(S23) - PT2 - Draft Day

[Cheech65]

I had a relatively unconventional start to the league. I was signed off of waivers by Myrtle Beach, but played in no games and the season was about to end. Thus, I was technically now eligible for the draft for S22. I knew that I probably wouldn't go very high at all, considering I had no playing time and had made no real splash on the social scene. I wasn't really sure how the process would wind up going. The newly-formed Sarasota Sailfish were the only team to reach out to me in terms of scouting. And from there, my excitement grew.
The day of the draft, I waited a long while to hear my name called. But I didn't mind going in the 11th round. Not a great place to be, I know, but I like to think I was an underdog steal. And I was happy that I was picked by the team who had shown interest. The grind started there, and I like to think that I've shocked some people. I'm doing all that I can to improve, and I think that my DSFL season was more than enough to prove my capability. I look forward to making a name for myself through S23.
Who knows? Maybe this sleeper will open some eyes.

[HalfEatenOnionBagel]

Well the most recent draft that I was in was the S21 draft. It was an interesting draft because while there were some pretty reputable recreates and stud new players like Prince Vegeta who was taken first overall, it was somewhat overshadowed by the S22 class that was flooding into the league at the time. Certainly if you could somehow grab a few more S22 picks they were told with how deep the class was projected to be.

Regardless, I was pretty excited for the draft having come back from a pretty long stretch of inactivity. Having only played for a few teams in my career and only played in the NSFC I had high hopes to land with a team I had never gotten a chance to play with before. Even going to Yellowknife would be a pretty new experience having only been there a short time at the very end of Micah Hendrix's career.

As the draft got closer though, the writing was pretty clearly on the wall that I would be returning to Chicago. I already had a connection to the team, they needed a tight end and I wasn't too interested in switching to defense at the time, and their draft position towards the back of the first round fit where I was projected to go. Not to mention the GMs interacting with me a lot before the draft. I don't really feel like I deserve the draft capital I got but hey I'll take it. I always love starting a new player and I get very excited about the draft, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed at the time. Don't get me wrong I got over that feeling very quickly and of course things have changed dramatically and I love being in Chicago even more than before. But after being drafted back to Philadelphia with Hondo and then back to Chicago with Osiris, I still have yet to play outside of the NSFC. I had a chance to with Hondo but ended up in Baltimore. I am usually very loyal to my team and having signed an extension with Chicago already I'm not planning to leave anytime soon of my own volition. So we'll see, maybe the next player I create will land somewhere totally new for me. I'm sure there will be even more teams in the league by then.

[24redcrayons]

PBE Affiliate PT

[CalvinGolladay]

I was drafted by the Tijuana Luchadores with the 60th pick in the S22 DSFL draft, a result I was certainly happy with. Jay had sold me on Tijuana early, and as they were the only team I'd spoken to both GMs of (whereas I didn't even respond to others) I was hoping to end up there. My only regret is that I missed the part of the stream where I got drafted. I'd seen most of the picks leading up to my selection and caught the picks after it, but was busy at the time my name got called. It spoiled the experience a bit, but I'm certainly happy with how things worked out. The NSFL draft was another deal, however. The Tijuana->NOLA pipeline has been strong, they were the first team I talked to (twice) and I knew they'd be needing another OL soon, so that would've been my first guess for landing spot. Tim had made it clear that as an OL GM himself he'd be looking to build up the trenches in Philly and they were the only other team I talked to multiple scouts for, so that was my second guess. After that, Yellowknife, Colorado, and (of course) Arizona were all teams that I knew had interest in taking me if the board fell right, and I'd also been in the OCO and Austin LRs. Baltimore almost made that cut for me too, but I knew my Rambler and Luchadore teammate Mith had specifically told them not to draft him, and I'd been hoping we'd end up on the same team for a third time. I didn't have a huge connection with Sarasota, Honolulu, and Chicago, which makes sense as they're two expansion teams and a new set of GMs that had to make up lost time. SJS was the only team I was hesitant about, mostly because I had no contact with them pre-draft. History repeated itself, though, and due to internet issues I missed my pick on the stream once again despite being able to watch almost every other selection.

[Z-Whiz]

This was pretty much my first experience with any of the live streams for the league. I had just joined, so I missed the NSFL draft and didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously, I wanted to be drafted highly and I had done as much as I could to try and make that happen. Turns out, I was at a pretty big disadvantage. One because I was new to the league and no one knew who I was or if I would be active. The other was because I was a WR and I didn’t realize they were usually taken later in the draft due to less demand. The Royals took a flier on me and drafted me at #47 overall, the 6th receiver out of 7 drafted. It was disappointing to say the least, but after doing more research and understanding the league more, I totally understood. I would’ve done the same thing if I were in all the other GM’s shoes. Now I’m just moving forward with a chip on my shoulder to hope and prove all the other GMs wrong and make the London GMs look like geniuses. My main goal is to gather as much TPE and money as possible this year by writing articles and media (both of which I’ve already done). I hope this will get the attention of the NSFL GMs and come next years NSFL draft, I’ll improve on my #47 overall status. If not, the chip will get bigger. Go Royals!

[hotdog]

SHL PT

[abh89]

As a player that created somewhat late in the process, I did not have a ton of time to be scouted and get to know the teams could potentially select me during the S23 DSFL draft. I was invited to nearly every locker room over the first couple of days after creation and contacted by every team at some point prior to the draft. As the draft approached, I began getting questions about a position switch, which I was open to and made sure every team was aware of that. I had one team truly at the top of my list, but when draft day arrived, I could not have been more clueless about when and where I would be drafted. There were a couple things I was pretty sure of though. I knew defensive players were valued more than offensive players, which would lead to me sliding a bit, but how far was still a mystery. I also knew I wanted to be picked by the Royals and felt their interest was also high but could not get a read on how high (NO LEAKS). With so many question marks, I was on the edge of my seat during the draft, at least after the first 10-15 picks, listening to pick after pick go by hoping to hear my name called. I was a bit surprised once my name was called a pick 23, but I was excited to have been drafted by the Royals. All in all, the draft experience was very fun for me.

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[Drizzy]

SHL PT (username is dankoa)

[Jay_Doctor]

Reliving the draft is one of my favorite league memories to date. My DSFL draft experience was a blur. I had no clue what was going on and then all of a sudden, I was drafted by Kansas City. For the NSFL draft, I felt much more prepared for the occasion. Part way through my rookie season, everything started clicking and the league made sense. I was earning well and was paying more attention to my surroundings compared to when I first joined. As the season was wrapping up, teams started scouting me for the draft. As different teams started conversations with me, I got to a point where I started having a preference on where I would end up. With such a small class in season 19, I was likely a first-round pick or an early second rounder at worst. Only a few teams had a first-round pick, though, making the pool narrowed down to begin with. All of said teams ended up scouting me (except for one of them), so the pecking order began. The team that I was the most excited to play for was the New Orleans Second Line. I didn’t really know anyone there, but then again, I barely knew anyone in the league period at that time. I got great vibes when talking with them though. I spoke with three of their war room, each being really great conversations. My heart was set on going to NOLA. As mock drafts came out, no one had me going there. Well, no one outside of myself at least. NOLA had the 1st, 3rd and 8th picks in the first round. I was quite far behind the top few earners of the class, so I would have been considered quite a reach in either of those top two picks. Pick 8 was by shot. I mocked myself to NOLA in mock draft. Most people had me going to either Chicago or a combination of Yellowknife/Orange County. As the drafted came through, picks were flying once again. My heart skipped a few beats around pick 4 on. I could have realistically been any one of them. Other names came off the board though, leaving me available to NOLA at pick 8. As Bex read off pick 8, I heard Mason Blaylock get called out. I couldn’t have been any happier. I was invited into the locker room right away and greeted by all my new teammates. Others might not have enjoyed their draft day experience, but it was the best feeling in the world to me.

[DonnoMania]

SHL PT