Long Form Task 2: Draft Class
The Season 20 Draft class was easily one of the weaker draft classes the ISFL had ever produced. Thankfully, the following draft classes, like Season 21, Season 23, and beyond have created plenty of high quality players to fill the ranks. Surprisingly though, there's plenty of stories to talk about in the S20 class. From one of the greatest steals ever, to the solid consistency of the top dogs Desmond Scarlett, Venus Powers, and Darrel Williams, the middle tier players, the wiki page for the player with no claimed TPE... etc etc. Onto the S20 Draft!
With the first overall pick, the Austin Copperheads select....
According to most mock drafts, this was a no-brainer selection. Darrel Williams had a slight TPE lead on Venus Powers, the top kicker in the S20 draft, and then it was a long way down before the next player on the draft board would be found, at least in TPE. Most mock drafts had Darrel at the top, but Darrel had actually.. not been contacted by a top team? The TPE leader of the class? It made sense at the time, because Austin had their running back of the future in Mako Mendonca, but this lack of communication was larger than imagined. Darrel would end up dropping to seventh in the draft, but let's talk about who went ahead of him:
Kyle Idlewyld, the first overall selection. Not a bad pick by any means; Kyle made a pro bowl in his time in the ISFL, and helped shore up a position of need for the Copperheads. Sadly, his player is now retired, so he did not make it to regression.
Desmond Scarlett: The current TPE leader of the S20 draft class, and most likely the best pick of the draft. While San Jose could've gone to other positions, they correctly selected the best player on the board and were rewarded handsomely for those efforts. While Desmond was not a TPE leader at the start of S20, he slowly and steadily max earned, working his way to the top of the class. Only three players have held the honor at being of the top of the S20 Draft Class: Darrel Williams, then Venus Powers, and now currently Desmond Scarlett. These three players will definitely have a bit extra being written about them, since they have defined the class in a way; but there are still 6-7 top tier players that came out of this class.
Reggie Culbertson: Also no longer in the league. With seven pro bowlers being selected after this, you could regard this pick as a bust, at least for current value.
Randy Vuxta: Easily one of the most exciting prospects in this class. A former GM and star WR, Vuxta has not entirely lived up to the hype, but I would include him on the extended eight-person list of the defining S20 players, albeit he does not crack the top 5. Solid pick.
Jacoby Clay: While still in the league, for the fifth overall pick to not eclipse 500 TPE is pretty disappointing.
Thor Kirkby: Not dead yet! One of only three players in this class to update last week, while Kirkby is not in the top 5 in the class, he also joins Vuxta in the Hall of Good S20 players. He is also the only pro bowler selected from this class from the second to the sixth pick.
And now my player, Darrel Williams. Darrel currently sits at second in total TPE, after bouncing around a bit from first to third, but never going below that mark for S20 players. I was very surprised watching Darrel fall to seven, and while his career has been unremarkable, his longevity and overall potential to still have an impact in the league puts him as one of the top five influential and defining players in the S20 class. I'd expect his career, as the rest of the top tier S20 players, to last a few more seasons with his mark on the league still not completely over.
Who's left after the seventh selection? Plenty, in fact. The next major player is Venus Powers, selected fourteenth overall. The top earner in the class for many months in 2020, one of the most dedicated and well earning kickers of the league remains kicking(haha). Venus is also one of the top five defining players in the class, for their overall incredible TPE earning on top of solid performances, awards, and pro bowls to back it up. A potential hall of famer?
At seventeen there is Galf Wilf, led by the legendary user Moosecop. Over 1150 TPE and still dominating, Galf is one of the few surprises in this class, easily joining a spot in the top five with Pro Bowls to boot.
And finally, arguably the greatest draft steal of all time, selected only a few picks from the bottom, at 33rd overall, surrounded by utter busts, is Jamie Nkiah. A safety at 1250 TPE, somehow FOURTH in the class! At 33rd overall in this class! Mind you, a FIFTY-SEVEN TPE player was selected 23rd overall! And I'm not talking about 57 TPE then. I'm talking about right now, they have 57 TPE. And they were a kicker! Absolutely incredible a player of this skill was still around at 33. Huge steal for the Outlaws and big contributor for the Sailfish.
899 words
With the first overall pick, the Austin Copperheads select....
According to most mock drafts, this was a no-brainer selection. Darrel Williams had a slight TPE lead on Venus Powers, the top kicker in the S20 draft, and then it was a long way down before the next player on the draft board would be found, at least in TPE. Most mock drafts had Darrel at the top, but Darrel had actually.. not been contacted by a top team? The TPE leader of the class? It made sense at the time, because Austin had their running back of the future in Mako Mendonca, but this lack of communication was larger than imagined. Darrel would end up dropping to seventh in the draft, but let's talk about who went ahead of him:
Kyle Idlewyld, the first overall selection. Not a bad pick by any means; Kyle made a pro bowl in his time in the ISFL, and helped shore up a position of need for the Copperheads. Sadly, his player is now retired, so he did not make it to regression.
Desmond Scarlett: The current TPE leader of the S20 draft class, and most likely the best pick of the draft. While San Jose could've gone to other positions, they correctly selected the best player on the board and were rewarded handsomely for those efforts. While Desmond was not a TPE leader at the start of S20, he slowly and steadily max earned, working his way to the top of the class. Only three players have held the honor at being of the top of the S20 Draft Class: Darrel Williams, then Venus Powers, and now currently Desmond Scarlett. These three players will definitely have a bit extra being written about them, since they have defined the class in a way; but there are still 6-7 top tier players that came out of this class.
Reggie Culbertson: Also no longer in the league. With seven pro bowlers being selected after this, you could regard this pick as a bust, at least for current value.
Randy Vuxta: Easily one of the most exciting prospects in this class. A former GM and star WR, Vuxta has not entirely lived up to the hype, but I would include him on the extended eight-person list of the defining S20 players, albeit he does not crack the top 5. Solid pick.
Jacoby Clay: While still in the league, for the fifth overall pick to not eclipse 500 TPE is pretty disappointing.
Thor Kirkby: Not dead yet! One of only three players in this class to update last week, while Kirkby is not in the top 5 in the class, he also joins Vuxta in the Hall of Good S20 players. He is also the only pro bowler selected from this class from the second to the sixth pick.
And now my player, Darrel Williams. Darrel currently sits at second in total TPE, after bouncing around a bit from first to third, but never going below that mark for S20 players. I was very surprised watching Darrel fall to seven, and while his career has been unremarkable, his longevity and overall potential to still have an impact in the league puts him as one of the top five influential and defining players in the S20 class. I'd expect his career, as the rest of the top tier S20 players, to last a few more seasons with his mark on the league still not completely over.
Who's left after the seventh selection? Plenty, in fact. The next major player is Venus Powers, selected fourteenth overall. The top earner in the class for many months in 2020, one of the most dedicated and well earning kickers of the league remains kicking(haha). Venus is also one of the top five defining players in the class, for their overall incredible TPE earning on top of solid performances, awards, and pro bowls to back it up. A potential hall of famer?
At seventeen there is Galf Wilf, led by the legendary user Moosecop. Over 1150 TPE and still dominating, Galf is one of the few surprises in this class, easily joining a spot in the top five with Pro Bowls to boot.
And finally, arguably the greatest draft steal of all time, selected only a few picks from the bottom, at 33rd overall, surrounded by utter busts, is Jamie Nkiah. A safety at 1250 TPE, somehow FOURTH in the class! At 33rd overall in this class! Mind you, a FIFTY-SEVEN TPE player was selected 23rd overall! And I'm not talking about 57 TPE then. I'm talking about right now, they have 57 TPE. And they were a kicker! Absolutely incredible a player of this skill was still around at 33. Huge steal for the Outlaws and big contributor for the Sailfish.
899 words
![[Image: Sig.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/s2FkFNLh/Sig.png)
