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+---- Thread: *S28 NOLA Draft Recap (/showthread.php?tid=31051)
*S28 NOLA Draft Recap - Birdman - 03-24-2021
1.5x Draft Media
The New Orleans Second Line entered the Season 28 draft coming off a disappointing loss in the Ultimus. The team went on an impressive second half of the season run to ultimately finish 9-7, good for third in the ASFC, before going on a deep playoff run. Going into this off season the team lost some key talent in Free Agency, notably star DT Magnus Rikiya and roleplayer OL Dorfus Jimbo Jr. The team also said goodbye to fan favorite and franchise legends LB Quenton Bode, CB David Rector, and of course Athlete Forrest Gump. It is a lot of talent for a team to lose in one offseason and it’s certainly a shame the team couldn’t win an Ultimus Trophy for all of the departing faces. However, the Second Line still boast a strong core led by the face of the league and yogurt commercial star, QB Ben Slothlisberger.
Going into this draft, my relatively uninformed position analysis for what the New Orleans Second Line need is as follows:
QB – Ben Slothlisberger is of course one of the best in the league. He is still relatively young as a Season 22 player and has shown a dedication to likely be able to stave off regression for the near term. The QB position does not appear to be one that the Second Line need to start thinking about, unless the star has privately voiced a desire to leave New Orleans or there is a generational magical talent available.
RB – The Second Line have been riding two relatively young RBs in Mike Rotchburns (S25 – 644 TPE) and Mr. Forty-Two (S26 – 659 TPE). Both had pretty good seasons last year, collectively amassing 956 yards and 13 TDs. I don’t see this as a particular need given where the NOLA RB room stands.
WR – NOLA’s receiver corps had a fantastic year, with two players amassing over a thousand yards and a third coming with 29 yards of the feat. Ed Barker (S21) enters his first season of regression which will certainly impact him, but with 1k TPE I still think he is in a good spot and will perform well. Brock Bodenhammer (S23 – 764 TPE) also had a great year for the second line, with 1,121 yards and 9 TDs but is also coming up on regression. Adam Spencer (S25 – 766 TPE) is the youngest of the group and is a rising star. Overall, NOLA’s WR’s are hitting their peak and although will be regressing in the coming seasons, likely don’t need to spend draft capital at the position right away as this need feels a few seasons away.
TE – Austin McCormick (S19 – 637 TPE) had a monster year for the Second Line, with 1,002 yards and 2 TDs. McCormick is however on the older side and likely not long for this world. TE will be a position of need for NOLA to begin developing, if not now, then soon.
OL – NOLA only has one human at OL, Adam Mellott (S25 – 761 TPE) and he could use some help with propping up his bot teammates. While NOLA actually had a pretty decent year in terms of sacks allowed, limited to 15 and tied for 4th best in the league, anecdotally those sacks always seemed to come at inopportune times and Slothlisberger was able to avoid a lot of sacks due to his field general talents. NOLA was also relatively middle of the road for pancakes. There seems to be a trend in the league of more OL humans, so this could be an area of interest for NOLA.
DT – NOLA has young stud LeBong Simwell (S24 – 817 TPE) to eat blockers and get after QBs. They could be in the market to add another DT if they would like to get back to a 4-3 defense, but could also pass on this position for more immediate needs.
DE – NOLA has two young DE in Azarius Ranger (S24 – 661 TPE) and Medicinal Toblerone (S24 – 856 TPE). Given the age of these two players, it seems unlikely they will need another D End in the near term.
LB – With Bode retiring and The Dissector possibly drifting into the abyss of FA, this could be an area of need. The Second Line do have tasty beverage LB Busch Light (S24 – 705 TPE) and Vincent Jones (S26 – 668 TPE) at the position but still could use some depth – especially if the team wants to run a 3-4 front 7. The team does have Kevin Morrison as a recent draft pick, but that players development seems to have stalled at some point in February.
CB – The team loses a stud in Rector, but still has Andrew Witten to hold down one side of the field with Dorothy Zbornak (s24 – 764 TPE) on the other. Recent draft pick Buck Nekkid will also be making the jump this season, so this does not appear to be a position of need.
S – Mason Blaylock (S19 – 777 TPE) is a sturdy veteran, but age will have to catch up with him at some point. His partner in the defensive backfield is Steven Wadham (S25 – 664 TPE) a young player that is on the rise. Jonathan Shuffleboard is another young safety (S26 – 507 TPE) that rounds out the Safety group. I don’t see Safety a position of need given the three players New Orleans has.
K/P – Our IA Kicker sucked last season, so yes we probably could use one.
In conclusion, I think the team needs are mostly TE, OL, LB, and K/P.
With that backdrop, I'll review the actual picks New Orleans made.
Round 1, Pick 13 – OL Cade Williams
With NOLA’s first overall pick, the squad picks up big Cade Williams, OL for the Tijuana Luchadores. Cade extends the heritage of long line of players that attended Home School and have gone directly to play in the DSFL. At 6’5, 315 lbs, the Boring, Oregon product is a balanced lineman that should be able to make an immediate impact in the big leagues. A solid pickup for the Second Line to better protect Slothlisberger and open more running lanes for the duo of NOLA backs. A saavy pick for the GMs of New Orleans here as Cade’s presence around the team has already been positive. I give this pick two a couple few thumbs up.
Round 2, Pick 20 – RB Remus Roman
In the second round New Orleans selected RB Remus Roman of the Portland Pythons. The former Purdue star is an extremely fast 5’11, 200 lb Speed Back originally, and sadly, from Gary, Indiana. A running back is not a position I thought we would go after, but there are rumors swirling that Remus may switch positions in the future. Could this be the eventual TE replacement to the aging star McCormick? Either way, Remus seems great and is a good add for any team. I grade this pick as S for Sensual.
Round 2, Pick 27 – QB IsHe… ReallyInvisible
IsHe ReallyInvisible, QB for the Tijuana Luchadores. The backstory behind his parents naming him must be interesting and his powers are not truly known by all. All we know is that his Birth was Not Witnessed and there is no associated place the Scrambler QB comes from. We know that he is a graduate of Too Fast For Class and that he is 6’0, 205 lbs. IsHe ReallyInvisible has ties to New Orleans and it’s no surprise that he ends up back where he belongs in the great city. A QB wasn’t a position I thought New Orleans needs, but then again who even knows how regression works and it’s kind of hard to pass on a once in a generation talent that makes people literally question whether he is really invisible. I grade this pick as
Round 3, Pick 41 – RB Taipan Pete
Is this the steal of the draft? Perhaps, but unlikely. Taipan Pete is a foreigner that grew up playing Rugby in his hometown of Brown Town. The Australian national also went to Brown Town University and is already 33 years old. The 6’2, 245 lb power back is largely unremarkable, except that he did play soccer and I’ve been told they kick the ball sometimes in Rugby so maybe this guy can play Kicker. Under that assumption, this could end up being a steal for the New Orleans Second Line as Taipan Pete is already well liked in team facilities. I grade this pick as Tre Kronor.
Overall, I grade this draft as a 6.9/7 using a proprietary analytical approach. Great stuff from the New Orleans Second Line.
RE: S28 NOLA Draft Recap - dude_man - 03-24-2021
6.9?
Nice
RE: S28 NOLA Draft Recap - C9Van - 03-24-2021
Neat.