stats. This is one of those that you’d say works perfectly just going off of index stats.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Activity. Wackeo only joined two weeks ago. He’s got time to make up some ground and earn some major TPE but the majority of his improvement is going to come in the regular season. But that’s not a huge deal as long as the player stays active and continues to grab what is essentially free TPE.
Art - Definitely. And he’s around so I’m hopeful that Grayson’s got a future here.
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User: wonderful_art (that’s me!)
Color # in chart above: 2
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Arthur Naught
S25 Match: Adam C. Spencer
Cosine Similarity: 0.932
Other notable matches: Willy Weasel (0.837), Zach Crossley (0.767)
Distinguishing attributes: Medium SPD, Medium INT, Medium STR, Medium AGI
Why it works:
Art - It’s me! Arthur Naught got matched to Adam C. Spencer … and then Weasel as a secondary match lol. I’m a glass-half full kinda guy, so I’m going to focus on the Adam C. Spencer match and hope that’s a sign of things to come. For those interested in my starting build, I tried to differentiate on strength (-0.26 normalized), although this match seems to be based on hands and agility (two attributes I didn’t put starting TPE in, although I have since). Regardless, here’s hoping I get the luck of following AdamS’ footsteps as a veteran.
Hordle - Yeah this guys a bust. Being compared to Spencer? No way…. But in reality Arthur is currently one of the most active WR in this class. Speed, agility and hands. The stats that have been harped on this entire article and Arthur has them. By the latest update Art is currently rocking 70 agility, 80 speed and 66 hands. While he may not be on Spencer's current level. The match up makes sense.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Sticking to build here for obvious reasons, but I don’t have near as good hands or agility (the two key attributes of differentiation for Adam C. Spencer). While he’s almost 2 standard deviations away from the mean with his agility and hands, I’m barely 1 standard deviation away from the mean. So yeah, I’ll take this match, but there’s a weakness to the correlation on build alone.
Hordle - Obviously focusing on build alone is going to leave room for error. But I think this is one of Spencer's greatest comparisons.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Like I was saying this guys an absolute bust. He’s active in the locker rooms, does killer media and is updating. Who does that? But seriously, Art’s a cool dude and I could sit here and talk praises all day. He knows his stats. He knows math. He’s active and his stats are getting there. I’m sure he’ll be a regular no matter what locker room he goes to and his player is going to be competing for some titles for sure.
Art - Man there’s no way I’m going to be this nice when we get to OL.
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User: VivekD12
Color # in chart above: 12
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Johnny Football
S25 Match: Harley Fank
Cosine Similarity: 0.957
Other notable matches: Killian Chambers (0.936), Noah Akerele (0.936)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND
Why it works:
Art - So. Many. Wide. Receivers. And yet, excitement bubbles because we have yet another match to the highest TPE earning wide receiver in the S25 class - Harley Fank. The match is made between VivekD12’s Johnny Football. But here’s why the maths picked this match: Johnny’s got hella endurance, and that’s what Fank also specialized in comparative to the other members of their respective draft classes. I’m talking Fank is nearly 2 standard deviations above their mean endurance for S25 players (all positions), and Johnny is 1.27 standard deviations above the mean (tied for highest among S26 wide receivers). It’s a match made in cross country jogging heaven.
Hordle - If y’all ever wanted to see what burnout was here you go. As we wind down the WR pool we get to Mr. Johnny Football. Like you said he’s matching up with Fank which really isn’t fair to any rookie. Endurance is high meaning this player can go for a long time. Decent hands and decent speed make this a decent match up.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - On pure name creativity alone, this match is nullified. Kidding, but for real we can’t have a match to the highest TPE earning S25 wide receiver without digging into the update page for the S26 prospect. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot buzzing there … 2 activity checks completed (only 1 applied), and a free first training round out the user’s 6 posts on the forums. That said, VivekD12 was online yesterday so here’s hoping they take inspiration and get on the TPE train.
Hordle - I’ve said it before but I’m gonna harp on it again. Activity might be an issue here. Like you said he hasn’t claimed a lot of TPE. But he was on yesterday. So there is a chance for him to claim some before the first game. But this is on build. So on build they match up alright.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Do y’all hate me yet? Activity could once again be the make or break with this player. He’s got decent stats in place. But he is missing a lot of free TPE for no reason other than activity. Of course something could be going on in their personal life. So we’re gonna keep our heads up. He was spotted recently which is good news.
Art - Yeah, I agree. In terms of the build, I love the emphasis on endurance. It was one of the attributes I put TPE in quickly in updates and I’ve heard since it's a good one to get to a decent level. So yeah, I’m excited to see how Johnny does moving forward and hopefully live up to this match’s expectations.
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User: gls
Color # in chart above: 8
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Jalen Washington
S25 Match: Bulldog Willard
Cosine Similarity: 0.948
Other notable matches: Dakota Grossman (0.891), Alexander Johnson (0.723)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND
Why it works:
Art - We’re winding down now, only 1 more after this one. Gotta power through. This match is Jalen Washington to Bulldog Willard. Washington has the highest hands relative to the S26 group (a spectacular 1.59 standard deviations above the norm). Bulldog Willard had … well they’re good hands relative to the S25 player group as a whole (all positions) but just pedestrian hands for the wide receiver class of S25 (1.37 standard deviations above the mean). The key here is the speed comparison, but had slightly under the mean speed for their draft cohorts (-0.04 standard deviations to the mean). So bad speed and good hands.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Let’s see… in terms of pure build, Washington has to catch up to Willard’s agility and strength, both of which are roughly 0.2 standard deviations to the mean better than the S26 prospect’s. Otherwise, despite joining a whole month ahead of gls, bj_owns has only made 2 more posts on the forums. Jalen Washington has a good chance to beat this match on the spectrum of activity.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - I’ve got nothing to add to the sections up top. So I’m just gonna say my peace here. He’s been active, he’s updating and he’s getting that sweet sweet TPE. He’s a red zone threat with great hands. Not that any of his other stats are bad. 6’6 big receiver is gonna make some great jumping catches I’m sure.
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User: Fordhammer
Color # in chart above: 14
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Lalo Salamanca
S25 Match: Adam C. Spencer
Cosine Similarity: 0.948
Other notable matches: Willy Weasel (0.756), Owen Hollaway (0.735)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND, High AGI, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - The last wide receiver. Hallelujah. Fordhammer is a veteran of the ISFL, and as is Adam C. Spencer, so in terms of league renown it certainly is a match out of the gate. And, strangely, Lalo Salamanca is really only a good match for Adam C. Spencer, the secondary matches are both under 0.80 cosine similarity. But Lalo has hit the nail on the Adam comparison with high agility, high hands, and strength that isn’t the worst in the S26 wide receiver class.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - To be honest, this is a good comparison in my opinion. If I was to nitpick, I’d focus on the fact that Lalo is Adam-lite for the S26 prospect pool of wide receivers. High agility, but not crazy high like Adam’s. High hands, but not crazy high like Adam’s. And that’s not pure numbers, since we can’t compare a 50 TPE build, but just in allocation of points earned. It’s enough to be a good match, but still room for growth in the prospect.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - A vet, who’s active and knows what he’s doing. I’m sure he’ll get rolling and find his place in whatever team takes him. Might not be the first round pick that everyone dreams of. But he’ll turn into something. Is a bit old though at 43. But hey, who am I to deny someone's dream?
Extra: which S25 players got the most S26 matches?
Time for what I believe is the largest class in the league. With a total of sixteen prospects, this is going to be a long article, if we don’t split it into two. This one, in my opinion, should have the largest variety between players and the most to talk about just based on pure numbers. I’m excited to see how it goes.
Art here - we’re going to skip any more methodology since there’s a lot of wide receivers to get through. But as a reminder you can review the maths used here. So let’s just show the pretty chart and get into the action.
Color code for S26:
26 - Tugg Speedman, 17 - Raphael Delacour, 15 - Mario Messi, 16 - Quavious McGrady, 18 - Schumi Hulkenvettel, 20 - Tater Tosser, 9 - Joey Brady, 13 - Kemorian Moore, 10 - John Smith, 11 - Johnathan Smith, 6 - Dick Grayson, 2 - Arthur Naught, 12 - Johnny Football, 8 - Jalen Washington, 14 - Lalo Salamanca
Color code for S25:
7 - Harley Frank, 0 - Adam C. Spencer, 5 - Crayne Whebet, 22 - Willy Weasel, 1 - Alexander Johnson, 19 - Sory An’Tyler, 3 - Brandon Kirwin, 4 - Bulldog Willard
Explaining the graph:
Yeah, this one’s a bit of a mess due to the sheer volume of wide receiver prospects. But there’s insights to be gained. It's tempting to look at the non-WR stats to see where the pile ups happen, but that only signals the archetype (as I don’t know a wide receiver putting TPE into arm). Instead we can see interesting results from the vertical axis that represent key stats for wide receivers, and it gives us a sense of where each colored line falls amongst their peers. Speed and hands sure do get busy as all lines intersect at unique locations, a good sign we have a diverse set of starting builds and interesting TPE allocations.
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User: zakkyjohns
Color # in chart above: 21
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Tugg Speedman
S25 Match: Adam C. Spencer
Cosine Similarity: 0.942
Other notable matches: Zach Crossley (0.876), Brandon Kirwin (0.862)
Distinguishing attributes: High AGI, High HND, Medium SPD
Why it works:
Art - Let's get it started with zakkyjohns’ player Tugg Speedman who’s matched to Adam C. Spencer. Tugg has a lot of TPE applied and a lot of TPE waiting to be applied after the next update, putting him near if not at the forefront of the S26 loaded WR class (loaded in quantity, at least). So it makes sense that he’s paired with ISFL veteran AdamS’ Adam C. Spencer who’s also a top earner for the S25 class. With the build available from the TPE tracker, Tugg’s main strengths in agility and hands mirrors Adam’s extremely high agility and hands. And while Tugg’s speed is a work in progress (normalized to 0.42) so too is Adam’s (normalized to 0.52). For a first match, I think we’ve hit it out of the park.
Hordle- So like you’ve already pointed out, Tugg’s got a lot of TPE. Judging by his most recent update he’s got 126 TPE which puts him at the top of the class. Adam and Tugg’s are both route runners so it would make sense for their builds to end up going the same way. Tugg’s approach with his TPE seems to be spreading it out between the three major stats. With Speed and Agility being the main focus. It’ll be interesting to see if Tugg’s can get some separation with those higher attributes to allow him to make some easy grabs.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - This is actually fairly tough, since I like the comparison between Tugg Speedman and Adam C. Spencer. If I was to nitpick, then Adam’s hands are the highest in his S25 WR cohort, while Tugg only has the second best hands (in a 4-way tie). Otherwise they even both also share medium intelligence in their classes and medium-high speed. Clearly we can’t rely on the builds for why this doesn’t work, you have anything Hordle?
Hordle- Not really. I agree with you that these two are a good match. Other than some minor stat differences, with Adam obviously having a bit more time to earn TPE, I feel like these two are about even. Tugg’s got some time between now and the first game of the season to earn some more TPE and I think he’s gonna fit well on any team in need of a technical route runner.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Tuggs is fast with great hands. Which is what you want in a WR, there isn’t a jump stat in the sim. So he could probably jump 30ft if you asked him too. The point is that Tugg’s is in a great position to go early if a team needs a WR. Gonna make a bold prediction and say that he’ll be a #1 WR before too long and may even break a record or two in his first season if him and his QB find that chemistry.
Art - Yeah high hopes here for Tugg Speedman. I’m going to be watching how he places his TPE, but really at this point you’ve got to hope Tugg gets a DSFL home that has a QB who can get the ball in the air to him. If you get it in his wheelhouse, Tugg’s taking it to the bank.
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User: 37thchamber
Color # in chart above: 17
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Raphael Delacour
S25 Match: Brandon Kirwin
Cosine Similarity: 0.936
Other notable matches: Adam C. Spencer (0.823), Willy Weasel (0.828)
Distinguishing attributes: High INT, High HND, Medium AGI
Why it works:
Art - In a 180 degree turn from the first match, we now have an ISFL veteran recreate in 37thchamber’s Raphael Delacour being matched with caveman3752’s Brandon Kirwin, who has been inactive since August 13 according to a quick profile check. Man what a change in pace. Well, lets see why the maths thought this was a good decision. If we check out the builds we can clearly see the comparisons. Here’s a run through of the normalized stats for Delacour: agility at 1.04, intelligence at 1.04, speed at 0.28 and hands at 1.34. Now we grab Kirwin’s: agility at 0.97, intelligence at 0.81, speed at -0.14 and hands at 1.37. Some clear similarities in these builds compared to their cohort at least - an emphasis on agility, hands, and (causing the differentiation) intelligence at the cost of speed. For now, at least, you can respect the match, right Hordle?
Hordle- We’ve been here before talking about a recreate. Obviously Chamber knows what they’re doing. Raphael’s got 151 TPE as of the 16th, and can claim a few more before the draft announcement comes on the 2nd of October. 70 speed and 70 hands, he’s going to be reliable and create separation. I do think it’s a bit surprising that he was connected to someone who has been inactive and doesn’t even have an update page. I would have loved to see the comparison between him and Adam C. Spencer. But it is what it is. The two have a very similar stat line, so it makes sense that they were paired together. Chamber’s got nothing to fear about being better than Brandon Kirwin.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - I mean I think I alluded to the point above, but in terms of activity 37thchamber already has more TPE applied than caveman ever did with Brandon Kirwin. So, on one side, Raphael Delacour echoes the build of the ghost of Kirwin, but clearly we’ll now get to see what Kirwin might’ve turned into if the user had kept active. An interesting proposition, considering how different Delacour already appears from most of his S26 class. And in the hands of an ISFL veteran, this should be fun.
Hordle- You’ve pretty much covered it here. An active recreate vs and inactive is unfortunate but that’s math. Delacour’s already ahead of the pack, imo and definitely ahead of Kirwin. It’ll be exciting to see where he goes. I can totally see him and Tuggs competing for some awards down the line.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Not too much to cover with this one. Chamber is active and a recreate. The vet knows what he’s doing.
Art - Exactly. Question will be how high Chamber can fly this season and see what comes out of his (I’m sure brief after a ISFL callup) DSFL career.
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User: KingSean
Color # in chart above: 15
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Mario Messi
S25 Match: Willy Weasel
Cosine Similarity: 0.903
Other notable matches: Zach Crossley (0.854), Brandon Kirwin (0.885)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD, Medium HND, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - Onto number 3 we go, and we have Mario Messi paired to Willy Weasel. Like Adam C.Spencer, Willy Weasel is a S25 player who will come up a fair bit in this article - a quick peek at the numbers explains why: Weasel is right in the middle sweet spot for agility, medium-low on speed and high on hands. So if you have a build meant to catch and with some agility, you’re going to see a Weasel pairing as either the primary or secondaries. As is the case here with KingSean’s Mario Messi - using the build pulled from the TPE tracker there’s an emphasis on hands, speed and intelligence. So the agility is a close match, as are the hands, but the speed is an interesting angle that doesn’t quite lend itself to Weasel being the best match for Messi (as Mario has a 0.83 normalized speed, and Weasel is 0.59). All in all though, the math mostly checks out.
Hordle- Two more route runners. No one’s surprised at that, so let's just get into it. Mario is currently standing at 112 TPE as of the 19th of September. Though his update hasn’t gone through yet, he is currently standing with 82 speed and 70 hands as well as 70 agility. With Weasels last update as of the 11th of august, he is standing at 79 speed and 61 hands. They match perfectly on agility. But Mario already has the advantage with speed and hands. At this point I’m fully expecting everyone to just match with Spencer but obviously that’s not the case. With a glance of the naked eye we can see that Mario is ahead in stats, like I already mentioned. However the math is pulling from the tracker. So at the time that the information was pulled then they were/are more than likely a lot closer in comparison.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - At the same time, I actually really like Crossley as a comparison - just better speed compared to Weasel. And Weasel’s user, Weasel07, has not been on the site since August 18th - so for pure activity I see Crossley’s user ajtigger as a much better baseline for KingSean. So while I can certainly see the Weasel match, I think that there’s some room for a better alignment to match the user.
Hordle - Like I said, Mario is already ahead of Weasel with his last update. 112 TPE for Mario vs the 89 for Weasel.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Mario is blazing fast. At 82 speed he is just 13 stat points away from being at the speed cap. Of course that will be a little harder to reach with the total TPE cost being higher and the 250 TPE total cap of the minors. But he can get right on the edge if he chooses to do so. I can see him also focusing more on hands or agility now to give himself a bit more of an edge against the rest of the class.
Art - Definitely, the build decisions for Mario will be interesting to watch. Not so much at the end of the day, since I have no doubt that Messi is going to turn into a stud in the DSFL (and later ISFL), but in the early weeks of the DSFL. Does KingSean double down on speed at the cost of the other wide receiver relevant attributes? That’s what I’m watching.
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User: DolHaveTheSause
Color # in chart above: 16
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Quavious McGrady
S25 Match: Bulldog Willard
Cosine Similarity: 0.854
Other notable matches: Mark Callous (0.749), Mark Walker (0.749)
Distinguishing attributes: High STR, Medium SPD, High HND
Why it works:
Art - DolHaveTheSause’s Quavious McGrady gets matched with Bulldog Willard, who in the TPE tracker has 50 TPE applied - a low water mark that we’ll move past to analyze the buld and why we got this match itself. First glimpse provides the answer, both have a substantially higher normalized strength than their draft cohort peers in their position: McGrady with 0.04 normalized strength and Willard with -0.55, which is low compared to the overall S25 cohort but is tied for the highest among S25 wide receivers. They also both have relatively high hands attributes, both around 1.34 normalized for their cohort. So strong and nice catching hands, seems like a decent match eh Hordle?
Hordle - Decent match indeed, McGrady was online as soon as yesterday and so was Bulldog. So the two aren’t exactly inactive. Both have similar stat lines and both have the same archetype. Which surprisingly to me is not a route runner but a redzone threat. So we finally have a different archetype to look at. Both have similar strengths like you mentioned with McGrady sitting at 51 and Bulldog at 50. Good speed and good hands. Likely to see both making plays in the redzone looking for some high floated balls.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - I’ll stick to the build for now. McGrady holds an advantage on speed that puts him, relative to the draft cohort, much stronger than Willard (0.58 normalized SPD to -0.07 normalized SPD). If we look at Mark Callous, the secondary pick tied with Mark Walker in cosine similarity to Quavious McGrady, then we notice a similarity in high hands relative to the class and higher speeds, albeit that Callous and Walker have much greater relative speeds versus McGrady to his peers. What do you have Hordle?
Hordle- McGrady’s speed is indeed higher at 77 but not by too much. Bulldog currently has higher hands then McGrady as well. So I believe the math might have taken the two against each other. But I believe that Callous would have also been a good pick. Realistically here I’m just arguing for why it works again.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Similar activity could be an issue but it seems that McGrady is checking the forms and updating if nothing else. Which is a good sign. A low intelligence could lead to some costly mistakes but his speed and hands might be able to get him away from trouble. All in all I think McGrady is filling into the role he will be given by whatever team decides to pick him up. Get past your blocker and get that ball. Look for some contested balls in the air with McGrady’s 51 strength.
Art - When a player starts off with some interesting allocations and build decisions, its exciting to see where they go. McGrady has the highest strength in the S26 prospect pool - does he double down and keep building unique, or revert to the norm and just keep that 51 strength as an outlier? Looking forward to seeing how he progresses and the results on the field.
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User: Bauer
Color # in chart above: 18
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Schumi Hulkenvettel
S25 Match: Alexander Johnson
Cosine Similarity: 0.925
Other notable matches: Sory An’Tyler (0.923), Willy Weasel (0.889)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD, High AGI
Why it works:
Art - Next up is Bauer’s wide receiver Schumi Hulkenvettel. I’m going to use the first name on this one, since that last name is a squint and type one. So Schumi has been matched to Alexander Johnson, of 85 TPE and graduate of Norfolk. Let’s peek under the hood. Johnson has medium agility, medium speed and high hands relative to his draft class peers in S25. McGrady has high agility, high speed, and medium hands relative to his draft class peers. In real numbers, only speed is a close similarity between the two of them - Schumi with a relative speed normalized to 0.83 and Johnson with a speed normalized to 0.52. I guess we can count on pure foot speed for this match, Hordle?
Hordle - I really want to tell people to not draft this guy just because of that last name. But there have been worse names. Regardless, that's not the point of this article. Now we’re looking at speed receivers which is honestly my favorite type. Both of these players' speeds are very close together, it makes sense that on that stat alone they’d be compared. Johnson is rocking 81 as of the 23rd. While Schumi is at 78. The races between these two will be fun to watch in the future.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - I mean while speed is similar, I don’t think agility or hands are similar between Schumi and Johnson. Both metrics are off by at least 0.5 normalized for the draft class, essentially half of a standard deviation. Sory An’Tyler only has worse hands than Johnson, which does bring them closer to Schumi’s realm of hand skill relative to draft peers. Neither Johnson or An’Tyler match Schumi’s speed relative to draft peers, which I think as a wide receiver is Schumi’s calling card in this crowded field. Both are also substantially off Schumi’s agility. Any other reasons they don’t match?
Hordle- Schumi currently has the lowest hands that we’ve seen resting at 60 while Johnson’s is at 70 with a lot of the other WR’s we’ve looked at. This could cause problems in the future for the wide receiver if this skill doesn’t rise. I think Schumi’s agility will set him out from the rest of the group in the speed receivers category.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Schumi is a recreate and Bauer has already played another position that requires speed. Schumi’s fast and agile. But his hands may come back to hurt him. However paired with a QB that can launch the ball deep. I think Schumi can make a name for himself by chasing deep balls down. If his speed continues to rise then he can get major separation and he’ll be just fine.
Art - Definitely agree. Schumi’s in great hands with Bauer here, but I’m looking to see if Schumi keeps on the speed-first train or if hands get some love too moving forward. And if Bauer elects to invest only in speed to other attributes, what does that mean for sim results? Excited to find out.
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User: PuttingMCBedsTogether
Color # in chart above: 20
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Tater Tosser
S25 Match: Harley Fank
Cosine Similarity: 0.956
Other notable matches: Noah Akerele (0.952), Killian Chambers (0.949)
Distinguishing attributes: Medium HND, Medium AGI
Why it works:
Art - Tater Tosser gets tossed together with Harley Fank, the top earner of the S25 draft class with some 244 TPE applied according to the TPE tracker. If we stick to the builds and the pure maths, then agility and intelligence can account for the majority of this high cosine similarity. Tosser has a 1.04 normalized agility while Frank has a normalized 0.94. Both have under -1 relative intelligence. The comparison breaks down on speed - Frank is much quicker relative to the draft class than Tosser is relative to his, but hands are not too far off. All in all, the comparison is what I’d call decent based on an eye test of their builds. What do you think Hordle?
Hordle - Another group of speedy boys. I think this is pretty much summed up. But I agree with you, I think this is mostly based on speed as it is one of the main focuses of the Archetype. Tater’s got the speed to build on.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Well it might be too early to sound the alarms, but we haven’t seen PuttingMcBedsTogether in a little while (since September 17th) and poor Tater Tosser is starting to lose the TPE advantage they had with an early update. With no Ultimus Week or Mock Draft posts, Tosser is going to be at a slight disadvantage moving forward and probably won’t be able to lead the class in TPE like their match Harley Fank. But I’d definitely love to be proven wrong here Hordle.
Hordle- Art, I’m hoping the IA is just a bump in the road. Tater could still make up ground before the first game of the season. But he’s not gonna be anywhere near Fank’s level. Regardless of that, he’s currently going against his s26 competition and not Fank. If he can get back on the grind and raise that speed up he’ll be fine.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Like Art mentioned, Tater hasn’t been on for about two weeks. Causing him to miss out on some free TPE while others in his class are shooting ahead. I am also disappointed that he didn’t make a QB with a name like Tater Tosser. But that’s not my place to judge. If Tater can come back and be active again I’m sure he’ll be fine. If not this maybe a WR that sees an early retirement.
Art - Hordle’s got it. I’ll be watching for activity and hopefully a resurgence of the Tater Tosser.
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User: Exogorthian
Color # in chart above: 9
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Joey Brady
S25 Match: Willy Weasel
Cosine Similarity: 0.940
Other notable matches: Adam C. Spencer (0.926), Zach Crossley (0.872)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND, Medium AGI, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - Next we have Joey Brady matched to Willy Weasel (the Weasel strikes again! - as you’ll see the Weasel either has a very average build, or just connects well to this crop of wide receivers - he’s constantly in either primary or secondary matches. Almost as many as Adam C. Spencer). But moving onto Joey Brady, the match seems to be mostly built around agility and hands - once again the two attributes (mixed with average intelligence) that calls the Weasel out as a match. What do you think Hordle?
Hordle - Starting to lose some steam just based on the size of this class compared to the first two articles. Regardless we press on! Weasels nor Spencer are a bad standard to be compared to. Both are Route Runners like Brady so both are going to have similar stats. I think you covered everything for this one.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Our other Willy Weasel match so far was Mario Messi, so in part this means we can draw a line from Messi to Brady (ironic given the names chosen) through the power of analogies. The problem is that Messi has some wicked speed that separates him from Brady, and Brady for his part has slightly better hands. Which ones are a better match for Weasel? I’d say Joey Brady is the one to mark here. And, unfortunately, Brady hasn’t gotten an update page out yet so here’s hoping that he doesn’t follow in Weasel’s steps in terms of activity. But for now - decent match, I’d say.
Hordle - I think that’s the biggest thing. Inactivity may end up being their biggest match. But Brady and Weasels stats are in similar boats. Like you mentioned, I think they are the closer match then Weasel and Messi.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Activity is going to be a huge issue. Brady has been on in the last few days. But hasn’t gotten out an update page yet. He’s going to be missing out on free TPE if he doesn’t get one soon and this may be a better match then their stats is their activity level.
Art - Another user where what to watch is if they return and how much they earn, not so much the build decisions they’ll make. Here’s hoping they channel this match and go on for a long and successful career.
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User: Glizzy
Color # in chart above: 13
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Kemorian Moore
S25 Match: Sory An’Tyler
Cosine Similarity: 0.943
Other notable matches: Alexander Johnson (0.921), Willy Weasel (0.858)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD
Why it works:
Art - Alright another S26 prospect and a new S25 comparison to evaluate. Let’s see what we got with Kemorian Moore from Glizzy and why the maths thought that Sory An’Tyler was a good fit. Looking at the initial build (all we have to work on), Kemorian Moore put the initial TPE into speed at the expense of other wide out attributes like hands or agility that we’ve seen other WRs go with. Sory An’Tyler, for their part, has the lowest relative hands normalized to the S25 draft cohort. The lower normalized hands relative to the other WR in the cohort is most likely the basis for this match, which is perhaps a little unfair to these players compared to other reasons.
Hordle - So this is an interesting comparison for me. Sory is a speed receiver while Kemorian is a possession receiver. The two are very close in speed, off by only one point I believe? Would make sense why, like previous entries, that this comparison was made.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Well it discounts Kemorian Moore’s speed relative to the rest of the group. With a 0.96 (the highest normalized value of any WR prospect from initial builds) Moore is uniquely positioned within the group to have a head start when it comes to pure footspeed. Yeah maybe the other attributes are lower, but Sory An’Tyler’s speed is not a standout in their class (only half a standard deviation greater than the mean for any S25 player). That’s a change in probability of roughly 15% given a standard distribution. So while I like An’Tyler’s build on some aspects for a match, there’s definitely room for improvement here.
Hordle- My biggest gripe with this comparison is the hands. Sory’s got a 55 in hands. That’s twenty points lower than Kemorian. Sure WR need speed regardless of archetype. But I feel like there were better choices with the other WR’s in the last class. Johnson probably would have been better in my opinion.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Activity hurts. Kemorian appears to not be active in over a month. Which is a really bad sign. Losing out on a lot of free TPE is one thing. But being IA will lead the player to an early retirement.
Art - We sound like a broken record by now, but its clear activity is important in this league. Out of the wide receiver’s we’ve seen so far, we can characterize into two groups: those we want to see more active, and those we’re just excited to watch. I’m hoping Kemorian Moore is in the latter.
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User: Gooney
Color # in chart above: 10
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: John Smith
S25 Match: Sory An’Tyler
Cosine Similarity: 0.943
Other notable matches: Alexander Johnson (0.921), Willy Weasel (0.858)
Distinguishing attributes: High SPD
Why it works:
Art - Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t, but Gooney and Glizzy started with identical builds and that’s what we imported. So unfortunately, we’re gonna be copy/pasting from the above breakdown - essentially the match seems to be based on relatively lower hands and agility to the rest of the draft cohort.
Hordle - See above. These two are the same archetype at the very least. Same hands, close if not identical speed.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Beyond the build difference noted above for Kemorian Moore (that this match discounts John Smith’s investment in starting speed right out of the gate, which is significantly greater than Sory An’Tyler’s speed relative to the other wide receivers in the S25 class), we can point to some other differentiators not just between An’Tyler and Smith, but also Kemorian Moore and Smith. For instance, while Gooney is a veteran of the ISFL who joined in 2017, Glizzy is new after joining just this past September. Any other differences we can find Hordle?
Hordle - Not really Art, I believe this is pretty much identical to the last entry.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - I don’t have a lot to say here unfortunately. Low hands is a concern on top of inactivity. Hopefully they’ll come back and get rolling. Still plenty of time to make a difference.
Art - Exactly. Here’s hoping that Gooney’s John Smith goes off.
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User: cpetralla
Color # in chart above: 11
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Johnathan Smith
S25 Match: Crayne Whebet
Cosine Similarity: 0.942
Other notable matches: Owen Holloway (0.929), Scott Mastro (0.928)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - Next up is cpetralla’s new wide receiver Johnathan Smith … which spell check hates and I have to keep retyping. Smith has been matched to Crayne Whebet, the first (and only) time that Whebet is matched to a S26 prospect. What can we point to for this match? Well Smith has high hands and endurance, and high-medium agility, normalized to the draft class. Crayne Whebet also has high hands (over 1 standard deviation), high-medium agility and high-medium endurance relative to the S25 player group. Case closed?
Hordle - Right off of the bat, Cpetrella has been here for awhile. It’s interesting to see a new match up with Crayne rather than another Spencer or Weasel. Both of course are route runners, so the match up there makes sense. Both started out with similar speed and hands. Though Crayne has moved forward with his 134 TPE since then. But like you said this is pretty much what you expect to see from a match up.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - The attributes of agility, hands and endurance all cause these two player vectors to be closely related with a 0.942 cosine similarity. So on the face of it, this is a good match. There’s not even a significant difference in their normalized speed, in the same band of 0.30 - 0.50 normalized to the cohort. I think for differences we need to look out of the field (i.e. builds).
Hordle - I think this comparison is pretty spot on. Both have very similar build paths and similar stats with Crayne being ahead on total TPE.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - J. Smith seems to be a decent build receiver. In the hands of someone with experience he may turn out to be better than decent. Given enough time and activity, Smith could end up near the top of route runners. Already rocking 70 speed, hands and agility. It seems he is trying to stick to a more balanced approach in terms of allocating TPE.
Art - Definitely and that balanced approach is going to be fascinating to watch if it continues. I’d love to see what happens if we get a truly balanced WR, and I’d say we have some interesting S25 players who appear to have gone that route. I’m interested to see what the season has in store here.
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User: Wackeo
Color # in chart above: 6
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Dick Grayson
S25 Match: Willy Weasel
Cosine Similarity: 0.946
Other notable matches: Zach Crossley (0.858), Adam C. Spencer (0.842)
Distinguishing attributes: Medium AGI, Medium SPD
Why it works:
Art - Another Weasel match! This time it's Wackeo’s Dick Grayson who got the match with Willy Weasel. As we remember from Joey Brady and Mario Messi, Weasel’s able to draw comparisons to S26 prospects with relatively high hands and agility to the S25 player group. Messi was a poorer match due to high normalized speed why Joey Brady was, in my opinion, a closer match. With a normalized speed of 0.62, less than both Brady and Messi, Dick Grayson is looking like the strongest Weasel match to date.
Hordle - Speed vs Route! What is this Weasels 4th or 5th comparison? Regardless, both are very close in hands with Weasel having 5 points above Dick at the moment. And in speed the story is similar. Weasel has 81 to Dicks 75. I agree with you, I think this is Weasels best match up. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more coming out of Dick though.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - [Sighing as I have to pull up forums for activity checks related to Weasel] Well Wackeo is around and kicking, he’s been active as recently as yesterday. And there’s an update page. And a free training, activity check. Despite the fact that TPE earning is not exactly setting records to this point, there's the foundation for Dick Grayson to avoid Willy Weasel’s inactive legacy.
Hordle - Activity will play the biggest part in this. Right now both are pretty spot on in terms of stats. This is one of those that you’d say works perfectly just going off of index stats.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Activity. Wackeo only joined two weeks ago. He’s got time to make up some ground and earn some major TPE but the majority of his improvement is going to come in the regular season. But that’s not a huge deal as long as the player stays active and continues to grab what is essentially free TPE.
Art - Definitely. And he’s around so I’m hopeful that Grayson’s got a future here.
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User: wonderful_art (that’s me!)
Color # in chart above: 2
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Arthur Naught
S25 Match: Adam C. Spencer
Cosine Similarity: 0.932
Other notable matches: Willy Weasel (0.837), Zach Crossley (0.767)
Distinguishing attributes: Medium SPD, Medium INT, Medium STR, Medium AGI
Why it works:
Art - It’s me! Arthur Naught got matched to Adam C. Spencer … and then Weasel as a secondary match lol. I’m a glass-half full kinda guy, so I’m going to focus on the Adam C. Spencer match and hope that’s a sign of things to come. For those interested in my starting build, I tried to differentiate on strength (-0.26 normalized), although this match seems to be based on hands and agility (two attributes I didn’t put starting TPE in, although I have since). Regardless, here’s hoping I get the luck of following AdamS’ footsteps as a veteran.
Hordle - Yeah this guys a bust. Being compared to Spencer? No way…. But in reality Arthur is currently one of the most active WR in this class. Speed, agility and hands. The stats that have been harped on this entire article and Arthur has them. By the latest update Art is currently rocking 70 agility, 80 speed and 66 hands. While he may not be on Spencer's current level. The match up makes sense.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Sticking to build here for obvious reasons, but I don’t have near as good hands or agility (the two key attributes of differentiation for Adam C. Spencer). While he’s almost 2 standard deviations away from the mean with his agility and hands, I’m barely 1 standard deviation away from the mean. So yeah, I’ll take this match, but there’s a weakness to the correlation on build alone.
Hordle - Obviously focusing on build alone is going to leave room for error. But I think this is one of Spencer's greatest comparisons.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - Like I was saying this guys an absolute bust. He’s active in the locker rooms, does killer media and is updating. Who does that? But seriously, Art’s a cool dude and I could sit here and talk praises all day. He knows his stats. He knows math. He’s active and his stats are getting there. I’m sure he’ll be a regular no matter what locker room he goes to and his player is going to be competing for some titles for sure.
Art - Man there’s no way I’m going to be this nice when we get to OL.
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User: VivekD12
Color # in chart above: 12
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Johnny Football
S25 Match: Harley Fank
Cosine Similarity: 0.957
Other notable matches: Killian Chambers (0.936), Noah Akerele (0.936)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND
Why it works:
Art - So. Many. Wide. Receivers. And yet, excitement bubbles because we have yet another match to the highest TPE earning wide receiver in the S25 class - Harley Fank. The match is made between VivekD12’s Johnny Football. But here’s why the maths picked this match: Johnny’s got hella endurance, and that’s what Fank also specialized in comparative to the other members of their respective draft classes. I’m talking Fank is nearly 2 standard deviations above their mean endurance for S25 players (all positions), and Johnny is 1.27 standard deviations above the mean (tied for highest among S26 wide receivers). It’s a match made in cross country jogging heaven.
Hordle - If y’all ever wanted to see what burnout was here you go. As we wind down the WR pool we get to Mr. Johnny Football. Like you said he’s matching up with Fank which really isn’t fair to any rookie. Endurance is high meaning this player can go for a long time. Decent hands and decent speed make this a decent match up.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - On pure name creativity alone, this match is nullified. Kidding, but for real we can’t have a match to the highest TPE earning S25 wide receiver without digging into the update page for the S26 prospect. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot buzzing there … 2 activity checks completed (only 1 applied), and a free first training round out the user’s 6 posts on the forums. That said, VivekD12 was online yesterday so here’s hoping they take inspiration and get on the TPE train.
Hordle - I’ve said it before but I’m gonna harp on it again. Activity might be an issue here. Like you said he hasn’t claimed a lot of TPE. But he was on yesterday. So there is a chance for him to claim some before the first game. But this is on build. So on build they match up alright.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle- Do y’all hate me yet? Activity could once again be the make or break with this player. He’s got decent stats in place. But he is missing a lot of free TPE for no reason other than activity. Of course something could be going on in their personal life. So we’re gonna keep our heads up. He was spotted recently which is good news.
Art - Yeah, I agree. In terms of the build, I love the emphasis on endurance. It was one of the attributes I put TPE in quickly in updates and I’ve heard since it's a good one to get to a decent level. So yeah, I’m excited to see how Johnny does moving forward and hopefully live up to this match’s expectations.
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User: gls
Color # in chart above: 8
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Jalen Washington
S25 Match: Bulldog Willard
Cosine Similarity: 0.948
Other notable matches: Dakota Grossman (0.891), Alexander Johnson (0.723)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND
Why it works:
Art - We’re winding down now, only 1 more after this one. Gotta power through. This match is Jalen Washington to Bulldog Willard. Washington has the highest hands relative to the S26 group (a spectacular 1.59 standard deviations above the norm). Bulldog Willard had … well they’re good hands relative to the S25 player group as a whole (all positions) but just pedestrian hands for the wide receiver class of S25 (1.37 standard deviations above the mean). The key here is the speed comparison, but had slightly under the mean speed for their draft cohorts (-0.04 standard deviations to the mean). So bad speed and good hands.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - Let’s see… in terms of pure build, Washington has to catch up to Willard’s agility and strength, both of which are roughly 0.2 standard deviations to the mean better than the S26 prospect’s. Otherwise, despite joining a whole month ahead of gls, bj_owns has only made 2 more posts on the forums. Jalen Washington has a good chance to beat this match on the spectrum of activity.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - I’ve got nothing to add to the sections up top. So I’m just gonna say my peace here. He’s been active, he’s updating and he’s getting that sweet sweet TPE. He’s a red zone threat with great hands. Not that any of his other stats are bad. 6’6 big receiver is gonna make some great jumping catches I’m sure.
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User: Fordhammer
Color # in chart above: 14
Draft Year: S26
Position: Wide Receiver
Name: Lalo Salamanca
S25 Match: Adam C. Spencer
Cosine Similarity: 0.948
Other notable matches: Willy Weasel (0.756), Owen Hollaway (0.735)
Distinguishing attributes: High HND, High AGI, Medium INT
Why it works:
Art - The last wide receiver. Hallelujah. Fordhammer is a veteran of the ISFL, and as is Adam C. Spencer, so in terms of league renown it certainly is a match out of the gate. And, strangely, Lalo Salamanca is really only a good match for Adam C. Spencer, the secondary matches are both under 0.80 cosine similarity. But Lalo has hit the nail on the Adam comparison with high agility, high hands, and strength that isn’t the worst in the S26 wide receiver class.
Why it doesn’t:
Art - To be honest, this is a good comparison in my opinion. If I was to nitpick, I’d focus on the fact that Lalo is Adam-lite for the S26 prospect pool of wide receivers. High agility, but not crazy high like Adam’s. High hands, but not crazy high like Adam’s. And that’s not pure numbers, since we can’t compare a 50 TPE build, but just in allocation of points earned. It’s enough to be a good match, but still room for growth in the prospect.
What to watch for / build similarities:
Hordle - A vet, who’s active and knows what he’s doing. I’m sure he’ll get rolling and find his place in whatever team takes him. Might not be the first round pick that everyone dreams of. But he’ll turn into something. Is a bit old though at 43. But hey, who am I to deny someone's dream?
Extra: which S25 players got the most S26 matches?
- Adam C. Spencer - 3 matches (Tugg Speedman, Arthur Naught, Lalo Salamanca)
- Willy Weasel - 3 matches (Mario Messi, Joey Brady, Dick Grayson)
- Sory An’Tyler - 2 matches (Kemorian Moore, John Smith)
- Harley Fank - 2 matches (Tater Tosser, Johnny Football)
- Brandon Kirwin - 1 match (Raphael Delacour)
- Crayne Whebet - 1 match (Johnathan Smith)
- Alexander Johnson - 1 match (Schumi Hulkenvette)
Quote:Word count - 7582
Please split between Hordle and wonderful_art
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