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+---- Thread: *ASFC Team Needs (/showthread.php?tid=20716)
*ASFC Team Needs - nickyvmlp - 04-02-2020
Before we get started, I just want to remind people who're writing about this kind of stuff: don't forget about players in the DSFL who haven't been called up yet. A team is less likely to draft someone at the same position as they just drafted last year, but haven't made room for yet. Click here for that, educate yourselves. On with the teams. Also, here are the NSFC team needs, if you missed that article.
Arizona Outlaws Picks available: All of their picks, plus Philly’s 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 8th, and Chicago’s 5th
QB: 0
There is absolutely no reason for the Outlaws to draft a quarterback. None. Zero. Jay Cue is really good and totally worth a protection, and even if it might be a little early to have his replacement, George O’Donnell is waiting down in the DSFL for his time to shine. The Outlaws are set for more than a decade.
RB: 5
Ruff Ruff is Arizona’s only rusher and he’s fine. Nothing better than just... fine. And even if they use a protect on Ruff, which I don’t think they will, they need an upgrade here to improve the league’s worst rushing offense. Baby Yoda will definitely get a call up next season, whether or not Ruff is on the roster, and if they let Ruff walk, Yoda will need a complementary back.
WR: 3
Saba Donut is definitely getting a protection, and unlike a lot of teams, they may even be able to protect their #2 receiver, Jah Bur’berry, due to a lack of better options. Willie B. Hardagain may get snatched up, but even if he goes, Arizona could be fine with Donut and Buh’berry. Maybe a mid-to-late round pick for depth, but this is a safe position.
TE: 7
Jammerson Irving is putting up numbers that any team would covet. But he’s been a ghost for months, and he’s facing regression. This is the best that Jammerson will ever be, and that may not be enough to keep around. Even if he stays, I think a successor will be a great pick, and there will be tight ends to be found in this draft.
OL: 6
Arizona’s been skimping on getting the high-quality bots lately, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind getting an active linemen for a similar price that could get better. They need a lot right now, but if someone good falls to them, there’s no reason not to grab them.
DL: 4
This whole unit could use a big makeover. Shane Masters is a possible protection candidate, and they should hold onto him, because if they lose him, this becomes a nightmare unit. Pete “Plop” Miller is safe and active, but Reggie Culbertson is IA, and Joseph Henry is old and IA. The Outlaws do have a couple of linemen waiting for a call-up though, so they don’t need to use draft picks on the problem, unless they lose Masters.
LB: 2
There’s no reason why Galf Wilf should be available for snagging. Marlo Smart might not be worth bringing back, since they have Trevor Mouseman coming up. If the Outlaws are sticking with just two linebackers, then they’re in the clear.
CB: 0
Lucas Knight is over 1000 TPE and is active. Lock. Desmond Scarlett is a GM player. Lock. They might let Beau Montgomery walk since he’s IA and on the last year of his contract, but that would pave the way for a call-up for Asher Quin. They’re good at corner for years.
SF: 8
Jamie Nkiah is a solid S20 player who should fly under the Honolulu’s and Sarasota’s radar (and is a GM), but Knute Knurrtson definitely needs to be replaced. Given Nkiah’s youth, a lack of other options, and a lack of urgency at other positions, I’d go ahead and call this Colorado’s biggest area of need.
KP: 0
J.J Jay-Jaymison is a solid kicker who has years left on his contract and is already protected by being an S21. No problems here.
Final verdict: A lot of Arizona’s problems will be resolved by the large number of players they have waiting in the D-League, so they can afford to relax come draft time, especially with their massive haul of picks. I would take the best player in the back seven available with their first (which should be either #3 or 4) to fill that hole at safety. Then, with their two second-rounders, I’d go offense. A replacement for Jammerson, a compliment for Yoda, a new #3 if they lose Buh’Berry, all good options. Maybe an OL in the third, and from there, it’s wide open. They might even consider trading some of these picks for future ones.
Austin Copperheads Picks available: Austin’s 2nd, 4th, 7th, 9th, and 10th; Honolulu’s 1st and 7th, and Chicago’s 4th
QB: 3
The Copperheads are in the same position with Easton Cole as the Yeti are with Wolfie McDummy. He’s close to regression with no next man up just yet. There are options available in this year’s draft, so a mid-to-late round pick should clear that up.
RB: 4
Mako Mendonca is the only back in town for the Copperheads, and he is safe and sound. Because of that, a compliment would be alright if the price was right, and there should be some in the mid-rounds.
WR: 2
Rod Tidwell and Net Gaines aren’t the highest-rated receiving duo, but they are the most productive right now, with both being 1000-yard receivers. They’re both in protection range, and I think they’ll be Copperheads next season. #3 receiver Jacoby Clay may not be so fortunate, and might get nabbed, he’s fairly active and young. If they lose Clay, I can see them going with a late-round selection here, but if not, then they won’t.
TE: 1
Peter Larson is another potential safe pick, he’s their 7th highest TPE and is active, but he’s also close to regression, and they have another tight end waiting for a call-up, Tree Gelbman. Whether they keep Larson or decide to call-up Gelbman, this isn’t a draft concern.
OL: 5
The Copperheads already know the value of a human OL with Edmond Beaver-Dantes, and they could nab more this season. They have a bit more cap space than other teams, but it still couldn’t hurt.
DL: 4
Austin’s DL is really young, but also vulnerable to being taken. Kyle Idlewyld is good, young, and active, no team wouldn’t want him, and he’s far outside their top 7 in TPE. Same, but less so for Hal Fassingit, who looks like he’s just coming back into the fold. Riles McTackle is safe, and the others are IA or old and expiring. An upgrade is possible here, but not a necessity.
LB: 0
Honda Edmond is almost a lock to be protected, Holden Summers is a rookie, and they have Gregor McGregor waiting for a call-up. There’s absolutely no need for a linebacker.
CB: 7
Another almost certain safe player is Dermot Lavelle Jr., the highest-rated corner in the league. However, even if they hold onto their #2, Victor Moreno, they can definitely afford to improve there. Moreno is a bit inconsistent with his updating, and can probably be bumped to slot corner without too much fuss.
SF: 6
Even though Chase Jensen is high on the TPE list, he’s been inactive for months, and is approaching regression. Don’t be shocked if Jensen is left off the list in favor of someone on the Discord server. Awkward Sexjoke is someone who’ll be very attractive to the competition, and could be a surprise protected player. If they don’t protect him, Takeda Okura could fill his spot nicely now that he’s somewhat active again, but losing Jensen or Sexjoke would mean going to the draft to fill those voids.
KP: 6
Alfredo Crisco is a fine kicker, and an even better punter, but he’s already regressing, with more coming soon, and with two years left on his contract, now’s a perfect time to find someone in the draft, give them a year to season up, and then come up when Crisco’s contract expires.
Final verdict: Austin has the #1 overall pick in the draft thanks to a trade with Honolulu, and when you have the best pick, in the best draft, you take the best player, especially if it’s at a position you can improve at. And right now, that looks like DT Phat Boi. After that, I’d go with secondary players. Zamir Kehla or Quinn Hughes in the second, Colt Mendoza or Wesley Eriksen in the fourth, whatever’s available. Throw in a kicker in the later rounds, and you’re golden.
New Orleans Second Line Picks available: all of their own picks except 3rd and 5th, Sarasota’s 1st and 7th, and Baltimore’s 8th
QB: 9
Stan Francisco is tied for the oldest QB in the league, and surprisingly doesn’t have an heir. Luckily there will be a few QBs who aren’t already tied to a franchise available, and New Orleans will be a very favorable destination for one of them. I would be shocked if they didn’t find their next quarterback in this year’s draft. (Although they could call up Gimmy, praise be to him.)
RB: 1
New Orleans is fielding one of the most talented teams in NSFL history, and when that happens, how can you justify holding two RBs? And to compound the problem, they have to retain Forrest Gump, because he’s one of their GMs, so where does that leave Marcella T?riki? In this one man’s opinion, maybe on the outside, which could make her the first player off the board in the draft. Throw in the fact that Ed Barker is waiting in development, and there’s no need to add another mouth to this already crowded nest.
WR: 7
Wide receiver might actually be the Second Line’s weakest position with an aging Bona’beri Jones and an easily snag-able Jed Podolak. Even if they hold onto both Jones and Podolak, they would need someone new to eventually replace Jones.
TE: 1
I’m sure the Second Line would love to hang onto Austin McCormick, and maybe they will given that he’s so young and talented already. But even if they do lose him, they have Rainier Wolfcastle in the minors, ready to suit up, so again, not a problem for the draft.
OL: 5
The Second Line still have all of their major players under contract until the end of next season, at which point, they will have to pay EVERYONE. Plus, New Orleans has already experienced the blessings of having human OLs, so don’t be surprised if they try to fill even more of their interior positions in the draft.
DL: 2
The Second Line D-line isn’t amazingly deep like some of their other positions, but they’re still a solid unit. Bjørn Ironside is a stud, Ben Tu’inukuafe is a solid workhorse, and Blake Faux has been really good as well, but is heading for retirement. Dorfus Jimbo Jr. will likely fill Faux’s vacancy. So unless they want to find Ben’s replacement, which seems a bit ahead of schedule, this is another pass.
LB: 4
Another player nearing the end of his ride is the Slothface Killa himself, Johnny Slothface. However, the Second Line have a player waiting in the wings, Ugarth the Dissector (I’m frightened). Quenton Bode is still kicking on the main, and Mack Arianlacher is a young prospect who’s shining with stars around him. The only way I see the Second Line go linebacker is if they lose Arianlacher, which is very possible.
CB: 2
No. Just no. The Second Line have four, count ‘em, four high-level, active, regression-free corners, although Deon Taylor will get his first taste of that this offseason. I fully expect them to lose at least one of these guys, in which case, they’ll still be fine. If they lose two, then we might be talking, but unless the expansions just pick the bones of this unit, this shouldn’t be a concern.
SF: 4
Don’t let the fact that New Orleans only has one safety make you think this is a big need. They’re running a nickel defense, just with a corner playing in one of the safety positions. This will change though if they lose Mason Blaylock, which could be very much in play, especially since they don’t have anyone waiting to jump into that role, so this might be somewhere they go.
KP: 0
If a kicker will be selected by the expansion teams, there’re better options than Herbert Prohaska. And he’s too young to want to replace.
Final verdict: The Second Line are fielding one of the most talented teams ever, and they have a lot of great picks for this year’s draft to boot. They don’t have a lot of needs and can just stockpile talent for the future or trade current picks for future ones. Maybe a linebacker like Stanislaw Koniecpolski could be in play at #2. I’ve seen a lot of buzz around Ben Slothlisberger coming back to New Orleans with an early-round pick. Eddie Jeeta or William Lim would be a get with their second-rounder. And then just O-linemen the rest of the way.
Orange County Otters Picks available: all of their own except their 8th
QB: 6
Franklin Armstrong has won two straight MVPs and three straight titles with the Otters, and already has to be considered one of the greats. But he can’t go forever, he’s about to get his first taste of regression, and the Otters haven’t found their next quarterback yet. They still have plenty of time; with all of the TPE he’s accumulated, he’ll still be a max QB for a year or two and a high-end QB for even longer, but the Otters will never get a better chance to find Armstrong’s successor than right now.
RB: 9
With the sudden retirement of Siddhu Sarvepally, and the fact that Ludicolo Bigby is an impending free agent, who’ll be facing regression even if he re-signs (and could still be claimed), running back becomes a massive priority if the Otters want to maintain their league-best rushing offense. Maybe get two just to be safe.
WR: 4
The Otters just might be able to hold onto both Hugh Mongo and Dexter Banks II, but Remon Kurisuto might be ready for a bigger role in the Otter offense, so don’t be surprised if Banks is left out. If this happens, I could imagine the Otters trying to replace him, but Mongo is still more than a year away from his first regression season, so it’s not a huge priority yet.
TE: 8
Johnny Blaze’s best days are long behind him, and he’s deep into regression now. A replacement needs to come very soon, and the fact that they haven’t got one yet just means Blaze will be less effective while whoever replaces him gets up to major league speed. Very important to address.
OL: 6
If the Otters go with five expert bots, that’ll drop them to under $10M in cap space. That’s not a lot of wiggle room, so some human ringers could definitely be handy. They drafted one last season in Douglas Quail, and maybe he’ll be brought up.
DL: 1
Max Lovote is retiring, and I think Kwame Mbanefo might get auto-retired. That’s two parts immediately out the door. That just leaves their three young guys, two of whom are regularly active. None of them are likely to get poached, so the Otters could roll with the combination of Bobby Boucher, Rapid Eagle, and Gary Lazer-Eyes, plus current DSFL-er Larry Longshot, and just resign themselves to being ridiculously young at the position.
LB: 7
Lanzer Grievous has decided to stop updating, but with where he’s at right now, he should still be good for another couple of seasons. However, because of his departure, the Otters may opt to leave him unprotected, in favor of someone who’ll be there tomorrow. Throw in the fact that both Jaylen Storm and David Ginsberg haven’t been updating either, and this is another unit that needs some serious work.
CB: 3
What a tremendous secondary the Otters have managed to build. Four 700+ TPE players, plus last year’s #1 overall pick. It’d be a shame if something were to happen to it. Korrin Abernathy is a GM, but they’ll likely lose one of either AJ Lattimer or Kacey Dream. Which one? Dunno, but this will put them in the market for a new slot corner. I think they can wait until later in the draft to fill that void, given the other holes the Otters will have to fill.
SF: 1
Both of Orange County’s safeties will be back next season. Tyrone Biggums is a GM and Prince Vegeta is a rookie. Both are safe and under contract for many years to come. Maybe a little bit of depth could be handy, but it’s very unnecessary.
KP: 1
Alex D is still probably the best kicker in the league, he’s only missed one field goal and one extra point all season. He will regress this year, but not by much, and he’ll still likely be this good for a few more seasons. His replacement will probably have to wait a while to actually get on the field, so it wouldn’t be worth it.
Final verdict: Orange County’s needs are dire, but luckily this is the perfect draft to cure what ails them and keep them among the league’s best. I’m thinking running back in the first (White Goodman, Acura Skyline), tight end in the second (Jeffrey Phillips), a quarterback in the third (Jim Waters), and linebacker in the fourth (Lawrence Bass). That would go a long way toward keeping Orange County among the NSFL’s elite.
San Jose Sabercats Picks available: all of their own
QB: 5
I think we can all agree that the Dan Wright at QB experiment was a disappointment, and this is coming from someone who is Dan Wright. Wright’s still at a solid TPE level as he enters regression, and the Sabercats have a GM in this draft who is a QB, Monterey Jack, so he’ll be the player the Sabercats will take in the second round.
RB: 4
Next season will be the year that Rando Cardrissian becomes the #1 back in San Jose, and since he’s a rookie, he’ll be protected for next season. They might resign Quindarius Tyerucker to be his back-up, or they could find someone in the draft. I think the latter would be wiser.
WR: 2
The Sabercats, unfortunately, don’t have a ton of active players on their roster who need to be protected. But, I guess the silver lining is that they can protect everyone who needs it. Action Jackson and Deondre Thomas-Fox are strong building blocks for the San Jose future, and will be there next season. A #3 receiver could be a late-round selection, but that can also be a future San Jose problem.
TE: 0
Leon McDavid was terrific in his rookie season. Notice that the second-to-last word in that last sentence. He’s protected and there’s no reason for a second tight end right now (I’ve been a second tight end before, it’s not great). Pass.
OL: 4
The Sabercats have a metric ton of players to re-sign, so right now, I have no clue what their cap number is. Right now, let’s just say if an OL falls to them, they should go there, but they don’t need to make it a priority.
DL: 1
Brayden Ennis will be protected, and Otis Allen is a rookie, so ? of their current DL are under wraps. But the veteran Freezer Riposte may not be there next season. Regression is going to kneecap him, and there’re two youngsters in the D-League ready to fill Riposte’s shoes: Chip Otle and Logan Noble Jr. Noble is active and ready to go right now, and Otle has been AFK for a bit, but would still be an upgrade over where Riposte would be in a year or two. This is a set roster for now.
LB: 7
Once again, the Sabercats can hold onto everyone important here, in this case, Tyron Brackenridge and Inspectah Deck. Jojo Burr-Kirven is retiring this offseason, and that’ll give San Jose the chance to replace him. Sorry Jojo, but it’ll definitely be an upgrade.
CB: 6
HeHateMe PickSix had a strong rookie year, and will be a Saberkitty next year. But then there’s Caleb Beck who’s been gone for a bit now. They might keep him around to be their slot corner, but that would mean finding a corner to be their #2, which would be a good play in my opinion.
SF: 8
The Sabercats have a quantity over quality situation with their safeties. They have three safeties who are about to be waylaid by massive regression drops, and at least one has already announced his retirement (Tyler Swift). Their other two safeties have been IA for months, so this is the time to find their new safety (or safeties) of the future.
KP: 6
I had the misfortune of watching Kicky Bobby cost us multiple games. He’s not going to get any better for us, so it’s time for a new kicker with, you know, the potential for growth.
Final verdict: Maybe this is me just being a big old homer, but the Sabercats aren’t far from being a solid contender. The offense is built, it just needs some time to season. They just need (a lot of) work in the back seven. I’d go linebacker in the first, hopefully Derred de Ville will be available. Then, of course, Monty Jack in the second, and then whatever corners or safeties you can find with the next few picks, with a running back sprinkled in there somewhere for good measure.
Honolulu Hahalua Picks available: all of their picks except 1st and 7th, plus Austin’s 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th
I know Hahalua actually means “stingray” in Hawaiian, but that doesn’t stop it from being a very funny-sounding name. And that’s all the analysis I have for the Honolulu Hahalua for now. That would require just a bit more speculation than I’m comfortable with right now. I’ll be back shortly with probably a big mock draft and maybe some other things. Who knows with me?
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