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+---- Thread: *Looking back at the Season 22 drafts (/showthread.php?tid=26861)
*Looking back at the Season 22 drafts - ReverendOReily - 11-19-2020
Hello and good day.
In this two part article, I'm going to be looking back at the twenty-second season in the ISFL. I chose this season for a couple of reasons, first and foremost being, it was the first season I randomly clicked on in the index page. Just kidding. Season 22 was the largest draft in our league's history (don't fact check me cause I didn't fact check myself) and saw an incredible amount of outstanding players and users drafted, especially in the first several rounds. It was also the first season of play for the Sarasota Sailfish of the NSFC and the Honolulu Hahalua of the ASFC after the league head office/GM's voted to expand the league from 10 teams to 12. The DSFL, which was in its 21st season at the time, had also recently expanded from 6 teams to 8, adding the Dallas Birddogs and the London Royals into the mix. In this particular segment, I'm going to
The Season 22 Rookie Draft
Season 22's ISFL draft saw 284 different players selected across 24 rounds. It featured an unprecedented amount of talent with pro bowlers being selected as late as the 11th round (shoutout to Clark Boyd of the Berlin Fire Salamanders, originally drafted by the Sarasota Sailfish, and Tyron Shields of the Chicago Butchers), and a whopping six pro bowlers selected in a row between overall picks 8 and 13. The first overall pick belonged to the Austin Copperheads thanks to a trade they made earlier in the season. The Texan Sneks used their pick on Colt Mendoza, who, although his player has not yet been selected for a pro bowl due to obvious biases and personal agendas amongst the voters, is a pro bowler in my heart thanks to his incredible wealth of knowledge about the league, sim, and dinosaurs. Mr. Irrelevant was Dan Jackson, who was selected by the Honolulu Hahalua using the 284th overall pick in the draft.
7 out of the first 12 selections in this draft went on to make invaluable impacts on their teams in the sim, and these impacts were recognized in the form of professional bowls. (side note: why do we have pro bowl teams if we don't sim pro bowl games? Maybe we used to sim pro bowl games. I remember seeing that madden one that one time. It just seems kinda pointless. But now here I am talking about particular aspects of simulation dot football being pointless and it feels a tad silly so I'll stop.) The Dallas Birddogs saw 43 of their players get selected in this draft, with 10 of those players being chosen in the first three rounds of the draft; both of those numbers were league leading figures. Dallas also led the DSFL in first round draft selections, with 3 Birddogs being taken in the first round (Colt Mendoza, Stanislaw Koniecpolski, and Jeffrey Phillips). The team with the next highest amount of draftees, both in general and in the first three rounds, were the London Royals, who had 40 players selected, with one of those players being taken in the first round (Derred de Ville), and five being taken in the first three rounds (Colby Jack, Eldrick Avery, Sandro Ryeu, and Quinn Hughes.) Myrtle Beach also had a very respectable number of early draftees, with two players being selected in the first round (Brandon Booker and Johnny Hellzapoppin) and three in the round after that (Heath Evans, Troen Egghands, and Octavio Clemente.)
It was something of an unideal situation for both the Portland Pythons and the Tijuana Luchadores on draft night despite productive seasons for both teams. Both teams saw just two of their players selected in the first three rounds of the draft. For Tijuana, Andrew Witten was drafted with the final selection of the first round and another was drafted in the middle of the second (shoutout to Ben Slothisberger, who has one of my favorite names in the league). For Portland, cornerback Tyler Oles Jr. was selected by the Outlaws in the second round, and offensive lineman Byron Dolls was selected by the Hawks in the third. Portland has the unfortunate distinction of being the only DSFL team that did not see one of its players drafted in the first round of the Season 22 ISFL draft. The Minnesota Grey Ducks, meanwhile, had just three of their players selected in the first three rounds: defensive lineman Mo Magic was selected eighth overall, followed by third round picks safety Buck Thornton and linebacker Lawrence Bass.
The Norfolk Seawolves saw four of their players drafted in the first three rounds, with all four of them coming pretty early on in the draft. Defensive lineman Magnus Rikiya (shoutout to Tesla who is probably reading this article to grade it because she's the best and does so much for this league) was drafted second overall to the New Orleans Second Line, and with the very next pick, pro bowl safety Matt Cross was selected 3rd overall by the Philadelphia Freedom Bell Ringers. The second round saw two more Norfolk Seawolves drafted, with recent retiree Thubba Bumper being drafted 14th overall to the Colorado Yeti, and safety Wesley Eriksen going to the Philadelphia Liberty. Sounds like the Liberty needed to replenish their backfield in season 22 and was impressed by the Norfolk safety duo, and for good reason; Norfolk had a league leading 57 pass deflections and 4 defensive touchdowns that season, the bulk of which came from their fearsome safety duo.
I've spent all this time so far talking about what happened in the first three rounds of the draft, but one of the coolest things about the Season 22 draft is the amount of depth in the draft - you could write a whole article solely about the players who were selected in later rounds and still made incredible impacts on their teams. Late round pickups like Jim Waters, Jamar Lackson, Magnus Valdyr, Hamish MacAndrew, Jacob Small, and the recently tragically deceased Zamir Kehla have all brought outstanding qualities to their teams both in the sim and in the locker room.
The Season 22 Expansion Draft
As previously mentioned, one of the many things that makes Season 22 special was the addition of the ISFL's favorite aquatic ambassadors, the Honolulu Hahalua and the Sarasota Sailfish. As the league expanded from 10 teams to 12, divisions instantly became more competitive, as Sarasota and Honolulu were able to directly sap the life force of other teams by legally kidnapping their players and forcing them to become fish. And our league management just allowed this kidnapping to take place legally. Messed up, right? Unfortunately there is not time in this article to discuss HO's transgressions, but one day, we will get there. Now, in reality, the expansion draft happened before the Season 22 Rookie Draft, however I wrote the rookie draft segment first, therefore moving this segment up so that it comes before the rookie draft segment would simply be a dishonest deception of my audience.
The Season 22 Expansion Draft saw 24 league veterans selected over 12 rounds. Prior to these selections, each of the 10 pre-existing ISFL teams were allowed to protect 7 players. In the event one of their players were claimed by Honolulu or Sarasota, the team losing their player would gain an additional protection slot. Teams were also allowed to use their protection slots as FA passes, which would allow them to re-sign an additional free agent. Additionally, all Season 21 players were automatically protected from being drafted by the expansion teams. Only 3 players could be selected from each team. Here's how the initial protection lists shaped up:
AUS
1. Mako Mendonca - Season 16 Runningback
2. Easton Cole - Season 16 Quarterback
3. Awkward Sexjoke - Season 20 Defensive End
4. The Player Formerly Referred to as Kyle Idlewylde - Season 20 Defensive End
5. Net Gaines - Season 18 Wide Receiver
6. Honda Edmond - Season 17 Linebacker
7. Dermot Lavelle Jr - Season 16 Cornerback
ARI
1. Desmond Scarlett - Season 20 Cornerback
2. Jamie Nkiah - Season 20 Safety
3. Galf Wilf - Season 20 Linebacker
4. Jah Bur'Berry - Season 20 Wide Receiver
5. Jay Cue - Season 18 Quarterback
6. Shane Masters - Season 17 Defensive Tackle
7. Saba Donut - Season 17 Wide Receiver
BAL
(the Hawks received an additional protection slot because one of their players, Corvo Havran, left the team as an expansion GM.)
1. Walt Green - Season 15 Safety
2. Darrel Williams - Season 20 Running Back
3. Apollo Reed - Season 15 Runningback
4. Asher Quin - Season 18 Cornerback
5. Juan Marston - Season 18 Cornerback
6. Logan Uchiha - Season 15 Safety
7. ForThe Brand - Season 16 Kicker/Punter
8. FA Pass
CHI
1. Sean O'Leary - Season 19 Wide Receiver
2. Mike Hockhertz - Season 18 Linebacker
3. Farley Hank - Season 15 Runningback
4. Rose Jenkins - Season 14 Quarterback
5. Jack Rambo - Season 15 Safety
6. Thorian Skarsgard - Season 12 Defensive Tackle
7. Xerxes Ridley - Season 15 Cornerback
COL
1. Mo Berry - Season 15 Linebacker
2. Bubba Thumper - Season 17 Defensive Tackle
3. Ashley Owens - Season 17 Runningback
4. Wolfie Mcdummy - Season 16 Quarterback
5. Louisiana Purchase - Season 18 Cornerback
6. Pete Parker - Season 18 Safety
7. Earl Sauce - Season 18 Tight End
NOLA
1. Forrest Gump - Season 15 Runningback
2. Quenton Bode - Season 15 Linebacker
3. Stan Francisco - Season 14 Quarterback
4. Marcella Toriki - Season 18 Runningback
5. David Rector - Season 18 Cornerback
6. Mason Blaylock - Season 19 Safety
7. Austin McCormick - Season 19 Tight End
OCO
1. Korrin Abernathy - Season 18 Cornerback
2. Tyrone Biggums - Season 18 Safety
3. Franklin Armstrong - Season 15 Quarterback
4. Hugh Mongo - Season 16 Wide Receiver
5. A.J. Lattimer - Season 15 Cornerback
6. Kacey Dream - Season 19 Cornerback
7. Bobby Boucher - Season 20 Defensive End
PHI
1. Brock Phoenix - Season 15 Quarterback
2. Sam Torenson - Season 16 Runningback
3. Nacho Varga - Season 15 Wide Receiver
4. Randy Vuxta - Season 20 Wide Receiver
5. Wayne Howyanow - Season 18 Linebacker
6. ILove Gimmy - Season 18 Defensive End
7. FA PASS
SJS
1. Tyron Brackenridge - Season 17 Linebacker
2. Brayden Ennis - Season 17 Defensive Tackle
3. Inspectah Deck - Season 20 Linebacker
4. Deondre Thomas-Fox - Season 19 Wide Receiver
5. Action Jackson - Season 17 Wide Receiver
6. Dan Wright - Season 15 Quarterback
7. Quindarius Tyerucker - Season 19 Runningback
YKW
(the Wraiths received two additional protection slots because two of their players, Rayne Gordon and Dax Frost, left the team as expansion GMs.)
1. Mathias Hanyandi - Season 18 Runningback
2. Bender B. Rodriguez - Season 18 Wide Receiver
3. Maurice Virtanen - Season 18 Offensive Line(!!!)
4. Nero Alexander - Season 15 Defensive End
5. Giannis Kroustis - Season 15 Defensive Tackle
6. Johnny Snuggles - Season 13 Cornerback
7. Mervin Leonard - Season 17 Cornerback
8. FA Pass
9. FA Pass
So what can we gather from this protection list? I was pretty surprised when I learned Maurice Virtanen from Yellowknife was an offensive lineman, as he was the only offensive lineman protected, so clearly protecting their offensive line was not a priority for most teams in this draft. Baltimore was the only team to protect a kicker, and NOLA and Colorado were the only teams to protect their tight ends. SJS and Philadelphia were the only two teams that did not protect a cornerback. Almost every team protected a wide receiver, with Baltimore, New Orleans, and Colorado being the exceptions. Thorian Skarsgard of Chicago was the oldest player protected, coming from Season 12. Arizona protected more of their youngest players than any other team; 4 of their initial 7 selections were players from Season 20. Chicago was on the opposite end of the spectrum, protecting several of their veterans from Season 15 in addition to some players who were even older. Philadelphia was clearly committed to keeping their key offensive pieces in place.
With the protection lists out of the way, I can now discuss the actual draft. With the first pick in the expansion draft, the Sarasota Sailfish selected wide receiver and soon to be quarterback Dexter Banks II from the Orange County Otters. In response, the Otters protected linebacker Lanzer Grievous. With the second and third picks, the Honolulu Hahalua selected linebacker Mack Arianlacher and wide receiver Jed Podolak, both from the New Orleans Second Line. NOLA protected cornerback Xavien Adams and offensive lineman Givussafare Rubbe in response. With the fourth and fifth picks, Sarasota selected two defensive ends: Fabricio Baldari from Baltimore, who then protected their other defensive end Terry Taffy, and Steco Ocewilder from Colorado, who protected safety Thor Kirkby. Honolulu selected defensive end Jayson Kearse from the Yellowknife Wraiths with the sixth pick, bringing Yellowknife's selections up to three and exempting them from losing players to further expansion selections. With their next pick, seven overall, Honolulu selected wide receiver Jacoby Clay from the Austin Copperheads, who protected their other starting wide receiver in response, season 15 create Rod Tidwell. With the ball back in their court, Sarasota selected cornerback Jordan Andrews from the New Orleans Second Line, bringing NOLA up to 3 players taken and exempting them from further selections. Sarasota then used the ninth overall pick to select wide receiver Laszlo Forty-Two from the Colorado Yeti, who protected season 15 linebacker Tony Gabagool as a result.
Using the tenth selection of the draft, Honolulu selected cornerback Victor Moreno from the Austin Copperheads, who then protected s16 tight end Peter Larson. They also selected runningback Ruff Ruff from the Arizona Outlaws at 11 (Arizona's first loss of the draft,) who then protected tight end Jammerson Irving. With the 12th and 13th picks, Sarasota selected legendary monomyous safety Beat from the Chicago Butchers, and cornerback Lucas Knight from the Arizona Outlaws. The Butchers, in response, protected defensive end Steven Moore, while Arizona for whatever reason chose not to protect anyone else on their team. Using the 14th and 15th selections, Honolulu stole back to back players from the Philadelphia liberty; they first selected kicker-punter Venus Powers, and then cornerback Emondov Emoji. Philadelphia protected Dotson and D'attoria in response. At 16 and 17, the Sarasota Sailfish selected defensive end Mike Franchet from the Philadelphia Liberty (bringing Philly's selections up to 3 and finishing the night for them) and safety Chase Jensen from the Copperheads, who also reached 3 selections, and thus sweet sweet exemption, as a result.
With the 18th pick in the draft, the Hahalua selected linebacker Jaylen Storm from the Orange County Otters, who protected the incredible named S19 defensive end Gary Lazer-Eyes in response. Honolulu then selected safety Joseph Wozniak from the San Jose Sabercats at 19. Wozniak was surprisingly San Jose's first loss of the expansion draft despite there only being 5 picks left in the draft after Wozniak. San Jose would lose a player at 21oa as well when Sarasota selected defensive tackle Freezer Riposte. In response to the Wozniak and Riposte picks, SJS protected season 12 safety Trey Staley, and season 18 cornerback Caleb Beck. Sarasota then robbed Orange County of their tight end, taking Johhny Blaze with the draft's 21st selection and ending the event for the Orange County Otters. With the 22nd selection, the Hahalua selected wide receiver James Bishop from the Colorado Yeti, bringing the Yeti up to 3 casualties and ending their night. Using their next pick, Honolulu selected linebacker Sandip "Sandy" Bakshi from the Baltimore Hawks. With the final pick in the draft, at 24 overall, the Sarasota Sailfish selected kicker-punter Diego Espinosa from the Chicago Butchers, showing players and figureheads all around the league once and for all that kickers are people too.
It is poetically fitting that Sarasota spent 1oa in this draft to get the guy that would become the face of their offense and dare I say, their franchise (heck u frolf); obviously a great pick there.
I had planned on writing more, but I am tired and I need monies so it's time to post and collect. Tune in next time when I will write about the regular season/playoffs/awards happenings in season 22!
RE: Looking back at the Season 22 drafts - DarknessRising - 11-19-2020
Great stuff. But as a side note, Maurice Virtanen only swapped to OL before last season, so during expansion he was still a Linebacker
RE: Looking back at the Season 22 drafts - .Laser - 11-20-2020
This is a fantastic breakdown, well done!
RE: Looking back at the Season 22 drafts - Duilio05 - 11-20-2020
Super well done. Seriously don't take this or any other fact checking as a critique cause you analyzed a lot of league info that is very hard to tract down.
To add bit of info on Baltimore, the FA pass was used to bring back WR Errol Maddox on a new contract, and Asher Quinn was a WR before his position switch when joining Berlin.
RE: Looking back at the Season 22 drafts - Cheech65 - 11-20-2020
Excellent work!
p.s. Thanks for the shout-out
RE: Looking back at the Season 22 drafts - slate - 11-20-2020
Banks MVP
