10-08-2019, 01:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2019, 11:04 AM by Fordhammer.)
6614 words, ready to grade.
Introduction
As my hand begins to heal, I really wanted to get out a media piece that wasn’t a Blindside. A couple of people asked if I would do a post draft article and I wasn’t sure how quickly I could do one with my hand the way it was. It took a bit of extra time and it is lagging behind most of the others, but I think I finally found a format I’m comfortable with and was able to leisurely type this while giving my hand rests in between. So here we go! I decided to compare my mock to the actual draft and look at how it matched up with what actually happened and give the teams grades while I’m at it. I hope you guys enjoy!
Mock Comparisons
1. New Orleans Second Line - IsaStarcrossed aka Bjørn Ironside - Defensive Tackle - Original Prediction: Pick 1 - As I said when I did my draft report, I hate doing these things for myself. It always feels a bit off. Still, I think everyone knew that Bjørn Ironside was going first overall. He had everything he needed to make a run at the pick and at the end of the day it was enough. The Second Line grab themselves an incredibly active defensive tackle that should strengthen their line and anchor their defense for a long time.
2. Philadelphia Liberty - Hallmonitor_20 aka Zach Hall - Defensive End - Original Prediction: Pick 2 - I had strong feelings about this one for Philadelphia. I knew they were looking for a guy with general manager experience and Zach Hall was absolutely the top option for that. He is an incredibly active meme machine and fills one of the biggest positions of need in the league. I just didn’t see Philadelphia passing this one up. They’ve got a future general manager in Philadelphia and it will be exciting to see what the do with it.
3. Orange County Otters - Revolution5 aka Tyrone Biggums - Wide Receiver - Original Prediction: Pick 5 - This one was a bit of a surprise for me. Not because I doubted Revolution’s ability to be a top four pick, but because no one in the top four seemed to be completely desperate for a receiver. That said, accepting a coGM role in San Antonio right before the draft and a willingness to change positions skyrocketed his draft stock. He is officially moving to the safety slot for Orange County and I imagine their front office starts getting him ready to be an eventual successor for the general manager role of the Otters.
4. Colorado Yeti - Modern_Duke aka Louisiana Purchase - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 8 - I had Colorado take a safety in my predictions, but this result isn't surprising to me at all. Purchase was the best defensive back in the DSFL and is an all around great guy. He is one of the best media producers in the class and I doubt he’d be opposed to moving around in the defense if need be. He absolutely worked hard his DSFL season and deserved to make the top four.
5. San Jose SaberCats - Bex aka Marcella T?riki - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 7 - I had predicted that San Jose would take the best offensive player on the board in this slot to give them a bit of a jump start. With Biggums going earlier than expected due to a willing position swap, it made the SaberCats pivot a bit. The next best option was pretty obvious and T?riki comes off the board before any of the other RB hungry teams have a chance at her. She comes from a team where basically the entire offense revolves around her and now she steps into a team where basically the entire offense will revolve around her. She knows what is expected of her and the SaberCats couldn’t have made a better pick.
6. New Orleans Second Line - DylanDeluxe aka Thudd Kassel - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 6 - I had predicted Thudd landing in New Orleans for a myriad of reasons, but I was actually surprised to see him fall this far. This guy has incredible upside and his only downside may be that he cares too much. The guy is entirely devoted to the league and only wants to see it succeed. He’s going to be a top earner and one of the biggest faces in the NSFL for a long, long time and I think with him falling this far New Orleans actually got the first steal of the draft. I look forward to seeing him tackle the league with the Second Line for a long, long time.
7. Yellowknife Wraiths - murtsi aka BaconBrother aka Maurice Virtanen - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 3 - It is actually mind boggling that Virtanen fell this far. No trades, no freakish movement at the top, just a completely unexpected plummet for a guy who should have been a top three pick. The fact that Yellowknife got him without even having to trade up is straight robbery of the league and I am astounded he fell into their laps like this. The guy is going to be around for a long while and has one of the greatest personalities in the class. He had almost no downsides and the Wraiths got a monster steal.
8. Colorado Yeti - jsteele14 aka Pete Parker - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 4 - This pick came much later that I expected. Parker absolutely seemed like a top four talent in this draft and he’s done nothing but be a top earner since he entered the league. I had him going to Colorado because I didn’t think they could pass on a guy with his talents and reputation. They surprised me by not only passing on him, but trading with Arizona to move up and take him anyways. The fact they managed to grab Purchase early and still negotiate for Parker gave the Yeti the second strongest first round in my opinion.
9. Orange County Otters - VRTX L4S3R aka Korrin Abernathy - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 9 - Abernathy goes exactly where I expected. Abernathy has always been a solid prospect in S18, but there were clearly a couple of defensive backs who just barely edged him out as the top of the top. This caused him to slip a bit further than perhaps he deserved, but he landed in a near perfect situation. He gets to go into a championship locker room and learn from guys who know how to get it done and how to finish. He’s made it clear that he would like to be a general manager at some point and getting the chance to learn from someone like Spec is absolutely incredible for him. This is a match that has been in the works for a while and the Otters got their man.
10. Austin Copperheads - UpperNet aka Net Gaines - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 10 - This pick was pretty predictable because it was a match made in heaven. When you look at the kind of locker room environment that Austin tries to maintain and then see a guy like Net, you know they are meant for each other. They didn’t have a massive need at the position, but people can always be moved around and when a personality like this is still available at the end of the first, you have to take him. There was no way he fell out of the first round.
11. New Orleans Second Line - pazuzu aka Bender B. Rodriguez - Wide Receiver - Original Prediction: Pick 11 - I originally had Bender going here mostly because of his status as a league veteran and the fact he was a known commodity in this league. With so many high picks, New Orleans had a chance to lock in at least one player with minimal risk. Since my prediction, he has proven himself as a top earner in the class and with the position swap of Biggums is now clearly the best receiver in the draft. With an aging option on their roster, the Second Line get ahead of a need and get Rodriguez in to take over as a successor to Fyodorovich.
12. Philadelphia Liberty - goodvsevil1275 aka Jake Watson - Wide Receiver - Original Prediction: Pick 14 - I thought that with their issues at running back, Philadelphia would for sure be going with something different here. After picking up Torenson in a trade, that all changed as it was no longer a huge need for them. This led them to taking one of the biggest names off the board. Jake Watson is a big personality for S18. He is active, a high earner, and he’s beloved by most if only for his work in media grading. In most other drafts, Jake was easily a top 10 pick and the Liberty have to walk away from this one feeling pretty great about it.
13. Austin Copperheads - TheDangaZone aka Xavien Adams - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 13 - This pick was a no brainer for Austin. As I said in my predictions for this draft, Adams is a proven commodity who fills a hole for the Copperheads. Austin likely had their eye on this guy for a while. They know they can rely on him and with their young roster, it made a lot of sense to lock in a league veteran who they know can contribute to the field and the locker room early and often.
14. Arizona Outlaws - Shadowz aka Ruff Ruff - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 12 - The Outlaws may have gotten away with one here. Their biggest need coming into this draft was a prolific running back to replace the aging starts on their offense. After missing out on T?riki, they managed to trade out, grab more picks, and still land the second best running back in the class. Top earner, veteran player, and the goodest of boys all wrapped up in one incredible package for the Outlaws. They lost nothing with their trade and still got the top guy on their board. I’ve got to call that one a win.
15. Chicago Butchers - CDub2 aka Mike Hockhertz - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 16 - This Chicago trade with the Copperheads actually threw off most of my predictions by one pick for the next couple of rounds. With Austin not having many glaring holes, I thought they would add Fabricio Baldari in this spot and strengthen their defensive line. Instead, they traded out and we saw the Butchers grab Hockhertz instead. This was a smart, perfect pick for the Butchers. They got the best secondary player remaining on the board while grabbing one of the last active recreated in this draft. Considering Chicago was looking at picking fringe active players just a few days before the draft, grabbing a guy like Hockhertz is huge for them.
16. Orange County Otters - BroicSilence aka Marlo Smart - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 17 - Orange County was able to approach this pick with the ability to pick the best defensive player available. That player was very clearly Marlo Smart. I had him going a pick later, but with some things changing including a trade and a couple retirements, the draft played out a bit differently than I expected so Orange County was able to grab their third big time defensive player of the draft.
17. Yellowknife Wraiths - CLG Rampage aka Mathias Hanyadi - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 18 - There wasn’t too much to talk about with this one. I had him going a pick later to Arizona because I thought the Wraiths had a chance at T?riki. An Arizona trade and a surprise position switch later and the Yellowknife gets their hands on the best running back remaining on the board. Hanyadi has been one of the most known faces in this class for a while and while he fell behind a bit early in TPE, he has been a very solid earner over the last month. He’s going to be a star in this league and he should be the feature back of the future for the Wraths starting in S19.
18. Arizona Outlaws - Opera_Phantom aka Jay Cue - Quarterback - Original Prediction: Pick 19 - This was yet another guy I had going one pick later. I thought that Arizona was at least another season away from picking their guy to replace Reese, but it seemed like a guy like Cue was too good to pass up. Cue has been a top earner in this class from the beginning and he’s be an incredible presence in social avenues of the league. I was afraid he might drop pretty far because of his position, so I was ecstatic to see him go here. Hopefully he makes the transition into the starter for Arizona smoothly as Reese begins to age.
19. San Jose SaberCats - illegaloctopus aka Joseph Wozniak - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 21 - The draft shifted in a way I didn’t quite expect and the SaberCats couldn’t get their hands on Cue. As a result, they went for the best player left available and they nailed it by picking Wozniak. Things fell a bit differently than I expected and Wozniak squeezed into the second round. He certainly deserved it as this guy has been one of S18’s biggest jokesters. He’s a ton of fun and is an absolute light to have in any locker room. The SaberCats managed to pick up a potential defensive leader of the future for their squad.
20. Colorado Yeti - soppychico aka Steco Ocewilder - Tight End - Original Prediction: Pick 22 - Being a tight end, I thought Ocewilder was at risk of dropping to the third round, but fortunately he was very high on Colorado’s board and they traded up to grab him. He’s been a high level earner in the class and he earned his way into the second round. It pleased me to see a team jump up to grab him and really show that he was highly valued despite his position.
21. New Orleans Second Line - ddrector aka David Rector - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 23 - I had Rector going to the Second Line at 23 instead of 21, but with Wozniak coming off the board a bit sooner than expected, New Orleans had to jump on this one. Rector could easily be the biggest steal of the draft. Coming into the draft, most general managers were under the impression that while active, Rector wasn’t a great earner. He had only 121 TPE and was towards the bottom end of actives. Turns out, there was some miscommunication on his updates. Rector was actually sitting on about 210 TPE and was a top defensive back in the draft. New Orleans got an awesome player here and it should pay huge dividends.
22. Philadelphia Liberty - goodfortunecoffee aka Fuzzy Dotson - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 28 - Fuzzy caught me off guard and went far higher than I expected him to. His original archetype was a blocking back and I didn’t know how many general managers would do enough homework to realize that he had switched to a speed back. His archetype was the only thing really working against him and it looks like Philadelphia were the lucky birds that got this worm. They jumped on him early before he could slip away and grabbed a solid locker room guy in the process.
23.New Orleans Second Line - BeneZero aka Junior Lopez - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 25 - After picking up Thudd Kassel earlier in the draft and having two star linebackers on their roster, I didn’t foresee New Orleans biting on another linebacker. They surprised me at 23 by taking Junior Lopez, but it was very much a case of taking the best player available. Due to spotty activity, Lopez had gotten overlooked and when it came to this pick, he had the most earnings of any player remaining and it wasn’t even close. If he stays active, this will end up being a solid choice for the Second Line.
24. Orange County Otters - Howard Ryan aka RacgiMan - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 35 - I actually had Howard Ryan falling much, much further than this. Not because he didn’t deserve it, but because I knew that a ton of secondary players would have been picked by now. Still, Orange County got this pick as a part of a trade with Colorado and then used it to select their third defensive back of the draft. Its well known that you can have enough of these guys and the Otters took one of the more active guys remaining on the board.
25. Baltimore Hawks - Sermokala aka Fabricio Baldari - Defensive End - Original Prediction: Pick 15 - Baldari was a surprise to me and I think the Hawks got a huge steal by getting him here. He is a very, very solid earner for the S18 class and he is a defensive end, one of the biggest positions of need in the league. The fact he fell this far was a bit of a travesty and should he remain active and continue earning, every team who passed on him will likely regret that decision as Baltimore has earned his loyalty.
26. Austin Copperheads - thunderbug aka John-Caleb Bradberton - Defensive Tackle - Original Prediction: Pick 26 - My senses told me that Bradberton was going at this spot. He was an active defensive lineman who was still earning and you really don’t see those guys fall very far. I figured Chicago would grab him and get an immediate upgrade on their line. They traded with Austin and they selected him in this spot instead. He’s a very solid addition and this time next season, Austin is going to be looking pretty with their new starting defensive tackle.
27. Philadelphia Liberty - DeadlyPlayer aka Mike Franchet - Defensive End - Original Prediction: Pick 24 - Franchet is one of the most active guys in this class despite being a low earner. He is well down in the bottom half of the class in TPE, but his activity and love for the league is absolutely unquestioned. I knew he would end up being taken around this spot from that alone
28. Arizona Outlaws - lamp_wizard aka Samuel Bakhtiari - Offensive Line - Original Prediction: Pick 33 - It was hard to guess exactly when the fair rubs were going to start going out. I think everyone knew that Bakhtiari was likely going to be the first offensive line guy off the board after his incredible show of activity and sheer determination to make offensive line work. He’s a great guy and a decent earner. After getting this pick in a trade with Colorado, I was unsure where Arizona would go. They couldn’t have done much better with this pick than Bakhtiari.
29. Baltimore Hawks - FleshBagSoup aka Earl Sauce - Tight End - Original Prediction: Pick 34 - Earl Sauce came off the board a bit earlier than I initially expected. This had a lot to do with the fact that one of his former general managers is now managing the Hawks and the fact that his personality absolutely exploded right about the same time the draft started. I said he wouldn’t drop pas the next New Orleans pick because of a former general manager knowing who he was and what he does for a locker room. Looks like for this one, Baltimore just got there first.
30. Baltimore Hawks - Jepox aka Juan Marston - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 30 - I had Marston going in this spot from the beginning. I knew that the Hawks desperately needed a developmental prospect in their secondary to replace some of their aging stars in the next couple of seasons. I knew they would go for the best guy left on the board and that was absolutely Marston. Hopefully he keeps on earning and in one quick season will be moving into a starting role for this Baltimore team.
31. Philadelphia Liberty - dieselj123 aka Stuart Little IV - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 20 - I was actually surprised by Stuart Little’s fall from grace. After being the number two pick in the DSFL draft, he rapidly fell down the rankings as his activity became spotty at best. Still, coming into the draft he had the third most TPE of a cornerback on paper, was still logging in and gathering TPE, and in the days leading up to the draft became active in the social circles of the league as well. Despite that, he became the sixth cornerback off the board. It was a surprise for me, but if he can keep up his current pace he may end up being one of the Liberty’s better picks.
32. Philadelphia Liberty - Frostbite aka Baxter Frost - Kicker - Original Prediction: Pick 39 - I ultimately had Philadelphia picking up the best kicker in this draft, but I had it at their next pick instead. Frost is an incredibly active guy and an absolutely huge locker room presence, but I saw him falling almost to the fifth merely because of him being a kicker. I didn’t know how deep into this a team would go before risking a pick on a guy like this. It was earlier than I expected and I couldn’t be more excited for Frost as the Liberty couldn’t let themselves miss on this guy.
33. Austin Copperheads - JSteel aka Wayne Howyanow - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 31 - I had Howyanow going a couple of picks earlier because I didn’t expect Stuart Little to be on the board. Still, things got shaken up and he dropped into this slot instead. Austin said coming into this draft that they were going to be focusing heavy on defense. They stuck to that promise and with their last pick in this draft, they selected the best remaining secondary player here. Howyanow is an active guy and should add some flavor to the Copperheads locker room.
34. New Orleans Second Line - caltroit_red_flames aka Givussafare Rubbe - Offensive Line - Original Prediction: Pick 32 - I thought that when fair rubs came around that Rubbe would be the first off the board. He had the highest earnings, is a veteran league player, and he fathered the idea of fair rubs for all. One of his own students got picked before him though and it allowed for the Second Line to get a bit of a steal. Rubbe is very dedicated to his craft and intends to be one of the best offensive linemen this league has seen. He wants to prove that these guys are in fact worth it and that they can fit into this league. New Orleans is one of the teams who will be most willing to help him achieve those goals.
35. San Jose SaberCats - Zeegee aka Oswald Grimnir - Safety - Original Prediction - Pick 36 - I originally thought another safety would be in this spot, but he got picked much, much earlier than I expected. So instead of that guy, Grimnir head to San Jose. I figured that they would take the best player on the board here and Grimnir was easily a top 30 player in this draft. The SaberCats get a bit of a steal here and may have found a guy who should develop nicely as the team rebuilds.
36. Chicago Butchers - cpetrella aka Footballer Blockerman - Offensive Line - Original Prediction - Pick 40 - I didn’t see Blockerman coming off the board quite this early due to a few skill positions still having actives on the board at this point. Still, the general managers in Chicago had some good conversations with him and are familiar with the type of player he is. It was enough to draft him, but not enough to keep him as they later shipped him off to Austin for a few extra picks late in the draft.
37. Yellowknife Wraiths - Rublic aka Orien Drake - Running Back - Original Prediction - Pick 38 - I knew that the Wraiths were going to go running back in this slot. My assumption was just that they were likely to take a different running back and go with a more veteran presence. I was wrong and they took the youthful top 40 earner in Orien Drake instead. The Wraiths have their two star backs for one more season and it will give Drake a bit more time to develop. I originally had him being a committee guy backing up Hanyadi in Arizona, but it looks like the Wraiths grabbed them both instead.
38. Colorado Yeti - sapp2018 aka Michael Vincent - Running Back - Original Prediction: ??? - The Yeti got this pick in a trade with Arizona and grabbed Michael Vincent. Vincent was not on my radar in the top 50 initially because when I did my draft report, he wasn’t even in the top 60 for TPE earnings and hadn’t been incredibly active in general. Since my draft report though, this guy has been an incredible earner, has burst onto the scene, and is now looking like a top five running back in this class. The Yeti must have had some incredible conversations with this guy because they certainly got him active.
39. Philadelphia Liberty - adam2552 aka Johnson Harding - Quarterback - Original Prediction - Pick 27 - With a few teams needing quarterbacks in this class, I thought Harding would go quite a bit earlier. He is a veteran and a top 15 earner in this class despite not joining the class until five weeks into the season. He has been an incredible talent since then and the fact he fell this far was a bit of a travesty. Outside of joining early, he’s done everything right and teams just continued to pass him up. Luckily for Philadelphia, it allowed them to get their potential successor to Falconi very late in this one. If Harding continues earning at his current rate, he very well could be the starter for this Liberty team within two seasons.
40. Orange County Otters - Wally aka Charles Allen - Running Back - Original Prediction - Pick 37 - Due to his status as veteran of this league, I was under the assumption that Wally might go a bit earlier than this. Teams knew what to expect from him and it is rare to get a known variable this late in the draft. Still, it looks like teams had better conversations with some of the other picks in the draft and it resulted in a short fall. The Otters pick him up and grab a guy that they may be able to work into their system in a couple of seasons as long as he meets his expectations.
How did I do?
One of the reasons I settled on doing my post draft article like this was that I wanted to see how close my research actually got me to what would happen in this draft. So let’s dive in and see how I did, shall we?
Exact Picks Correct: 9 of 40 or 22.5%
Picks Correct Within One Spot: 15 of 40 or 37.5%
Picks Correct within Three Spots: 27 of 40 or 67.5%
Picks Correct within Five Spots: 35 of 40 or 87.5%
Picks That Caught Me Completely Off Guard: 5 of 40 or 12.5%
Overall, given how big of a class this was and how unpredictable things can be within any given draft, I feel like I did pretty well. There were only five guys that completely threw me off position wise and most of those were guys who ended up falling much further than I expected. You can never really know what the discussions between players and GMs are like behind closed doors, so sometimes guys fall a bit further than what their draft stock says they should. Then of course there was at least one that went off the board much, much earlier than expected and again I expect that had a lot to do with what happened behind closed doors. All in all, this was an excellent draft and I think teams really hit on active players in their neediest positions.
Quick Draft Grades
I’m doing these grades based on picks 1-50 because past 50 is where it was almost exclusively inactives and it is hard to judge teams on those. So we’re looking at the first five rounds where impact players could actually be found to see how these teams did. I didn’t want to go into too much depth here because it is all opinion based on what I would have done and quite frankly, the deeper I dive in, the more silly I look in three seasons when some of these late rounds guys are even better than me!
NOLA: A+
In seven picks, New Orleans managed to rack up 1580 TPE at 225.7 TPE per player and seven active players. With their first four picks, they managed to nail 200+ TPE guys across the board as well as grab four immediate impact starters. They filled some of their most glaring holes by bolstering their defensive line, getting some help in their inactive secondary, and finding a stud receiver to replace an aging star. They have two other players that will likely be called up by next year and a developing offensive lineman who should debut come S20. The Second Line killed it with this draft and put together a very solid young group of players.
PHI: A
In seven picks, Philadelphia put together 1256 TPE at 179.4 TPE per player and seven active guys. They falter a bit because they didn’t get as many immediate impact players as New Orleans, but they did get some of the most incredibly active guys in the class. They managed to pick up guys like Franchet and Baxter Frost late in this one and they are the kind of guys who add character to a locker room despite not being top earners. This ended up being a very solid group of players and while I only see two or maybe three of them getting called up this season, they addressed a lot of needs that should be hitting them hard in the next season or so. Receiver, running back, quarterback. This offense is littered with aging stars and the Liberty took this opportunity to get ahead of the collapse. Good on them.
COL: B+
In five picks, Colorado saw themselves manage to grab 1117 TPE at 223.4 TPE per player, four active players, and one inactive. Colorado did some trading to move up a couple of times in this draft to get a very solid group of top level players. Their first three picks were absolutely clutch as they grabbed two star secondary players that should start near immediately and grabbed the top tight end on the board to boot. This gave them a solid three 200+ TPE players and then they followed that up by getting one of the bigger steals in the draft in the fourth. Michael Vincent may not start this season, but it looks like he had a lot of room for growth as teams watched him jump up over 100 TPE in a single update, surprising everyone that he had that much laying around. Mix that with grabbing the highest TPE inactive in the draft and they had the second highest average level of skill in this draft. If Trae Bacon were to return from his inactivity, I think this grade easily jumps to an A or an A+.
OCO: B
In five picks, Orange County wrapped up 1018 TPE at 203.6 TPE per player and five active players. Orange County didn’t put together a draft of the highest earners, but they went instead for exactly what they wanted. At the top, they wanted active, steady earners who were willing to take general manager and war room roles in the franchise. They got that with Biggums and Abernathy while strengthening their secondary in the process. They also managed to grab Marlo Smart who was a top linebacker in this class and fell out of the first only because he is a little quiet. He’s going to be a star in this league and Orange County should be looking to call him up in S19. I do think they reached a little in the third round, but you can’t blame a team for going and getting the guy they want even if it is a reach. The Otters have proven they can pretty much pick who they want and make it work, so I can’t grade them too harshly!
ARI: B-
In five picks, Arizona locked down 936 TPE at 187.2 TPE per player and five active players. Arizona had a clear goal when they came into this draft. They wanted a dynamic playmaker to build a team around as they head into a minor rebuild. I believe their eyes were on T?riki, but when she slipped away they were smart by trading down and opening up their draft a bit. They got their guy with the best of boys, Ruff Ruff, and then spent the rest of this draft building for their future. The best quarterback in this draft, Jay Cue is the clear successor to Reese. They grabbed two active offensive linemen who should be moving up at the same time as Cue does and they locked down a developmental kicker to boot. This draft for Arizona wasn’t about immediate impact, but about an investment in what comes next. They grabbed a solid group of guys and I look forward to them growing with this team.
AUS: B-
In three picks, Austin racked up 910 TPE at 182 TPE per player and five actives. Austin already came into this draft with a very solid, young roster. They made it clear that they were focusing on defense and locker room presence with their draft strategy and if you look at their strategy alone, I think they did pretty well. In the grand scheme of things though, they didn’t have that many picks and the picks they did get didn’t overwhelmingly impress in earnings. They got two very solid players. Net Gaines was the carbon copy of what this team wanted and they got him without having to move in the draft, which was huge for them. Then they got a long time league guy and a top prospect in Xavien Adams with their second pick. After that, things get more hazy. Howyanow and Bradberton are incredible guys and a lot of fun to have in a locker room, but their earning potentials seem to be on the lower end of the spectrum. Austin liked what they got in their interviews though and both guys will be big in this locker room environment that Austin has built. Add in their trade that allowed them to pick up Footballer Blockerman and they put together a solid group going forward.
SJS: C+
In four picks, San Jose managed to pick up 778 TPE at 194.5 TPE per player and four active players. They came into this draft with a best player available mentality and they pulled it off decently. Their only issue is they had more holes than they had picks and with so many actives in this class, I feel like they could have made moves to get a few extra. Nonetheless, they managed to grab T?riki to build the future of this offense around and picked three solid secondary players that should bolster their defense for a long time. They’ll need some time to develop, but at least it is a start as San Jose faces a massive restructuring of their roster.
YKW: C
In three picks, Yellowknife walked out with 669 TPE at 223 TPE per player and three active players. Being entirely fair to Yellowknife, they didn’t have a ton of ammunition coming into this draft. They were really working with three picks and they low key got steals with all three while filling some of their immediate holes. Their first pick wasn’t a desperation pick, but when you have a top two player in the draft fall into your lap at number seven, you have to grab him. Getting Virtanen at seven overall was highway robbery and this whole league knows it. The also knew coming in that they weren’t going to have anyone in their running back room next season, so they managed to grab one of the top backs in the league with Hanyadi and later picked up Drake as a very solid, active backup. These two guys should make one hell of a one-two punch once they’ve had some time to develop. Come S19, this backfield could be as strong as it ever was. Again, not much to work with, but I feel like they got the most out of what they did have as they were even top three in TPE per player..
CHI: D
In six picks, Chicago put together 566 TPE at 113.2 TPE per player, two active players, and three inactives. I’m going to be as fair as possible to Chicago here. Coming into this draft, they didn’t have much to work with at all. They were in a position where they should have had the worst graded draft in the league. They managed to actually improve their stock a bit with some trades though. They grabbed Mike Hockhertz with a second round pick they didn’t have initially. He absolutely will be a top player for them in time and gave them plenty of value. They then moved some other things around and picked up four late picks where they grabbed several inactives, but they were inactives Chicago feels confident they can bring back to life. If things work out, Chicago could have a mostly human offensive line in a few seasons and it will open a lot of cap room for them to build a team with. The potential of this draft alone keeps them from being at the bare bottom.
BAL: D
In five picks, we saw Baltimore collect 580 TPE at 145 TPE per player, three active players, and one inactive. Baltimore came into this draft in a very, very bad spot after selling the farm to have a chance at a championship this past season. It didn’t pay off and it hurt them in a big way in this draft. Not only did they have the lowest TPE total by a significant chunk, they also had the second lowest TPE per player. I cannot judge the current general managers for this though. They were thrust into this situation and were forced to make the most of what they had and I feel like the picked up some solid guys. Baldari, Sauce, and Marston haven’t been top earners, but all three have been active and have really started to let their personalities bloom lately. I think it sets this locker room up with some positivity going forward and I can see them all becoming top players with time. I look forward to seeing what they can do with this group and hopefully they can add a few more solid guys in the next draft to build upon this young core.
Conclusion
I love this class and I loved this draft. It was hard for me to put down on any one team’s class because I love everyone so much and would have been incredibly overjoyed to have been on a team with all of them. Still, some teams were more limited in what they could do due to a lack of picks and I wanted to be as fair as possible with my grades. Every team got some awesome guys and I hope to see this class prosper going forward. It should be a lot of fun watching everyone’s careers and seeing what paths they take. I hope everyone enjoyed and good luck to everyone on their seasons!
Introduction
As my hand begins to heal, I really wanted to get out a media piece that wasn’t a Blindside. A couple of people asked if I would do a post draft article and I wasn’t sure how quickly I could do one with my hand the way it was. It took a bit of extra time and it is lagging behind most of the others, but I think I finally found a format I’m comfortable with and was able to leisurely type this while giving my hand rests in between. So here we go! I decided to compare my mock to the actual draft and look at how it matched up with what actually happened and give the teams grades while I’m at it. I hope you guys enjoy!
Mock Comparisons
1. New Orleans Second Line - IsaStarcrossed aka Bjørn Ironside - Defensive Tackle - Original Prediction: Pick 1 - As I said when I did my draft report, I hate doing these things for myself. It always feels a bit off. Still, I think everyone knew that Bjørn Ironside was going first overall. He had everything he needed to make a run at the pick and at the end of the day it was enough. The Second Line grab themselves an incredibly active defensive tackle that should strengthen their line and anchor their defense for a long time.
2. Philadelphia Liberty - Hallmonitor_20 aka Zach Hall - Defensive End - Original Prediction: Pick 2 - I had strong feelings about this one for Philadelphia. I knew they were looking for a guy with general manager experience and Zach Hall was absolutely the top option for that. He is an incredibly active meme machine and fills one of the biggest positions of need in the league. I just didn’t see Philadelphia passing this one up. They’ve got a future general manager in Philadelphia and it will be exciting to see what the do with it.
3. Orange County Otters - Revolution5 aka Tyrone Biggums - Wide Receiver - Original Prediction: Pick 5 - This one was a bit of a surprise for me. Not because I doubted Revolution’s ability to be a top four pick, but because no one in the top four seemed to be completely desperate for a receiver. That said, accepting a coGM role in San Antonio right before the draft and a willingness to change positions skyrocketed his draft stock. He is officially moving to the safety slot for Orange County and I imagine their front office starts getting him ready to be an eventual successor for the general manager role of the Otters.
4. Colorado Yeti - Modern_Duke aka Louisiana Purchase - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 8 - I had Colorado take a safety in my predictions, but this result isn't surprising to me at all. Purchase was the best defensive back in the DSFL and is an all around great guy. He is one of the best media producers in the class and I doubt he’d be opposed to moving around in the defense if need be. He absolutely worked hard his DSFL season and deserved to make the top four.
5. San Jose SaberCats - Bex aka Marcella T?riki - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 7 - I had predicted that San Jose would take the best offensive player on the board in this slot to give them a bit of a jump start. With Biggums going earlier than expected due to a willing position swap, it made the SaberCats pivot a bit. The next best option was pretty obvious and T?riki comes off the board before any of the other RB hungry teams have a chance at her. She comes from a team where basically the entire offense revolves around her and now she steps into a team where basically the entire offense will revolve around her. She knows what is expected of her and the SaberCats couldn’t have made a better pick.
6. New Orleans Second Line - DylanDeluxe aka Thudd Kassel - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 6 - I had predicted Thudd landing in New Orleans for a myriad of reasons, but I was actually surprised to see him fall this far. This guy has incredible upside and his only downside may be that he cares too much. The guy is entirely devoted to the league and only wants to see it succeed. He’s going to be a top earner and one of the biggest faces in the NSFL for a long, long time and I think with him falling this far New Orleans actually got the first steal of the draft. I look forward to seeing him tackle the league with the Second Line for a long, long time.
7. Yellowknife Wraiths - murtsi aka BaconBrother aka Maurice Virtanen - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 3 - It is actually mind boggling that Virtanen fell this far. No trades, no freakish movement at the top, just a completely unexpected plummet for a guy who should have been a top three pick. The fact that Yellowknife got him without even having to trade up is straight robbery of the league and I am astounded he fell into their laps like this. The guy is going to be around for a long while and has one of the greatest personalities in the class. He had almost no downsides and the Wraiths got a monster steal.
8. Colorado Yeti - jsteele14 aka Pete Parker - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 4 - This pick came much later that I expected. Parker absolutely seemed like a top four talent in this draft and he’s done nothing but be a top earner since he entered the league. I had him going to Colorado because I didn’t think they could pass on a guy with his talents and reputation. They surprised me by not only passing on him, but trading with Arizona to move up and take him anyways. The fact they managed to grab Purchase early and still negotiate for Parker gave the Yeti the second strongest first round in my opinion.
9. Orange County Otters - VRTX L4S3R aka Korrin Abernathy - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 9 - Abernathy goes exactly where I expected. Abernathy has always been a solid prospect in S18, but there were clearly a couple of defensive backs who just barely edged him out as the top of the top. This caused him to slip a bit further than perhaps he deserved, but he landed in a near perfect situation. He gets to go into a championship locker room and learn from guys who know how to get it done and how to finish. He’s made it clear that he would like to be a general manager at some point and getting the chance to learn from someone like Spec is absolutely incredible for him. This is a match that has been in the works for a while and the Otters got their man.
10. Austin Copperheads - UpperNet aka Net Gaines - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 10 - This pick was pretty predictable because it was a match made in heaven. When you look at the kind of locker room environment that Austin tries to maintain and then see a guy like Net, you know they are meant for each other. They didn’t have a massive need at the position, but people can always be moved around and when a personality like this is still available at the end of the first, you have to take him. There was no way he fell out of the first round.
11. New Orleans Second Line - pazuzu aka Bender B. Rodriguez - Wide Receiver - Original Prediction: Pick 11 - I originally had Bender going here mostly because of his status as a league veteran and the fact he was a known commodity in this league. With so many high picks, New Orleans had a chance to lock in at least one player with minimal risk. Since my prediction, he has proven himself as a top earner in the class and with the position swap of Biggums is now clearly the best receiver in the draft. With an aging option on their roster, the Second Line get ahead of a need and get Rodriguez in to take over as a successor to Fyodorovich.
12. Philadelphia Liberty - goodvsevil1275 aka Jake Watson - Wide Receiver - Original Prediction: Pick 14 - I thought that with their issues at running back, Philadelphia would for sure be going with something different here. After picking up Torenson in a trade, that all changed as it was no longer a huge need for them. This led them to taking one of the biggest names off the board. Jake Watson is a big personality for S18. He is active, a high earner, and he’s beloved by most if only for his work in media grading. In most other drafts, Jake was easily a top 10 pick and the Liberty have to walk away from this one feeling pretty great about it.
13. Austin Copperheads - TheDangaZone aka Xavien Adams - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 13 - This pick was a no brainer for Austin. As I said in my predictions for this draft, Adams is a proven commodity who fills a hole for the Copperheads. Austin likely had their eye on this guy for a while. They know they can rely on him and with their young roster, it made a lot of sense to lock in a league veteran who they know can contribute to the field and the locker room early and often.
14. Arizona Outlaws - Shadowz aka Ruff Ruff - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 12 - The Outlaws may have gotten away with one here. Their biggest need coming into this draft was a prolific running back to replace the aging starts on their offense. After missing out on T?riki, they managed to trade out, grab more picks, and still land the second best running back in the class. Top earner, veteran player, and the goodest of boys all wrapped up in one incredible package for the Outlaws. They lost nothing with their trade and still got the top guy on their board. I’ve got to call that one a win.
15. Chicago Butchers - CDub2 aka Mike Hockhertz - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 16 - This Chicago trade with the Copperheads actually threw off most of my predictions by one pick for the next couple of rounds. With Austin not having many glaring holes, I thought they would add Fabricio Baldari in this spot and strengthen their defensive line. Instead, they traded out and we saw the Butchers grab Hockhertz instead. This was a smart, perfect pick for the Butchers. They got the best secondary player remaining on the board while grabbing one of the last active recreated in this draft. Considering Chicago was looking at picking fringe active players just a few days before the draft, grabbing a guy like Hockhertz is huge for them.
16. Orange County Otters - BroicSilence aka Marlo Smart - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 17 - Orange County was able to approach this pick with the ability to pick the best defensive player available. That player was very clearly Marlo Smart. I had him going a pick later, but with some things changing including a trade and a couple retirements, the draft played out a bit differently than I expected so Orange County was able to grab their third big time defensive player of the draft.
17. Yellowknife Wraiths - CLG Rampage aka Mathias Hanyadi - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 18 - There wasn’t too much to talk about with this one. I had him going a pick later to Arizona because I thought the Wraiths had a chance at T?riki. An Arizona trade and a surprise position switch later and the Yellowknife gets their hands on the best running back remaining on the board. Hanyadi has been one of the most known faces in this class for a while and while he fell behind a bit early in TPE, he has been a very solid earner over the last month. He’s going to be a star in this league and he should be the feature back of the future for the Wraths starting in S19.
18. Arizona Outlaws - Opera_Phantom aka Jay Cue - Quarterback - Original Prediction: Pick 19 - This was yet another guy I had going one pick later. I thought that Arizona was at least another season away from picking their guy to replace Reese, but it seemed like a guy like Cue was too good to pass up. Cue has been a top earner in this class from the beginning and he’s be an incredible presence in social avenues of the league. I was afraid he might drop pretty far because of his position, so I was ecstatic to see him go here. Hopefully he makes the transition into the starter for Arizona smoothly as Reese begins to age.
19. San Jose SaberCats - illegaloctopus aka Joseph Wozniak - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 21 - The draft shifted in a way I didn’t quite expect and the SaberCats couldn’t get their hands on Cue. As a result, they went for the best player left available and they nailed it by picking Wozniak. Things fell a bit differently than I expected and Wozniak squeezed into the second round. He certainly deserved it as this guy has been one of S18’s biggest jokesters. He’s a ton of fun and is an absolute light to have in any locker room. The SaberCats managed to pick up a potential defensive leader of the future for their squad.
20. Colorado Yeti - soppychico aka Steco Ocewilder - Tight End - Original Prediction: Pick 22 - Being a tight end, I thought Ocewilder was at risk of dropping to the third round, but fortunately he was very high on Colorado’s board and they traded up to grab him. He’s been a high level earner in the class and he earned his way into the second round. It pleased me to see a team jump up to grab him and really show that he was highly valued despite his position.
21. New Orleans Second Line - ddrector aka David Rector - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 23 - I had Rector going to the Second Line at 23 instead of 21, but with Wozniak coming off the board a bit sooner than expected, New Orleans had to jump on this one. Rector could easily be the biggest steal of the draft. Coming into the draft, most general managers were under the impression that while active, Rector wasn’t a great earner. He had only 121 TPE and was towards the bottom end of actives. Turns out, there was some miscommunication on his updates. Rector was actually sitting on about 210 TPE and was a top defensive back in the draft. New Orleans got an awesome player here and it should pay huge dividends.
22. Philadelphia Liberty - goodfortunecoffee aka Fuzzy Dotson - Running Back - Original Prediction: Pick 28 - Fuzzy caught me off guard and went far higher than I expected him to. His original archetype was a blocking back and I didn’t know how many general managers would do enough homework to realize that he had switched to a speed back. His archetype was the only thing really working against him and it looks like Philadelphia were the lucky birds that got this worm. They jumped on him early before he could slip away and grabbed a solid locker room guy in the process.
23.New Orleans Second Line - BeneZero aka Junior Lopez - Linebacker - Original Prediction: Pick 25 - After picking up Thudd Kassel earlier in the draft and having two star linebackers on their roster, I didn’t foresee New Orleans biting on another linebacker. They surprised me at 23 by taking Junior Lopez, but it was very much a case of taking the best player available. Due to spotty activity, Lopez had gotten overlooked and when it came to this pick, he had the most earnings of any player remaining and it wasn’t even close. If he stays active, this will end up being a solid choice for the Second Line.
24. Orange County Otters - Howard Ryan aka RacgiMan - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 35 - I actually had Howard Ryan falling much, much further than this. Not because he didn’t deserve it, but because I knew that a ton of secondary players would have been picked by now. Still, Orange County got this pick as a part of a trade with Colorado and then used it to select their third defensive back of the draft. Its well known that you can have enough of these guys and the Otters took one of the more active guys remaining on the board.
25. Baltimore Hawks - Sermokala aka Fabricio Baldari - Defensive End - Original Prediction: Pick 15 - Baldari was a surprise to me and I think the Hawks got a huge steal by getting him here. He is a very, very solid earner for the S18 class and he is a defensive end, one of the biggest positions of need in the league. The fact he fell this far was a bit of a travesty and should he remain active and continue earning, every team who passed on him will likely regret that decision as Baltimore has earned his loyalty.
26. Austin Copperheads - thunderbug aka John-Caleb Bradberton - Defensive Tackle - Original Prediction: Pick 26 - My senses told me that Bradberton was going at this spot. He was an active defensive lineman who was still earning and you really don’t see those guys fall very far. I figured Chicago would grab him and get an immediate upgrade on their line. They traded with Austin and they selected him in this spot instead. He’s a very solid addition and this time next season, Austin is going to be looking pretty with their new starting defensive tackle.
27. Philadelphia Liberty - DeadlyPlayer aka Mike Franchet - Defensive End - Original Prediction: Pick 24 - Franchet is one of the most active guys in this class despite being a low earner. He is well down in the bottom half of the class in TPE, but his activity and love for the league is absolutely unquestioned. I knew he would end up being taken around this spot from that alone
28. Arizona Outlaws - lamp_wizard aka Samuel Bakhtiari - Offensive Line - Original Prediction: Pick 33 - It was hard to guess exactly when the fair rubs were going to start going out. I think everyone knew that Bakhtiari was likely going to be the first offensive line guy off the board after his incredible show of activity and sheer determination to make offensive line work. He’s a great guy and a decent earner. After getting this pick in a trade with Colorado, I was unsure where Arizona would go. They couldn’t have done much better with this pick than Bakhtiari.
29. Baltimore Hawks - FleshBagSoup aka Earl Sauce - Tight End - Original Prediction: Pick 34 - Earl Sauce came off the board a bit earlier than I initially expected. This had a lot to do with the fact that one of his former general managers is now managing the Hawks and the fact that his personality absolutely exploded right about the same time the draft started. I said he wouldn’t drop pas the next New Orleans pick because of a former general manager knowing who he was and what he does for a locker room. Looks like for this one, Baltimore just got there first.
30. Baltimore Hawks - Jepox aka Juan Marston - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 30 - I had Marston going in this spot from the beginning. I knew that the Hawks desperately needed a developmental prospect in their secondary to replace some of their aging stars in the next couple of seasons. I knew they would go for the best guy left on the board and that was absolutely Marston. Hopefully he keeps on earning and in one quick season will be moving into a starting role for this Baltimore team.
31. Philadelphia Liberty - dieselj123 aka Stuart Little IV - Cornerback - Original Prediction: Pick 20 - I was actually surprised by Stuart Little’s fall from grace. After being the number two pick in the DSFL draft, he rapidly fell down the rankings as his activity became spotty at best. Still, coming into the draft he had the third most TPE of a cornerback on paper, was still logging in and gathering TPE, and in the days leading up to the draft became active in the social circles of the league as well. Despite that, he became the sixth cornerback off the board. It was a surprise for me, but if he can keep up his current pace he may end up being one of the Liberty’s better picks.
32. Philadelphia Liberty - Frostbite aka Baxter Frost - Kicker - Original Prediction: Pick 39 - I ultimately had Philadelphia picking up the best kicker in this draft, but I had it at their next pick instead. Frost is an incredibly active guy and an absolutely huge locker room presence, but I saw him falling almost to the fifth merely because of him being a kicker. I didn’t know how deep into this a team would go before risking a pick on a guy like this. It was earlier than I expected and I couldn’t be more excited for Frost as the Liberty couldn’t let themselves miss on this guy.
33. Austin Copperheads - JSteel aka Wayne Howyanow - Safety - Original Prediction: Pick 31 - I had Howyanow going a couple of picks earlier because I didn’t expect Stuart Little to be on the board. Still, things got shaken up and he dropped into this slot instead. Austin said coming into this draft that they were going to be focusing heavy on defense. They stuck to that promise and with their last pick in this draft, they selected the best remaining secondary player here. Howyanow is an active guy and should add some flavor to the Copperheads locker room.
34. New Orleans Second Line - caltroit_red_flames aka Givussafare Rubbe - Offensive Line - Original Prediction: Pick 32 - I thought that when fair rubs came around that Rubbe would be the first off the board. He had the highest earnings, is a veteran league player, and he fathered the idea of fair rubs for all. One of his own students got picked before him though and it allowed for the Second Line to get a bit of a steal. Rubbe is very dedicated to his craft and intends to be one of the best offensive linemen this league has seen. He wants to prove that these guys are in fact worth it and that they can fit into this league. New Orleans is one of the teams who will be most willing to help him achieve those goals.
35. San Jose SaberCats - Zeegee aka Oswald Grimnir - Safety - Original Prediction - Pick 36 - I originally thought another safety would be in this spot, but he got picked much, much earlier than I expected. So instead of that guy, Grimnir head to San Jose. I figured that they would take the best player on the board here and Grimnir was easily a top 30 player in this draft. The SaberCats get a bit of a steal here and may have found a guy who should develop nicely as the team rebuilds.
36. Chicago Butchers - cpetrella aka Footballer Blockerman - Offensive Line - Original Prediction - Pick 40 - I didn’t see Blockerman coming off the board quite this early due to a few skill positions still having actives on the board at this point. Still, the general managers in Chicago had some good conversations with him and are familiar with the type of player he is. It was enough to draft him, but not enough to keep him as they later shipped him off to Austin for a few extra picks late in the draft.
37. Yellowknife Wraiths - Rublic aka Orien Drake - Running Back - Original Prediction - Pick 38 - I knew that the Wraiths were going to go running back in this slot. My assumption was just that they were likely to take a different running back and go with a more veteran presence. I was wrong and they took the youthful top 40 earner in Orien Drake instead. The Wraiths have their two star backs for one more season and it will give Drake a bit more time to develop. I originally had him being a committee guy backing up Hanyadi in Arizona, but it looks like the Wraiths grabbed them both instead.
38. Colorado Yeti - sapp2018 aka Michael Vincent - Running Back - Original Prediction: ??? - The Yeti got this pick in a trade with Arizona and grabbed Michael Vincent. Vincent was not on my radar in the top 50 initially because when I did my draft report, he wasn’t even in the top 60 for TPE earnings and hadn’t been incredibly active in general. Since my draft report though, this guy has been an incredible earner, has burst onto the scene, and is now looking like a top five running back in this class. The Yeti must have had some incredible conversations with this guy because they certainly got him active.
39. Philadelphia Liberty - adam2552 aka Johnson Harding - Quarterback - Original Prediction - Pick 27 - With a few teams needing quarterbacks in this class, I thought Harding would go quite a bit earlier. He is a veteran and a top 15 earner in this class despite not joining the class until five weeks into the season. He has been an incredible talent since then and the fact he fell this far was a bit of a travesty. Outside of joining early, he’s done everything right and teams just continued to pass him up. Luckily for Philadelphia, it allowed them to get their potential successor to Falconi very late in this one. If Harding continues earning at his current rate, he very well could be the starter for this Liberty team within two seasons.
40. Orange County Otters - Wally aka Charles Allen - Running Back - Original Prediction - Pick 37 - Due to his status as veteran of this league, I was under the assumption that Wally might go a bit earlier than this. Teams knew what to expect from him and it is rare to get a known variable this late in the draft. Still, it looks like teams had better conversations with some of the other picks in the draft and it resulted in a short fall. The Otters pick him up and grab a guy that they may be able to work into their system in a couple of seasons as long as he meets his expectations.
How did I do?
One of the reasons I settled on doing my post draft article like this was that I wanted to see how close my research actually got me to what would happen in this draft. So let’s dive in and see how I did, shall we?
Exact Picks Correct: 9 of 40 or 22.5%
Picks Correct Within One Spot: 15 of 40 or 37.5%
Picks Correct within Three Spots: 27 of 40 or 67.5%
Picks Correct within Five Spots: 35 of 40 or 87.5%
Picks That Caught Me Completely Off Guard: 5 of 40 or 12.5%
Overall, given how big of a class this was and how unpredictable things can be within any given draft, I feel like I did pretty well. There were only five guys that completely threw me off position wise and most of those were guys who ended up falling much further than I expected. You can never really know what the discussions between players and GMs are like behind closed doors, so sometimes guys fall a bit further than what their draft stock says they should. Then of course there was at least one that went off the board much, much earlier than expected and again I expect that had a lot to do with what happened behind closed doors. All in all, this was an excellent draft and I think teams really hit on active players in their neediest positions.
Quick Draft Grades
I’m doing these grades based on picks 1-50 because past 50 is where it was almost exclusively inactives and it is hard to judge teams on those. So we’re looking at the first five rounds where impact players could actually be found to see how these teams did. I didn’t want to go into too much depth here because it is all opinion based on what I would have done and quite frankly, the deeper I dive in, the more silly I look in three seasons when some of these late rounds guys are even better than me!
NOLA: A+
In seven picks, New Orleans managed to rack up 1580 TPE at 225.7 TPE per player and seven active players. With their first four picks, they managed to nail 200+ TPE guys across the board as well as grab four immediate impact starters. They filled some of their most glaring holes by bolstering their defensive line, getting some help in their inactive secondary, and finding a stud receiver to replace an aging star. They have two other players that will likely be called up by next year and a developing offensive lineman who should debut come S20. The Second Line killed it with this draft and put together a very solid young group of players.
PHI: A
In seven picks, Philadelphia put together 1256 TPE at 179.4 TPE per player and seven active guys. They falter a bit because they didn’t get as many immediate impact players as New Orleans, but they did get some of the most incredibly active guys in the class. They managed to pick up guys like Franchet and Baxter Frost late in this one and they are the kind of guys who add character to a locker room despite not being top earners. This ended up being a very solid group of players and while I only see two or maybe three of them getting called up this season, they addressed a lot of needs that should be hitting them hard in the next season or so. Receiver, running back, quarterback. This offense is littered with aging stars and the Liberty took this opportunity to get ahead of the collapse. Good on them.
COL: B+
In five picks, Colorado saw themselves manage to grab 1117 TPE at 223.4 TPE per player, four active players, and one inactive. Colorado did some trading to move up a couple of times in this draft to get a very solid group of top level players. Their first three picks were absolutely clutch as they grabbed two star secondary players that should start near immediately and grabbed the top tight end on the board to boot. This gave them a solid three 200+ TPE players and then they followed that up by getting one of the bigger steals in the draft in the fourth. Michael Vincent may not start this season, but it looks like he had a lot of room for growth as teams watched him jump up over 100 TPE in a single update, surprising everyone that he had that much laying around. Mix that with grabbing the highest TPE inactive in the draft and they had the second highest average level of skill in this draft. If Trae Bacon were to return from his inactivity, I think this grade easily jumps to an A or an A+.
OCO: B
In five picks, Orange County wrapped up 1018 TPE at 203.6 TPE per player and five active players. Orange County didn’t put together a draft of the highest earners, but they went instead for exactly what they wanted. At the top, they wanted active, steady earners who were willing to take general manager and war room roles in the franchise. They got that with Biggums and Abernathy while strengthening their secondary in the process. They also managed to grab Marlo Smart who was a top linebacker in this class and fell out of the first only because he is a little quiet. He’s going to be a star in this league and Orange County should be looking to call him up in S19. I do think they reached a little in the third round, but you can’t blame a team for going and getting the guy they want even if it is a reach. The Otters have proven they can pretty much pick who they want and make it work, so I can’t grade them too harshly!
ARI: B-
In five picks, Arizona locked down 936 TPE at 187.2 TPE per player and five active players. Arizona had a clear goal when they came into this draft. They wanted a dynamic playmaker to build a team around as they head into a minor rebuild. I believe their eyes were on T?riki, but when she slipped away they were smart by trading down and opening up their draft a bit. They got their guy with the best of boys, Ruff Ruff, and then spent the rest of this draft building for their future. The best quarterback in this draft, Jay Cue is the clear successor to Reese. They grabbed two active offensive linemen who should be moving up at the same time as Cue does and they locked down a developmental kicker to boot. This draft for Arizona wasn’t about immediate impact, but about an investment in what comes next. They grabbed a solid group of guys and I look forward to them growing with this team.
AUS: B-
In three picks, Austin racked up 910 TPE at 182 TPE per player and five actives. Austin already came into this draft with a very solid, young roster. They made it clear that they were focusing on defense and locker room presence with their draft strategy and if you look at their strategy alone, I think they did pretty well. In the grand scheme of things though, they didn’t have that many picks and the picks they did get didn’t overwhelmingly impress in earnings. They got two very solid players. Net Gaines was the carbon copy of what this team wanted and they got him without having to move in the draft, which was huge for them. Then they got a long time league guy and a top prospect in Xavien Adams with their second pick. After that, things get more hazy. Howyanow and Bradberton are incredible guys and a lot of fun to have in a locker room, but their earning potentials seem to be on the lower end of the spectrum. Austin liked what they got in their interviews though and both guys will be big in this locker room environment that Austin has built. Add in their trade that allowed them to pick up Footballer Blockerman and they put together a solid group going forward.
SJS: C+
In four picks, San Jose managed to pick up 778 TPE at 194.5 TPE per player and four active players. They came into this draft with a best player available mentality and they pulled it off decently. Their only issue is they had more holes than they had picks and with so many actives in this class, I feel like they could have made moves to get a few extra. Nonetheless, they managed to grab T?riki to build the future of this offense around and picked three solid secondary players that should bolster their defense for a long time. They’ll need some time to develop, but at least it is a start as San Jose faces a massive restructuring of their roster.
YKW: C
In three picks, Yellowknife walked out with 669 TPE at 223 TPE per player and three active players. Being entirely fair to Yellowknife, they didn’t have a ton of ammunition coming into this draft. They were really working with three picks and they low key got steals with all three while filling some of their immediate holes. Their first pick wasn’t a desperation pick, but when you have a top two player in the draft fall into your lap at number seven, you have to grab him. Getting Virtanen at seven overall was highway robbery and this whole league knows it. The also knew coming in that they weren’t going to have anyone in their running back room next season, so they managed to grab one of the top backs in the league with Hanyadi and later picked up Drake as a very solid, active backup. These two guys should make one hell of a one-two punch once they’ve had some time to develop. Come S19, this backfield could be as strong as it ever was. Again, not much to work with, but I feel like they got the most out of what they did have as they were even top three in TPE per player..
CHI: D
In six picks, Chicago put together 566 TPE at 113.2 TPE per player, two active players, and three inactives. I’m going to be as fair as possible to Chicago here. Coming into this draft, they didn’t have much to work with at all. They were in a position where they should have had the worst graded draft in the league. They managed to actually improve their stock a bit with some trades though. They grabbed Mike Hockhertz with a second round pick they didn’t have initially. He absolutely will be a top player for them in time and gave them plenty of value. They then moved some other things around and picked up four late picks where they grabbed several inactives, but they were inactives Chicago feels confident they can bring back to life. If things work out, Chicago could have a mostly human offensive line in a few seasons and it will open a lot of cap room for them to build a team with. The potential of this draft alone keeps them from being at the bare bottom.
BAL: D
In five picks, we saw Baltimore collect 580 TPE at 145 TPE per player, three active players, and one inactive. Baltimore came into this draft in a very, very bad spot after selling the farm to have a chance at a championship this past season. It didn’t pay off and it hurt them in a big way in this draft. Not only did they have the lowest TPE total by a significant chunk, they also had the second lowest TPE per player. I cannot judge the current general managers for this though. They were thrust into this situation and were forced to make the most of what they had and I feel like the picked up some solid guys. Baldari, Sauce, and Marston haven’t been top earners, but all three have been active and have really started to let their personalities bloom lately. I think it sets this locker room up with some positivity going forward and I can see them all becoming top players with time. I look forward to seeing what they can do with this group and hopefully they can add a few more solid guys in the next draft to build upon this young core.
Conclusion
I love this class and I loved this draft. It was hard for me to put down on any one team’s class because I love everyone so much and would have been incredibly overjoyed to have been on a team with all of them. Still, some teams were more limited in what they could do due to a lack of picks and I wanted to be as fair as possible with my grades. Every team got some awesome guys and I hope to see this class prosper going forward. It should be a lot of fun watching everyone’s careers and seeing what paths they take. I hope everyone enjoyed and good luck to everyone on their seasons!
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