Memento Mori Wrote:Hopefully this goes without saying, but this is a totally serious piece of analysis and not a joke at all. The idea is a relic from when I toyed with having Booker have a big-talking CB persona, but it turns out I'm too nice to keep that up. I'm as bored as you are waiting for the draft tonight so I thought I'd revive it for an article. 1249 words btw.
The S21 DSFL Draft was overloaded with cornerback talent, and saw nine cornerbacks taken in the first five rounds - more than any other position. Immediately following the draft, Buccaneers cornerback Brandon Booker appeared shocked that he had fallen to Round 5 and was quoted as saying there were "eight mistakes ahead of me", reminiscent of quarterback Josh Rosen's ill-fated "nine mistakes ahead of me" remark after he was drafted 10th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2018 NFL Draft. With the S21 DSFL season in the books and many of these corners about to move on to the NSFL, now seems the perfect time to ask: Was Brandon Booker right? Were there really eight mistakes ahead of him?
I've listed the eight cornerbacks drafted ahead of Brandon Booker and asked the key questions about each player. How much TPE have they earned (as of the final update of the DSFL season)? How does this rank compared to the other cornerbacks in the class? Did they win the Ultimini in S21? And, most importantly, was it a mistake to draft that player instead of Booker?
1) Tyler Oles JR
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 215
TPE rank: 2nd
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
Tyler Oles JR was the third overall pick in the S21 DSFL draft and the first cornerback taken. Oles JR was far from the worst player that Portland could have taken at this spot, but London and Dallas drafted the two Jack brothers with the first and second pick. This gave Portland the opportunity to pick whichever non-QB they wanted, and picking a cornerback to throw a band-aid on their weak secondary made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, they didn’t pick the best cornerback available. That was Brandon Booker. Unlike Booker, Oles JR wasn’t able to help his team win the Ultimini and as a result this pick has to be considered a mistake.
2) Thubba Bumper
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 212
TPE rank: 5th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
The Norfolk SeaWolves made Thubba Bumper the second cornerback to be drafted, picking bauer’s recreate with the sixth overall pick. Bumper is another pretty good corner, but his 212 TPE pales in comparison to Booker’s 218 and is only good enough for 5th among CBs. Thubba Bumper was able to help Norfolk make the playoffs, but they were promptly dispatched 18-0 by Booker's Buccaneers outfit in the SFC Championship Game. Ouch. Mistake by Norfolk.
3) Alexander Hamilton II
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 143
TPE rank: 12th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
Alexander Hamilton II talked a lot of trash, but didn't really follow through on it. He stopped updating eight days after the draft was aired, and hasn't made a post since the day after that update. His early activity earned him enough TPE that he isn't the lowest TPE cornerback to be drafted before Booker, but at least the other one is still updating. This pick is an especially big mistake seeing as Portland had a chance to rectify the fact that they didn't take Booker with their first pick.
4) Zamir Kehla
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 213
TPE rank: 4th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
Not content with doubling down on their mistake, Portland decides to triple down. Picking three of the first four cornerbacks taken, at 3rd, 11th and 12th overall must almost guarantee that you pick the best one, right? Well, they didn't. The Pythons pick Zamir Kehla instead of Brandon Booker, and resign themselves to an 8-6 record and a first round loss in the playoffs. Some serious questions need to be asked of the Portland front office at this point.
5) Cadillac Harris
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 198
TPE rank: 10th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
London royally screwed up this pick (sorry), selecting Cadillac Harris with their third round selection to make him the fifth cornerback prospect drafted. Cadillac Harris is a good player, but the Royals will be kicking themselves that they picked Cadillac when Brandon Booker was still available. London finished with a 5-9 record, the inverse of Myrtle Beach's 9-5. Coincidence? Of course not. The first four corners were at least able to drag their team to the playoffs despite their GM's failings, but Cadillac Harris and the Royals couldn't even achieve that.
6) Chester Sweets
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 202
TPE rank: 7th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
Chester Sweets was able to sweet talk the Kansas City Coyotes front office into making him the 20th overall pick, and though he's a great person this was a mistake. Sweets has accumulated 202 TPE, which is pretty good compared to his peers - but he's not Brandon Booker. Kansas City lost 27-10 to Myrtle Beach in the Ultimini, a game in which Bucs quarterback Chris Ramos diced up the Coyotes defense to the tune of more than 14 yards per pass attempt. You know what might have helped slow down Chris Ramos? The best cornerback in the draft class. I don't want to say that the Coyotes lost because they didn't pick Booker here, but it's true.
7) Andrew Witten
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 205
TPE rank: 6th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
mithrandir is another user I like a lot, although, unfortunately for Tijuana it turns out that mithrandir's player is Andrew Witten and not Brandon Booker. An understandable mistake given that we both use Harrison Smith as our render, but a mistake nonetheless. I'm not sure if the fact that they probably meant to pick Brandon Booker with this selection makes this better or worse, but everyone in the Tijuana war room should be ashamed of themselves regardless.
8) Ozamataz Buckshank
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 116
TPE rank: 14th
Ultimini wins: 0
Mistake? Yes
This one hurt. I hadn't even heard of this guy and to see him drafted in the middle of the fourth round while Brandon Booker was still available beggars belief. Some of you reading this article still might not have heard of him, because his 116 TPE is only good enough for 14th among cornerbacks in the S22 draft class. The Tijuana Luchadores join the Portland Pythons in the exclusive club of 'teams that picked multiple cornerbacks with Booker still available and somehow didn't draft him', branding themselves the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions of the DSFL given how incompetent their management is. Sorry guys. I don't make the rules. If it wasn't obvious, Ozamatazamatazazamataz Buckshank is another mistake.
9) Brandon Booker
TPE, as of 4/4 update: 218
TPE rank: 1st
Ultimini wins: 1
Mistake? No
Now, for the reason we're all here. Brandon Booker was the ninth cornerback drafted after he fell to the 5th round and was drafted by the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. Maybe some people laughed when Booker said there were eight mistakes ahead of him on draft night. If they did, they're not laughing now. Booker entered the DSFL playoffs with 218 TPE, miles (well, 3 TPE) ahead of Tyler Oles JR as the highest among S22 cornerbacks. Booker's heroics were enough to single-handedly help the Buccaneers defeat the Kansas City Coyotes 27-10 in the Ultimini, just in case there were one or two extremely wrong or biased people who were yet to be convinced that Brandon Booker is their lord and savior. The Buccaneers should be proud of themselves for seeing what Portland, Norfolk, London, Kansas City and Tijuana couldn't, while those five franchises should be ashamed of themselves.
Thanks for reading, and remember to never doubt yourself or your abilities. Everyone else sucks and you're better than they are.
[OPTION]S24 (PHI): 16 GP, 73 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 FF, 3 sacks, 5 INTs, 10 PDs, 2 TDs
[OPTION]S25 (PHI): 16 GP, 67 tackles, 4 INTs, 13 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]S26 (OCO): 16 GP, 68 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 10 PDs
[OPTION]S27 (OCO): 16 GP, 116 tackles, 4 INTs, 23 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]S28 (OCO): 16 GP, 84 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, 3 INTs, 20 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]S29 (OCO): 16 GP, 99 tackles, 3 FF, 1 FR, 5 INTs, 23 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]=============================================================
[OPTION]ISFL Playoff Stats:
[OPTION]S23 (PHI): 1 GP, 2 tackles
[OPTION]S26 (OCO): 1 GP, 5 tackles, 2 PDs
[OPTION]=============================================================
[OPTION]Trophies and Achievements:
[OPTION]Drafted 35th Overall by Myrtle Beach in the S21 DSFL Draft
[OPTION]S21 Ultimini Champion
[OPTION]S21 DSFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S21 DSFL Defensive Back of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]Drafted 4th Overall by Philadelphia in the S22 ISFL Draft
[OPTION]S23 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S23 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S23 ISFL Defensive Performance of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S24 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S24 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S25 (PHI): 16 GP, 67 tackles, 4 INTs, 13 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]S26 (OCO): 16 GP, 68 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 10 PDs
[OPTION]S27 (OCO): 16 GP, 116 tackles, 4 INTs, 23 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]S28 (OCO): 16 GP, 84 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, 3 INTs, 20 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]S29 (OCO): 16 GP, 99 tackles, 3 FF, 1 FR, 5 INTs, 23 PDs, 1 TD
[OPTION]=============================================================
[OPTION]ISFL Playoff Stats:
[OPTION]S23 (PHI): 1 GP, 2 tackles
[OPTION]S26 (OCO): 1 GP, 5 tackles, 2 PDs
[OPTION]=============================================================
[OPTION]Trophies and Achievements:
[OPTION]Drafted 35th Overall by Myrtle Beach in the S21 DSFL Draft
[OPTION]S21 Ultimini Champion
[OPTION]S21 DSFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S21 DSFL Defensive Back of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]Drafted 4th Overall by Philadelphia in the S22 ISFL Draft
[OPTION]S23 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S23 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S23 ISFL Defensive Performance of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S24 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S24 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S26 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S26 ISFL Returner of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S29 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S29 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]=============================================================
Player | Update | Wiki | Twitter
[OPTION]S26 ISFL Returner of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]S29 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S29 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee
[OPTION]=============================================================
Player | Update | Wiki | Twitter