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*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - Printable Version

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*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - dropbear - 06-30-2018

After the dust had settled from the S8 NSFL draft, I took the time to offer my opinion on how well each team had fared at drafting the future(s) of their franchise in the first round. You can read the initial grades here. Now, with those players' rookie season in the books, I'm going to take a look back and see whether my assessment was at all accurate.

COL #1 Overall - Ricky Ramero (LB)
Initial Grade: B

Leading up to the draft, I was of the belief that the Yeti needed to shore up their defensive line given the age and inactivity of some of the players on it, or, failing that, draft another playmaker for their worryingly thin secondary. After acquiring Eli Kamaka via a midseason trade, one of those issues was addressed. However, this could not have been foreseen, and in any case, the Yeti secondary remains unchanged and is still a glaring need. With highly regarded safety William H. Harrison having been available when the Yeti opened the draft proceedings, did they come to regret their decision to add Ramero to their linebacker corps instead?

S8 Stats
  • 78 Tackles
  • 7 Tackles for Loss (#T9)
  • 1 Fumble Recovery (#T8)
  • 9 Sacks (#T7)
  • 8 Passes Defended
  • 1 Safety (#T1)
In a word: no. Ramero put in a rookie year that is worthy of the Rookie of the Year award. The Yeti finished the season with the second most tackles for loss and the third most sacks, two areas where Ramero shined. However, in terms of points conceded, they ranked 5th out of 8, and they were also middle-of-road for passing defence stats. So, although Ramero had a noticeable impact, it was clear that pass defence was still an area of concern, and perhaps stopped the Yeti from completing their miraculous turnaround and reaching the playoffs.

Ramero was good enough that the Yeti's depth at secondary wasn't called into question as much as it should have been. That in itself almost quells the complaints about not addressing what was an area of greater need. However, after Harrison went on to accumulate the third-most interceptions in the season, and was one of only 8 players to score a defensive touchdown, doubt can still be cast on the Yeti's decision to go with a linebacker over a defensive back.

Nonetheless, Ramero was a standout defensive player and was at worst a very close second to Mason Brown for Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Yeti made the right choice drafting him.

Updated Grade: A

NOLA #2 Overall - William H. Harrison (S), #7 Overall - Omar Wrong (DT)
Initial Grade: A+

This pick was always going to be a home run for the Second Line. They had a very obvious need at safety after losing Broxton, and the Yeti selecting Ramero meant they had a ready-made solution. The only variable was whether Harrison would remain active, and whether he would perform at a high enough level to fill the hole left by their departing safety. The answer to both questions was yes.

S8 Stats
  • 46 Tackles
  • 3 Sacks
  • 4 Interceptions (#T3)
  • 9 Passes Defended
  • 1 Touchdown (#T2)
Although they knocked one pick out of the park, the Second Line front office had to step up to the plate again 5 picks later to make their second pick of the first round. It was a pick they would spend on defensive tackle Omar Wrong - one that would prove to be strike out, as Wrong is yet to play a snap in the NSFL, and likely never will. Some noteable talent drafted after the Wrong (pun intended) pick is Brock Weathers III (LB), Viggo Squanch (WR), and Thad Pennington (S).

Updated Draft Grade: B+

SJS #3 Overall - Brad Pennington (QB), #6 Overall - Ben Horne (LB)
Initial Grade: A+

I said it at the time that Pennington was the top QB prospect and the perfect draft choice for the Sabercats. Both of those statements remain as true today as they were when I first uttered them. Pennington has become a leader for the Sabercats and didn't shy away from a challenge at all in his rookie season. When lesser quarterbacks would have caved under the pressure of being the future of a struggling franchise or thrown in the towel partway through an extremely challenging year, Pennington not only continued to work, he put his hand up to be a key member of their long-term future and share an equal half of the responsibility for the team's success or failure. In truth, rookie QB numbers shouldn't be viewed in isolation, as they don't tell the full story. Nonetheless, here are his raw statistics:

S8 Stats
  • 304 Completions (7/8)
  • 561 Attempts (7/8)
  • 54.2% Completion Rate (8/8)
  • 3058 Yards (8/8)
  • 7 Touchdowns (8/8)
  • 31 Interceptions (8/8)
  • 51.1 Passer Rating (8/8)
Cleary, Pennington was the worst quarterback in the league. But when there's only 8 full-time starters, most of which are established veterans, it's not an indictment of Pennington's calibre. He will get better, and everything he could do off the field to prove his worth as a top-3 pick and future of the franchise, he did.

On the other side of the ball, the Sabercats selected linebacker Ben Horne. The pick has proven to be another solid one for San Jose's front office, as Horne not only made noise in the NSFL as a rookie, he also played a prominent role in his former team, the Tijuana Luchadores, winning their maiden Ultimini.

S8 Stats
  • 73 Tackles
  • 7 Tackles for Loss (#T9)
  • 2 Sacks
  • 6 Passes Defended
Updated Grade: A+

BAL #4 Overall - Childish Gambino (DE)
Initial Grade: A+

The Hawks were in the enviable position leading up to the draft of having no real glaring holes in their roster. With that said, if you had to point to a 'weakness', it would have been their defensive line. And that was exactly the area they addressed when signing free agent Arbin Asipi Jr. and drafting Childish Gambino. In my initial draft article, I said, "They did bring in the talented Arbin Asipi Jr. from Arizona, but pairing him with Gambino means the Hawks have a real shot at returning to the playoffs after a two-year absence", a statement that held up to the test of time well after the Hawks booked a playoff spot in the final round of the regular season.

In terms of their draft pick, though, the jury is still out. Gambino has been an active member of the league and maintains that the Hawks made the right decision in drafting him, but he had a quiet rookie season.

S8 Stats
  • 22 Tackles
  • 7 Tackles for Loss (#T9)
  • 4 Sacks
Despite his modest numbers, I agree with Gambino that he was the correct choice for Baltimore, and I think in time he will grow to become a force on their defensive line and a star in the NSFL.

Updated Grade: A

YKW #5 Overall - Chad Pennington (LB)
Initial Grade: B-

I was of the opinion before and immediately after this draft that Pennington ranked behind Ramero, Horne, and Weathers III as a linebacker prospect. I also felt that by choosing Pennington over the slightly better players that were still available after the Yeti took Ramero, it would be about as a big a speedbump as a team as talented as the Wraiths could experience.

Now, I will happily admit that I was wrong. While I still consider Ramero the best linebacker in the group, I concede that Horne, Weathers III and Pennington are at the very least equally talented. I was much more wrong in predicting Pennington would be any sort of issue at all for the Wraiths, as they went on to claim the Ultimus this season for the first time in their history.

So, how did Pennington contribute to the Wraiths playoff push?

S8 Stats
  • 72 Tackles
  • 4 Sacks
  • 1 Pass Defended
Not monumental stats by any means, but he was part of such an immensely talent defence that this was really as much as they could ask from him. He was dependable, and in the end that was clearly all that the Wraiths needed to turn thr corner and finally obtain some meaningful silverware.

Updated Grade: B+

PHI #8 Overall - Brock Weathers III
Initial Grade: A

By the time the Liberty were on the clock, the players that still available to them that would address their immediate needs were a wide receiver who had stated he wouldn't play in Philadelphia and the last remaining linebacker. They made what was, in reality, the only reasonable decision, and drafted Brock Weathers III.

Despite Weathers III staying down for an additional season in the DSFL to attempt to bring the San Antonio Marshals another Ultimini, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that this was an even better pick than it first appeared to be. Partway through the season, the Liberty decided to blow up their roster and enter a full rebuild. They traded away a number of key players from the previous season's Ultimus win, most noticeably defensive tackle Eli Kamaka. With Weathers III switching from a linebacker to a defensive lineman as part of his commitment to bringing silverware to his DSFL, he may have inadvertently addressed an unforeseen need for his NSFL team.

However, those sort of circumstances aren't things you can factor into a draft grade, given their unpredictable nature. Instead, it is Weathers III's commitment to being a leader of the Liberty in seasons to come - rebuild or not - that has made him stand out as a fantastic pick for a franchise that needs new faces to lead them into an unknown future.

Updated Grade: A+

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*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - Toasty - 06-30-2018

Umm... where are 6 and 7

*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - dropbear - 06-30-2018

(07-01-2018, 12:03 AM)Fire-Bred Wrote:Umm... where are 6 and 7

SJS had #6 and NOLA had #7. It's all in there, in the reviews

*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - bovovovo - 06-30-2018

(06-30-2018, 09:11 AM)dropbear Wrote:SJS had #6 and NOLA had #7. It's all in there, in the reviews

Good stuff! I love these kinds of articles

Not to be pedantic but just an FYI, Wrong actually did play at the NSFL level at first with NOLA, but he was traded to the Liberty who then sent him down

*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - run_CMC - 06-30-2018

Tmw you had two great picks but they happened in the second round.... Squanch and Crindy <3

Nah but it’s cool to have revisited draft grades. Nice work!

*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - Durden - 07-01-2018

(06-30-2018, 09:45 AM)run_CMC Wrote:Tmw you had two great picks but they happened in the second round.... Squanch and Crindy <3

Nah but it’s cool to have revisited draft grades. Nice work!

<3

Yeah, this article is good and all, but the first round is about busts. 2nd is about the steals. Missed some good ones Wink

*NSFL S8 Draft Grades - Bzerkap - 07-01-2018

@dropbear good shit. We like our cute little @caltroit_red_flames