Another one? Already? Well, I said it was subject to change, and it sure has. I’ve been informed of information by a draftee that says one of my picks is wrong, so I’m going to redo the mock draft from that point and see if I can improve on it. To recap, I originally had the following as my projections for the first round:
Eleven Kendrick-Watts
Xander Creed
Madison Hayes
Marlon Brando
SparkySparky Boom-man
Maui Waialiki
Bean Beanman
Lawrence Miller
Ace Savage
Joliet Christ Jr.
Cheese Farley
James Wilkinson
Duke Cheeks
Fergus Callahan Jr.
Now, I had Maui Waialiki’s user excelsior reach out to me and tell me that SJS had informed him that one of their safeties was switching to DE. As Maui is actually also switching to DE, that makes it very very unlikely that SJS would draft Maui. I had spoken to him about his landing spot before publishing the last article, so he was kind enough to reach out and let me know, hence this version 2.0. I’ll be re-doing picks 6 through 14. I may very well leave some picks the same if they were not directly affected, but I also may change them if I just have a feeling about them. So, let’s start the redraft!
Round 1, pick 6: San Jose Sabercats
Team needs: LB, TE, OL
Alright, let’s think about it. SJS had a player swap to DL, and they have a lot of players on the roster, ranging in all kinds of ages. They still have the same needs, with only one TE on the roster, and they still have the 2 LB situation with Brackenridge still being unsigned as of now. Their other two LBs are 1100 TPE Lawrence Bass and 875 TPE George Fisher, and the new sim does require 3 LBs. So, even if Brack does re-sign and play another season, they will need another LB sooner rather than later. So then, what is more important to the team? Is it another TE that probably won’t see very many snaps during at least the first season if not longer? Or is it a linebacker who would most likely be able to have another season down in the DSFL and then come up and make a good impact around 400 TPE? For me, I think it’s pretty clear as to the answer. In the blurb about New Orleans’ pick in the first edition of this draft, I wrote that the highest TPE linebacker in the class is the Austin Copperheads’ GM and will be auto-drafted to the team in the second round, and said that therefore I thought the best linebacker in the draft outside of him was recreate Duke Cheeks, our user bets and casino banker TropicaliaCC. Now, I project that SJS will take that top player at the only position it really makes sense for them to go in light of that position switch. Duke Cheeks jumps from 13th to 6th.
Original pick: Maui Waialiki
New pick: Duke Cheeks
Round 1, pick 7: Orange County Otters via Arizona Outlaws
Team needs: RB, TE, OL
This pick I don’t think will change. I originally predicted Bean Beanman here, and while I could move Waialiki here, I don’t think it’ll happen. Waialiki has asked to come up immediately, and Orange County does not have a spot for him to come up immediately. With that in mind, I think that this pick will stay the same as I projected before.
Original pick: Bean Beanman
New pick: Bean Beanman
Round 1, pick 8: Yellowknife Wraiths via Austin Copperheads
Team needs: CB, S, OL
This is another pick that remains the same. SJS went from DE to LB, and YKW does not need either of those positions. What they do need is either a cornerback or a safety, and I still think that they end up with Lawrence Miller here. No changes for YKW in this edition of the draft.
Original pick: Lawrence Miller
New pick: Lawrence Miller
Round 1, pick 9: Orange County Otters
Team needs: RB, TE, OL
For the third pick in a row, I can’t see there being a change in the selection here. OCO still needs their running back and the options on the board haven’t changed. There’s still the Norfolk connection. I’m sticking with Ace Savage here.
Original pick: Ace Savage
New pick: Ace Savage
Round 1, pick 10: Chicago Butchers
Team needs: QB
This pick is the next one that I think could potentially change. Chicago still doesn’t need anything under the sun, and shoutout to @ztarwarz for pointing out that they really don’t even need a QB. I had my regression scale wrong and O’Donnell still has this season before he begins to regress, capping out high enough to make an S28 draftee the most likely replacement for him. But then, the question becomes who on earth would they take? They have no need for RBs. They have no need for WRs. They have a new OL in the DSFL to take over for Givussafare Rub whenever he hangs up the cleats. They have 3 good LBs, they have 5 good DL, and they don’t need a K. Really, only two things make sense for this pick: either take the best player available, or take a CB/S and see if they can use them as trade bait during expansion. Either is a decent choice to make, and I think that both would be helpful for the team. The best CB on the board is HeHateMe PickSix II, but I don’t think that Chicago will go for him here. PickSix II wants $7,000,000 per season and wants to be called up right away. Chicago will not be able to call him up right away. So, I think that instead of drafting a QB a year early, Chicago will decide to take the next best CB on the board TPE-wise: Kita Chiasa, from user Sabremike, of the Portland Pythons. I’ve personally never spoken with them, but Bayley and Muford have a skill for bringing talent to the team, and I’m confident that they can continue that trend with Chiasa here.
Original pick: Joliet Christ Jr.
New pick: Kita Chiasa
Round 1, pick 11: Baltimore Hawks via Sarasota Sailfish
Team needs: LB, DE, OL
Now, in the previous version of the mock I wrote that Baltimore would choose to take OL Cheese Farley here, based solely on Guriinwoodo’s personality. However, now that Maui Waialiki is available here at pick 11, I am going to change that. As mentioned in the previous article and above, Waialiki is going to be changing to DE as we switch sims. He wants to be called up immediately, and switching to DE is going to help facilitate not only that but will help him with stats as well. Not only this, but Maui has put out 21 game reviews and a total of 25 articles, good for a sizable bank account upwards of over $60,000,000. That’s 3 full seasons without having to do a single thing. Baltimore had not scouted anyone that I had spoken with, and I know that one of the Baltimore GMs likes to draft based on what’s out in the open and by observing users and how they interact with the league, as I was on Butters’ DSFL team way back in S18. So, knowing that Maui has put out so many articles and has such a big bank account, and knowing that he’s very active and is 14th in his class in TPE, and knowing that he’s swapping to a position that they need? I think that this is going to be the pick here for Baltimore. They could also go out and try to pick up Norfolk DT Candice D. Fitinyomouf, but I personally have never seen user TheRealMazatt on the forums, and knowing how they like to draft I think that they will go with the person that they know is established and very interested. In addition, there’s no way in hell Maui should be falling out of the first anyway, and this is a good fit for both parties I feel like.
Original pick: Cheese Farley
New pick: Maui Waialiki
Round 1, pick 12: New York Silverbacks
Team needs: TE, DL, OL
Everything I said about New York in the previous mock holds true. They still only have one TE on the roster, and knowing that the user who has the 2nd most TPE in the league is still on the board at pick 12 should make this an immediate grab for everyone’s favorite gorillas.
Original pick: James Wilkinson
New pick: James Wilkinson
Round 1, pick 13: New Orleans Second Line
Team needs: LB, K/P, OL
Here we reach the first pick that we absolutely have to change. I originally mocked LB Duke Cheeks here, but knowing that we now have him projected at pick number 6 to SJS, we obviously have to replace him here. Now, outside of Austin GM Jim the Vampire and Cheeks himself, the next highest TPE LB on the board is Kevin Morrison, from user thecanadiancanuck. Also available is Devonte Crook, from user Southie. Morrison is from the Portland Pythons, and Crook is from the Tijuana Luchadores. Now, I could say that NOLA’s gonna go straight for a K here, but come on. With a 223 and 198 TPE LB both available, not a single OL in the draft, and the highest K/P at 142 TPE, it’s clear that an LB is going to be the pick here when looking at their roster and send down lists. Now, which one is the question. I am projecting this pick to be Kevin Morrison over Devonte Crook, but it’s a difficult decision to make. Not because of any TPE difference, but because both current NOLA GMs are Tijuana Luchadore alumni, and unless I am mistaken both also are former GMs. We already saw above with the two Orange County picks that sometimes affiliation can play a role in drafting, so with Crook from the same DSFL team, we do need to look at that. However, with a 40 TPE difference and the knowledge that this is actually thecanadiancanuck’s 2nd player (he retired the first one after a stint of inactivity due to IRL circumstances), I think that they will take Morrison based on the knowledge of what is there. There are not a lot of teams that need an LB, so it’s entirely possible that New Orleans can end up using their 2nd round pick to pick up Southie as well. It’s hard to say, but knowing what I do of drafting, Morrison is the player New Orleans will go with.
Original pick: Duke Cheeks
New pick: Kevin Morrison
Round 1, pick 14: Arizona Outlaws via Orange County Otters via Yellowknife Wraiths
Team needs: WR, TE, DL
This pick is one that I was unsure about, and one that I am still unsure about. AZ could go in any number of directions here. However, I am not going to change my pick. To elaborate on the blurb I wrote in the original mock, I don’t think that AZ would use a pick on a WR when they have the tenacious Saba Donut still available to them, who will be at plenty enough TPE to be a threat. As for TE, they very well could still go here as well, but most teams are content with one TE, and knowing that Nakamura is joining their offense makes me very wary to put another offensive weapon in this slot. Borgo San Lorenzo, user AgentSmith, is near the top with 210 TPE and is a well-known SHL name. In fact he put out a fantastic statistical analysis of the S27 draft very recently. However, I don’t think he put that analysis out in time to affect his draft stock. Typically, the draft would be around pick 35 by the point his articles were published, and I strongly doubt he falls that far. But in any case, I’m going to keep the pick here and project Fergus Callahan Jr. to go to the desert.
Original pick: Fergus Callahan Jr.
New pick: Fergus Callahan Jr.
So, now that we’re through the redraft, how does that effect where we’re at? I posted the original mock above, so let’s see how different it is.
Eleven Kendrick-Watts
Xander Creed
Madison Hayes
Marlon Brando
SparkySparky Boom-man
Duke Cheeks
Bean Beanman
Lawrence Miller
Ace Savage
Kita Chiasa
Maui Waialiki
James Wilkinson
Kevin Morrison
Fergus Callahan Jr.
How much better is this one? Well, hopefully at least somewhat. I’ll provide the code to copy into your mock drafts below should you like to do so!
As last time, let me know if you know of anything that could change the outcome of the picks, but make sure you are not going to be leaking!
Eleven Kendrick-Watts
Xander Creed
Madison Hayes
Marlon Brando
SparkySparky Boom-man
Maui Waialiki
Bean Beanman
Lawrence Miller
Ace Savage
Joliet Christ Jr.
Cheese Farley
James Wilkinson
Duke Cheeks
Fergus Callahan Jr.
Now, I had Maui Waialiki’s user excelsior reach out to me and tell me that SJS had informed him that one of their safeties was switching to DE. As Maui is actually also switching to DE, that makes it very very unlikely that SJS would draft Maui. I had spoken to him about his landing spot before publishing the last article, so he was kind enough to reach out and let me know, hence this version 2.0. I’ll be re-doing picks 6 through 14. I may very well leave some picks the same if they were not directly affected, but I also may change them if I just have a feeling about them. So, let’s start the redraft!
Round 1, pick 6: San Jose Sabercats
Team needs: LB, TE, OL
Alright, let’s think about it. SJS had a player swap to DL, and they have a lot of players on the roster, ranging in all kinds of ages. They still have the same needs, with only one TE on the roster, and they still have the 2 LB situation with Brackenridge still being unsigned as of now. Their other two LBs are 1100 TPE Lawrence Bass and 875 TPE George Fisher, and the new sim does require 3 LBs. So, even if Brack does re-sign and play another season, they will need another LB sooner rather than later. So then, what is more important to the team? Is it another TE that probably won’t see very many snaps during at least the first season if not longer? Or is it a linebacker who would most likely be able to have another season down in the DSFL and then come up and make a good impact around 400 TPE? For me, I think it’s pretty clear as to the answer. In the blurb about New Orleans’ pick in the first edition of this draft, I wrote that the highest TPE linebacker in the class is the Austin Copperheads’ GM and will be auto-drafted to the team in the second round, and said that therefore I thought the best linebacker in the draft outside of him was recreate Duke Cheeks, our user bets and casino banker TropicaliaCC. Now, I project that SJS will take that top player at the only position it really makes sense for them to go in light of that position switch. Duke Cheeks jumps from 13th to 6th.
Original pick: Maui Waialiki
New pick: Duke Cheeks
Round 1, pick 7: Orange County Otters via Arizona Outlaws
Team needs: RB, TE, OL
This pick I don’t think will change. I originally predicted Bean Beanman here, and while I could move Waialiki here, I don’t think it’ll happen. Waialiki has asked to come up immediately, and Orange County does not have a spot for him to come up immediately. With that in mind, I think that this pick will stay the same as I projected before.
Original pick: Bean Beanman
New pick: Bean Beanman
Round 1, pick 8: Yellowknife Wraiths via Austin Copperheads
Team needs: CB, S, OL
This is another pick that remains the same. SJS went from DE to LB, and YKW does not need either of those positions. What they do need is either a cornerback or a safety, and I still think that they end up with Lawrence Miller here. No changes for YKW in this edition of the draft.
Original pick: Lawrence Miller
New pick: Lawrence Miller
Round 1, pick 9: Orange County Otters
Team needs: RB, TE, OL
For the third pick in a row, I can’t see there being a change in the selection here. OCO still needs their running back and the options on the board haven’t changed. There’s still the Norfolk connection. I’m sticking with Ace Savage here.
Original pick: Ace Savage
New pick: Ace Savage
Round 1, pick 10: Chicago Butchers
Team needs: QB
This pick is the next one that I think could potentially change. Chicago still doesn’t need anything under the sun, and shoutout to @ztarwarz for pointing out that they really don’t even need a QB. I had my regression scale wrong and O’Donnell still has this season before he begins to regress, capping out high enough to make an S28 draftee the most likely replacement for him. But then, the question becomes who on earth would they take? They have no need for RBs. They have no need for WRs. They have a new OL in the DSFL to take over for Givussafare Rub whenever he hangs up the cleats. They have 3 good LBs, they have 5 good DL, and they don’t need a K. Really, only two things make sense for this pick: either take the best player available, or take a CB/S and see if they can use them as trade bait during expansion. Either is a decent choice to make, and I think that both would be helpful for the team. The best CB on the board is HeHateMe PickSix II, but I don’t think that Chicago will go for him here. PickSix II wants $7,000,000 per season and wants to be called up right away. Chicago will not be able to call him up right away. So, I think that instead of drafting a QB a year early, Chicago will decide to take the next best CB on the board TPE-wise: Kita Chiasa, from user Sabremike, of the Portland Pythons. I’ve personally never spoken with them, but Bayley and Muford have a skill for bringing talent to the team, and I’m confident that they can continue that trend with Chiasa here.
Original pick: Joliet Christ Jr.
New pick: Kita Chiasa
Round 1, pick 11: Baltimore Hawks via Sarasota Sailfish
Team needs: LB, DE, OL
Now, in the previous version of the mock I wrote that Baltimore would choose to take OL Cheese Farley here, based solely on Guriinwoodo’s personality. However, now that Maui Waialiki is available here at pick 11, I am going to change that. As mentioned in the previous article and above, Waialiki is going to be changing to DE as we switch sims. He wants to be called up immediately, and switching to DE is going to help facilitate not only that but will help him with stats as well. Not only this, but Maui has put out 21 game reviews and a total of 25 articles, good for a sizable bank account upwards of over $60,000,000. That’s 3 full seasons without having to do a single thing. Baltimore had not scouted anyone that I had spoken with, and I know that one of the Baltimore GMs likes to draft based on what’s out in the open and by observing users and how they interact with the league, as I was on Butters’ DSFL team way back in S18. So, knowing that Maui has put out so many articles and has such a big bank account, and knowing that he’s very active and is 14th in his class in TPE, and knowing that he’s swapping to a position that they need? I think that this is going to be the pick here for Baltimore. They could also go out and try to pick up Norfolk DT Candice D. Fitinyomouf, but I personally have never seen user TheRealMazatt on the forums, and knowing how they like to draft I think that they will go with the person that they know is established and very interested. In addition, there’s no way in hell Maui should be falling out of the first anyway, and this is a good fit for both parties I feel like.
Original pick: Cheese Farley
New pick: Maui Waialiki
Round 1, pick 12: New York Silverbacks
Team needs: TE, DL, OL
Everything I said about New York in the previous mock holds true. They still only have one TE on the roster, and knowing that the user who has the 2nd most TPE in the league is still on the board at pick 12 should make this an immediate grab for everyone’s favorite gorillas.
Original pick: James Wilkinson
New pick: James Wilkinson
Round 1, pick 13: New Orleans Second Line
Team needs: LB, K/P, OL
Here we reach the first pick that we absolutely have to change. I originally mocked LB Duke Cheeks here, but knowing that we now have him projected at pick number 6 to SJS, we obviously have to replace him here. Now, outside of Austin GM Jim the Vampire and Cheeks himself, the next highest TPE LB on the board is Kevin Morrison, from user thecanadiancanuck. Also available is Devonte Crook, from user Southie. Morrison is from the Portland Pythons, and Crook is from the Tijuana Luchadores. Now, I could say that NOLA’s gonna go straight for a K here, but come on. With a 223 and 198 TPE LB both available, not a single OL in the draft, and the highest K/P at 142 TPE, it’s clear that an LB is going to be the pick here when looking at their roster and send down lists. Now, which one is the question. I am projecting this pick to be Kevin Morrison over Devonte Crook, but it’s a difficult decision to make. Not because of any TPE difference, but because both current NOLA GMs are Tijuana Luchadore alumni, and unless I am mistaken both also are former GMs. We already saw above with the two Orange County picks that sometimes affiliation can play a role in drafting, so with Crook from the same DSFL team, we do need to look at that. However, with a 40 TPE difference and the knowledge that this is actually thecanadiancanuck’s 2nd player (he retired the first one after a stint of inactivity due to IRL circumstances), I think that they will take Morrison based on the knowledge of what is there. There are not a lot of teams that need an LB, so it’s entirely possible that New Orleans can end up using their 2nd round pick to pick up Southie as well. It’s hard to say, but knowing what I do of drafting, Morrison is the player New Orleans will go with.
Original pick: Duke Cheeks
New pick: Kevin Morrison
Round 1, pick 14: Arizona Outlaws via Orange County Otters via Yellowknife Wraiths
Team needs: WR, TE, DL
This pick is one that I was unsure about, and one that I am still unsure about. AZ could go in any number of directions here. However, I am not going to change my pick. To elaborate on the blurb I wrote in the original mock, I don’t think that AZ would use a pick on a WR when they have the tenacious Saba Donut still available to them, who will be at plenty enough TPE to be a threat. As for TE, they very well could still go here as well, but most teams are content with one TE, and knowing that Nakamura is joining their offense makes me very wary to put another offensive weapon in this slot. Borgo San Lorenzo, user AgentSmith, is near the top with 210 TPE and is a well-known SHL name. In fact he put out a fantastic statistical analysis of the S27 draft very recently. However, I don’t think he put that analysis out in time to affect his draft stock. Typically, the draft would be around pick 35 by the point his articles were published, and I strongly doubt he falls that far. But in any case, I’m going to keep the pick here and project Fergus Callahan Jr. to go to the desert.
Original pick: Fergus Callahan Jr.
New pick: Fergus Callahan Jr.
So, now that we’re through the redraft, how does that effect where we’re at? I posted the original mock above, so let’s see how different it is.
Eleven Kendrick-Watts
Xander Creed
Madison Hayes
Marlon Brando
SparkySparky Boom-man
Duke Cheeks
Bean Beanman
Lawrence Miller
Ace Savage
Kita Chiasa
Maui Waialiki
James Wilkinson
Kevin Morrison
Fergus Callahan Jr.
How much better is this one? Well, hopefully at least somewhat. I’ll provide the code to copy into your mock drafts below should you like to do so!
Code:
1. :hahalua: Eleven Kendrick-Watts
2. :hawks: Xander Creed
3. :liberty: Madison Hayes
4. :firesalamanders: Marlon Brando
5. :yeti: SparkySparky Boom-man
6. :sabercats: Duke Cheeks
7. :otters: Bean Beanman
8. :wraiths: Lawrence Miller
9. :otters: Ace Savage
10. :butchers: Kita Chiasa
11. :hawks: Maui Waialiki
12. :silverbacks: James Wilkinson
13. :secondline: Kevin Morrison
14. :outlaws: Fergus Callahan Jr.
As last time, let me know if you know of anything that could change the outcome of the picks, but make sure you are not going to be leaking!
Code:
2150-ish words