Draft review from a co-GM’s perspective.
So, I have seen a lot of mock drafts, and a lot of draft reviews for specific teams, but I have yet to read from someone who can give an insider's perspective on the recent draft. This is only my second draft as the co-GM of the Wraiths, and also my second even being in a war room. However, this is my first draft being co-GM from start to finish of the process. I got to experience the scouting process for the large Season 15 class, being newly invited into the war room, but was named co right before the draft began. One of the biggest differences is the sheer size for S15 class, and this is a totally different animal looking at a smaller draft class. So, I am going to go through the first 6 picks of this draft and give a general take as well as what we were thinking as far as how it concerned Yellowknife. I also want it known that all 6 of these first picks were standout guys that I really enjoyed scouting.
First and foremost, We as a team were looking to only be able to snag two actives in this draft. We luckily enough had Daybe aka Jaylen Storm, our fearless leader GM, locked in as our second round pick. We were also able to maneuver that pick in to the last pick of the second round in order to get cap space, that allowed us to call up fierce DL, Ryan Leaf Jr last season for what we hoped was going to be our playoff push. It allowed Baltimore to move up earlier in the round and snag their kicker, and since we were taking Storm it didn’t matter what pick in the round we had.
So with a high earning safety locked up, we needed to figure out what position we wanted to target. The current Wraith roster is a mostly young roster, with a sprinkling of experienced active members. On defense, we had four safeties, not including Storm, and a cornerback, ranging from rookies to veterans nearing retirement, one linebacker at the peak of his game, and three defensive linemen, 2 that were rookies and 1 approaching retirement. So with this roster we had 10 of the 11 starting defensive positions filled with active players. Not a bad position to be in. On Offense we are also in great shape with our actives. We have 3 active wide receivers, plus a 550 TPE IA. We have two solid RBs, and the reigning Rookie of the Year at QB. So with so many positions filled, we had the luxury of going best overall.
So here is what we were thinking as the draft moved along.
Pick 1,
Sam Torenson - RB
Sam Torensen was a solid pick to start off this draft. As of this writing, he has amassed an astounding 334 TPE! Jonny2x has been a max earner since he joined the league and has been active all over discord, even joining the wearwolf group. He is also a known and active user in PBE, and has recently become PBE HO, so this pick is about as safe as it comes. Additionally, the only other running back on the Butcher’s roster is about to enter regression and they were looking for more offensive firepower.
From a Wraiths perspective, Jonny would have been a great pick for us had he fallen all the way to 6. To be honest, we would have been happy with multiple players at our spot. The top 6 off the board were all guys we could have easily seen as a Wraith. We always figured Sam T. would go earlier but we scouted him anyway, just in case. Even though we are stacked with offensive weapons, we would’ve made room for such a standout player. He is a great guy to talk to and would've been a positive influence in our Locker Room, albeit we probably wouldn’t have been able to give him the same amount of touches that Chicago can give him. I foresee Sam having a great career with the Butchers.
Pick 2, Blake Faux - LB
Blake is the player of another great PBE user in AlexF. He has garnered 288 TPE as of his last update, and is another max active player. He is another great pick for Chicago as they only have one other linebacker on their roster, the recently acquired Gekyume Stokeley. This LB tandem will terrorize the NSFC for seasons to come.
In Yellowknife, we were also looking at Faux. We are always in need of solid LBs and he would have easily filled that need. Linebacker is a flexible position, and with the amount of safeties on our roster, another flexible position, we would have been able to play everyone in our back 7 all over the field. In scouting Alex, we were drawn to his involvement in sim leagues in general as well as his excitement for this one. But again, this is not a person we believed would fall past the top four picks, and the Butchers wisely chose him at 2 overall.
Pick 3,
Lazslo Forty-Two - WR
Not to sound like a broken record, but the Yeti again continued the trend of great picks, nabbing Lazslo Forty-Two. He fills the need by becoming the heir apparent to Yeti’s All-Pro wide receiver in James Bishop. An added bonus, he will grow as a player along with new QB, Wolfy McDummy. Colorado has a lot of needs so they were looking at best available and you couldn’t go wrong with C9Van’s player who has gained 206 TPE so far. They know they are in full rebuild, and this player will be a solid addition down the line.
This pick would have been similar to the Sorenson pick for us. We have a lot of young offensive weapons, so it would have been hard for us to find him lots of early playing time, but it would’ve been hard to resist the temptation to grab a player with his potential that fell to us here. C9 was great to talk to, and no bias aside, I am excited for him to continue the tradition of excellence that Luchadore wide receivers are known for.
Live Draft Trade
NOLA recieves
S18 1st round (Chicago)
S18 3rd Round (Austin)
AUS recieves
S16 1st Round #4
Pick 4
Dermot Lavelle Jr. - CB
Dermot Lavelle Jr heads to Austin. This was an interesting trade here, and a win for both sides. NOLA was in the position that they wanted to go full rebuild and add future picks. They ended up getting a first and a third in the season 18 draft. This is a draft that all hope is large due to the next r/nfl recruitment drive. Austin, on their side, really wanted Dermot and knew he wouldn’t fall to them at pick 5. Either NOLA would take him, or another team would leapfrog Austin for the pick. Lavelle Jr could have potentially been the first overall selection had he not scared some GMs off with his pre-draft demands. But a team like Austin, also looking to build for their future and having holes in their roster that Dermot can fill, was willing to roll the dice on securing a long term contract with Him. They have hopes that they have another future Hall of Famer on their hands in Lavelle Jr. Not a bad pickup at pick number 4 overall.
The Wraiths were also interested in adding Dermot, since it is hard to turn down a max earner who has already gained 340 TPE. Additionally, Dermot Sr. is a legend in Yellowknife, having already retired his number, and is a sure-fire HOFer. We had the same opportunity as the Copperheads to trade for that pick, but we weren’t able to offer as good of a deal as Austin to grab him. Like some of the other picks, we were loaded at DB, so finding playing time for Dermot would be a stretch. Even though we only have 1 CB, our arsenal of safeties fills some of that void. For the Copperheads, I am sure the demands were no big deal as he will be a starter for them for years to come.
Pick 5 Peter Larson - TE
Austin picking Larson was initially a surprise to us, not because Larson isn’t a stud, because he is, but because the Copperheads used last season’s first round pick on another TE, in Chase Jensen. This pick made much more sense when it was announced this off season that Jensen was taking his large and quick frame to the other side of the ball to become their newest safety. Tomasnz is a great guy and his player is sure to be a great asset for seasons to come. He has already acquired 203 TPE, and going with Lavelle on the other side of the ball, the Copperheads gained two standouts with their two top 5 picks.
Because of Jensen, we figured Larson would be our pick at 6. Another guy who I loved scouting and all of our players in the Marshall’s locker room said he was a great presence. He had great responses to my questions and good follow up questions of his own. We have a hole at TE and he would’ve been a great fill for that. Had Austin taken Maulolo, I am sure we would have taken Larson. Plus, a Kiwi, living abroad would have also created a good mix to our culture and I am sure will do the same for Austin. He figures to try one more season out as the Marshall's QB, before making the leap to the NSFL as the tight end of the future.
Pick 6
Chad Maulolo - DE
The steal of the draft. We were so excited when Maulolo fell to us. He was very high on our board and filled our greatest position of need. As I said above, we were filled at many positions. With Daybe, we had an active user on every position on defense, except we needed one more defensive lineman. He not only fills that role, but helps our locker room as well. To be honest, I probably talked to Gracie more than anyone else in scouting and he was close to if not number 1 on our board. He was such a good guy to chat with and talk about the league with. You could tell his excitement level for the league by the way he answers our questions and his solid follow-up questions. We even talked about IRL stuff. We are so excited to have him on our team! If you are on discord or twitter, you know Leaf is beside himself having another player to share his DL with. Sorry about that. He already has 217 TPE and will be on Leaf’s heels chasing him in Total TPE for the following seasons. Welcome to our team Chad!
Pick 7
Alberto McGwire - DT
Pick 8 Mako Mendonca - RB
Pick 9
William Tell - CB
Pick 10 Joshua Palmer - TE
Because we were going to be taking Daybe in the second round, we knew after Gracie came off the board, the draft was pretty much done for us. That is not to say we wouldn’t have been happy with some of the guys who came off the board after us. The bottom half of this first round had some solid guys get drafted, and we scouted a few of them. Some solid guys and great users. To those not on the Wraiths, we wish you good luck in the upcoming seasons. My favorite part of being a co-GM is the scouting process and getting to meet a bunch of cool guys. I really enjoyed talking to all of you and truly hope for the best for all of you!
So, I have seen a lot of mock drafts, and a lot of draft reviews for specific teams, but I have yet to read from someone who can give an insider's perspective on the recent draft. This is only my second draft as the co-GM of the Wraiths, and also my second even being in a war room. However, this is my first draft being co-GM from start to finish of the process. I got to experience the scouting process for the large Season 15 class, being newly invited into the war room, but was named co right before the draft began. One of the biggest differences is the sheer size for S15 class, and this is a totally different animal looking at a smaller draft class. So, I am going to go through the first 6 picks of this draft and give a general take as well as what we were thinking as far as how it concerned Yellowknife. I also want it known that all 6 of these first picks were standout guys that I really enjoyed scouting.
First and foremost, We as a team were looking to only be able to snag two actives in this draft. We luckily enough had Daybe aka Jaylen Storm, our fearless leader GM, locked in as our second round pick. We were also able to maneuver that pick in to the last pick of the second round in order to get cap space, that allowed us to call up fierce DL, Ryan Leaf Jr last season for what we hoped was going to be our playoff push. It allowed Baltimore to move up earlier in the round and snag their kicker, and since we were taking Storm it didn’t matter what pick in the round we had.
So with a high earning safety locked up, we needed to figure out what position we wanted to target. The current Wraith roster is a mostly young roster, with a sprinkling of experienced active members. On defense, we had four safeties, not including Storm, and a cornerback, ranging from rookies to veterans nearing retirement, one linebacker at the peak of his game, and three defensive linemen, 2 that were rookies and 1 approaching retirement. So with this roster we had 10 of the 11 starting defensive positions filled with active players. Not a bad position to be in. On Offense we are also in great shape with our actives. We have 3 active wide receivers, plus a 550 TPE IA. We have two solid RBs, and the reigning Rookie of the Year at QB. So with so many positions filled, we had the luxury of going best overall.
So here is what we were thinking as the draft moved along.
Pick 1,
Sam Torenson - RBSam Torensen was a solid pick to start off this draft. As of this writing, he has amassed an astounding 334 TPE! Jonny2x has been a max earner since he joined the league and has been active all over discord, even joining the wearwolf group. He is also a known and active user in PBE, and has recently become PBE HO, so this pick is about as safe as it comes. Additionally, the only other running back on the Butcher’s roster is about to enter regression and they were looking for more offensive firepower.
From a Wraiths perspective, Jonny would have been a great pick for us had he fallen all the way to 6. To be honest, we would have been happy with multiple players at our spot. The top 6 off the board were all guys we could have easily seen as a Wraith. We always figured Sam T. would go earlier but we scouted him anyway, just in case. Even though we are stacked with offensive weapons, we would’ve made room for such a standout player. He is a great guy to talk to and would've been a positive influence in our Locker Room, albeit we probably wouldn’t have been able to give him the same amount of touches that Chicago can give him. I foresee Sam having a great career with the Butchers.
Pick 2,
Blake Faux - LBBlake is the player of another great PBE user in AlexF. He has garnered 288 TPE as of his last update, and is another max active player. He is another great pick for Chicago as they only have one other linebacker on their roster, the recently acquired Gekyume Stokeley. This LB tandem will terrorize the NSFC for seasons to come.
In Yellowknife, we were also looking at Faux. We are always in need of solid LBs and he would have easily filled that need. Linebacker is a flexible position, and with the amount of safeties on our roster, another flexible position, we would have been able to play everyone in our back 7 all over the field. In scouting Alex, we were drawn to his involvement in sim leagues in general as well as his excitement for this one. But again, this is not a person we believed would fall past the top four picks, and the Butchers wisely chose him at 2 overall.
Pick 3,
Lazslo Forty-Two - WRNot to sound like a broken record, but the Yeti again continued the trend of great picks, nabbing Lazslo Forty-Two. He fills the need by becoming the heir apparent to Yeti’s All-Pro wide receiver in James Bishop. An added bonus, he will grow as a player along with new QB, Wolfy McDummy. Colorado has a lot of needs so they were looking at best available and you couldn’t go wrong with C9Van’s player who has gained 206 TPE so far. They know they are in full rebuild, and this player will be a solid addition down the line.
This pick would have been similar to the Sorenson pick for us. We have a lot of young offensive weapons, so it would have been hard for us to find him lots of early playing time, but it would’ve been hard to resist the temptation to grab a player with his potential that fell to us here. C9 was great to talk to, and no bias aside, I am excited for him to continue the tradition of excellence that Luchadore wide receivers are known for.
Live Draft Trade
NOLA recieves
S18 1st round (Chicago)
S18 3rd Round (Austin)
AUS recieves
S16 1st Round #4
Pick 4
Dermot Lavelle Jr. - CBDermot Lavelle Jr heads to Austin. This was an interesting trade here, and a win for both sides. NOLA was in the position that they wanted to go full rebuild and add future picks. They ended up getting a first and a third in the season 18 draft. This is a draft that all hope is large due to the next r/nfl recruitment drive. Austin, on their side, really wanted Dermot and knew he wouldn’t fall to them at pick 5. Either NOLA would take him, or another team would leapfrog Austin for the pick. Lavelle Jr could have potentially been the first overall selection had he not scared some GMs off with his pre-draft demands. But a team like Austin, also looking to build for their future and having holes in their roster that Dermot can fill, was willing to roll the dice on securing a long term contract with Him. They have hopes that they have another future Hall of Famer on their hands in Lavelle Jr. Not a bad pickup at pick number 4 overall.
The Wraiths were also interested in adding Dermot, since it is hard to turn down a max earner who has already gained 340 TPE. Additionally, Dermot Sr. is a legend in Yellowknife, having already retired his number, and is a sure-fire HOFer. We had the same opportunity as the Copperheads to trade for that pick, but we weren’t able to offer as good of a deal as Austin to grab him. Like some of the other picks, we were loaded at DB, so finding playing time for Dermot would be a stretch. Even though we only have 1 CB, our arsenal of safeties fills some of that void. For the Copperheads, I am sure the demands were no big deal as he will be a starter for them for years to come.
Pick 5
Peter Larson - TEAustin picking Larson was initially a surprise to us, not because Larson isn’t a stud, because he is, but because the Copperheads used last season’s first round pick on another TE, in Chase Jensen. This pick made much more sense when it was announced this off season that Jensen was taking his large and quick frame to the other side of the ball to become their newest safety. Tomasnz is a great guy and his player is sure to be a great asset for seasons to come. He has already acquired 203 TPE, and going with Lavelle on the other side of the ball, the Copperheads gained two standouts with their two top 5 picks.
Because of Jensen, we figured Larson would be our pick at 6. Another guy who I loved scouting and all of our players in the Marshall’s locker room said he was a great presence. He had great responses to my questions and good follow up questions of his own. We have a hole at TE and he would’ve been a great fill for that. Had Austin taken Maulolo, I am sure we would have taken Larson. Plus, a Kiwi, living abroad would have also created a good mix to our culture and I am sure will do the same for Austin. He figures to try one more season out as the Marshall's QB, before making the leap to the NSFL as the tight end of the future.
Pick 6
Chad Maulolo - DEThe steal of the draft. We were so excited when Maulolo fell to us. He was very high on our board and filled our greatest position of need. As I said above, we were filled at many positions. With Daybe, we had an active user on every position on defense, except we needed one more defensive lineman. He not only fills that role, but helps our locker room as well. To be honest, I probably talked to Gracie more than anyone else in scouting and he was close to if not number 1 on our board. He was such a good guy to chat with and talk about the league with. You could tell his excitement level for the league by the way he answers our questions and his solid follow-up questions. We even talked about IRL stuff. We are so excited to have him on our team! If you are on discord or twitter, you know Leaf is beside himself having another player to share his DL with. Sorry about that. He already has 217 TPE and will be on Leaf’s heels chasing him in Total TPE for the following seasons. Welcome to our team Chad!
Pick 7
Alberto McGwire - DTPick 8
Mako Mendonca - RBPick 9
William Tell - CBPick 10
Joshua Palmer - TEBecause we were going to be taking Daybe in the second round, we knew after Gracie came off the board, the draft was pretty much done for us. That is not to say we wouldn’t have been happy with some of the guys who came off the board after us. The bottom half of this first round had some solid guys get drafted, and we scouted a few of them. Some solid guys and great users. To those not on the Wraiths, we wish you good luck in the upcoming seasons. My favorite part of being a co-GM is the scouting process and getting to meet a bunch of cool guys. I really enjoyed talking to all of you and truly hope for the best for all of you!
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