Prior to the draft I felt like some of my teammates had improved their draft stock dramatically since their DSFL debut, so I wanted to highlight the five players that experienced the greatest growth in their draft position. I wasn’t exactly sure how to handle undrafted players--assigning them a draft value of ‘63’ (one position after the last pick of the draft) doesn’t feel appropriate as most of them would have been drafted far earlier than this position had they been created prior to the draft, but it also seems unfair to exclude them from this analysis. Ultimately, I’ve decided to simply assign them a draft value of ‘31.5’, the halfway point in the draft, as I feel that the only other option would be to consider them in an entirely different category. Retired players (Lee Out, Wyatt Fulton, Jr.) have been removed from the list entirely, and so have any DSFL/ISFL GM players (Hallmonitor_20, Buttersqauch101).
5. @Mavfatha, OL Icebox Riposte (+22)
DSFL Team Round 5, Pick 3 (35)
ISFL Team Round 2, Pick 1 (13)
I'm very happy to write about this pick, as Mavfatha and I just became teammates! By TPE, Riposte was the highest available OL prospect in a draft where the position was quite scarce--only 5 OL were available in total (one of which is inactive). As such, Riposte boasts the highest PBlk and RBlk stats of any player in the class, and he will be freezing defensive linemen in their tracks for seasons to come. Riposte was the only human player to play Guard in the DSFL this season, where he racked up 32 pancakes while only allowing 3 sacks for the Luchadores. Off the field, Mavfatha has been a user of the site for almost two years and was one of the longest-tenured members of HO in the league's history.
4. @Lime, QB Joseph Joestar (+22)
DSFL Team Round 4, Pick 8 (32)
ISFL Team Round 1, Pick 10 (10)
This pick was a bit of a surprise to me, as I felt that there were many QBs available that could have been selected in later rounds, but Orange County must feel like that have something special in Joestar. Joestar split snaps at about a 2/1 ratio with fellow Myrtle Beach QB Chris Ramos this season, completing 47% of his passes with 8 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a passer rating of 67.1. These are fairly pedestrian numbers even among the DSFL rookie class, however Joestar does boast the highest traditional QB stats (Arm, Int, Thr) by a slim margin, as the two other QBs that were created around the same time (Howitzer, Caliban) have opted for speedy builds. Given time to develop, Joestar will no doubt turn into a star at his current pace. A brand new user to the league this season, Lime has already made their mark by contributing to the site as GFX grader.
3. @SchwarzNarr, K/P Melvin Murder-Moose (+22.5)
DSFL Team Undrafted (31.5)
ISFL Team Round 1, Pick 9 (9)
The only undrafted player to appear on this list, Murder-Moose barely edges past Riposte and Joestar by half a point. On the surface, this seems like an odd pick with the Yeti well-situated with Silver Banana in the kicking game, so I have to wonder if Murder-Moose will resort to its more bestial nature by changing to a more physical position. Last season, Murder-Moose killed and assumed the identity of Seawolves placekicker Daria Guava-Fresca, who won DSFL Kicker of the Year by converting 97% of her extra points and 88% of her field goals, both highs among human players. Having seen her often in the Rookie Discord, I have to imagine this pick is largely due in part to SchwarzNarr's league contributions, as she has become a Rookie Mentor after less than two months of league membership.
2. @Sushi, TE Ne Mo(+29)
DSFL Team Round 7, Pick 3 (51)
ISFL Team Round 2, Pick 10 (22)
Tight end is yet another position I would not expect to be drafted quite so highly, but perhaps the Otters are looking to expand their receiving options in the future with the retirement of veteran receiver Hugh Mongo. Mo, after all, is the fastest TE archetype and is capable of filling in at WR in a pinch. A target of the aforementioned Joseph Joestar, Mo caught 44 passes for 350 yards and a touchdown in their rookie season. Yet another new user, Sushi has written some particular clever PT and media posts to expand the life of actual fish Ne Mo and is a common presence in the Myrtle Beach locker room.
1. @Z-Whiz, WR Gunner Thorbjornsson (+41)
DSFL Team Round 6, Pick 7 (47)
ISFL Team Round 1, Pick 6 (6)
Can you tell that this guy is the reason that I wrote this article? Moving up a whopping 41 spots into the middle of the first round, Royals WR Gunner Thorbjornsson put himself on the map in the second half of the DSFL season. Thorbjornsson's 44 receptions and 587 receiving yards led all rookie WRs, and additionally he is also very proud to have scored a touchdown. The future of the Outlaws looks bright, as the chemistry between fellows Royals QB Charlemagne Cortez and Thorbjornsson will continue to flourish when they are both brought to Arizona to lead the offense's high-octane passing attack. However, as I tried to warn everyone in my mock draft, user Z-Whiz has been one of the primary users behind the Royals' sim strategy, which saw them to a second consecutive playoff berth in their third year as a member of the DSFL. Even I mocked Z-Whiz too low! Look for Arizona to get over the hump next year with a crucial member added to the team.
Below I've listed the best-performing teams in the same metric by taking the median average of their S24 players, and I listed the best player for each team. Originally I had every player listed but it feels a bit unkind to point out poor draft performance, so feel free to double check it yourself if you'd like. Just for frame of reference, the average value across all teams is not 0 due to the addition of UDFA-rather, it is -7. In other words, a prospect can expect their draft position value to decrease by approximately seven spots due to the expanded size of the draft class as new prospects are added throughout the year.
Average Draft Position Change by Team
1.0
Most Improved Player: @Z-Whiz, WR Gunner Thorbjornsson (+41)
-0.3
Most Improved Player: @SchwarzNarr, K/P Melvin Murder-Moose (+22.5)
-5.4
Most Improved Player: @Sushi, TE Ne Mo (+29)
-8.3
Most Improved Player: @RDBSouthPaw, LB Brach Thomaslacher (+5)
-8.3
Most Improved Player: @`Netlandic`, S Oliver Sloan (+17)
-10.2
Most Improved Player: @Mavfatha, OL Icebox Riposte (+22)
-11.4
Most Improved Player: @PigSnout, QB Mattathias Caliban (+7)
-14.1
Most Improved Player: @Trautner, QB Sam Howitzer (+2)
5. @Mavfatha, OL Icebox Riposte (+22)
DSFL Team Round 5, Pick 3 (35)
ISFL Team Round 2, Pick 1 (13)
I'm very happy to write about this pick, as Mavfatha and I just became teammates! By TPE, Riposte was the highest available OL prospect in a draft where the position was quite scarce--only 5 OL were available in total (one of which is inactive). As such, Riposte boasts the highest PBlk and RBlk stats of any player in the class, and he will be freezing defensive linemen in their tracks for seasons to come. Riposte was the only human player to play Guard in the DSFL this season, where he racked up 32 pancakes while only allowing 3 sacks for the Luchadores. Off the field, Mavfatha has been a user of the site for almost two years and was one of the longest-tenured members of HO in the league's history.
4. @Lime, QB Joseph Joestar (+22)
DSFL Team Round 4, Pick 8 (32)
ISFL Team Round 1, Pick 10 (10)
This pick was a bit of a surprise to me, as I felt that there were many QBs available that could have been selected in later rounds, but Orange County must feel like that have something special in Joestar. Joestar split snaps at about a 2/1 ratio with fellow Myrtle Beach QB Chris Ramos this season, completing 47% of his passes with 8 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a passer rating of 67.1. These are fairly pedestrian numbers even among the DSFL rookie class, however Joestar does boast the highest traditional QB stats (Arm, Int, Thr) by a slim margin, as the two other QBs that were created around the same time (Howitzer, Caliban) have opted for speedy builds. Given time to develop, Joestar will no doubt turn into a star at his current pace. A brand new user to the league this season, Lime has already made their mark by contributing to the site as GFX grader.
3. @SchwarzNarr, K/P Melvin Murder-Moose (+22.5)
DSFL Team Undrafted (31.5)
ISFL Team Round 1, Pick 9 (9)
The only undrafted player to appear on this list, Murder-Moose barely edges past Riposte and Joestar by half a point. On the surface, this seems like an odd pick with the Yeti well-situated with Silver Banana in the kicking game, so I have to wonder if Murder-Moose will resort to its more bestial nature by changing to a more physical position. Last season, Murder-Moose killed and assumed the identity of Seawolves placekicker Daria Guava-Fresca, who won DSFL Kicker of the Year by converting 97% of her extra points and 88% of her field goals, both highs among human players. Having seen her often in the Rookie Discord, I have to imagine this pick is largely due in part to SchwarzNarr's league contributions, as she has become a Rookie Mentor after less than two months of league membership.
2. @Sushi, TE Ne Mo(+29)
DSFL Team Round 7, Pick 3 (51)
ISFL Team Round 2, Pick 10 (22)
Tight end is yet another position I would not expect to be drafted quite so highly, but perhaps the Otters are looking to expand their receiving options in the future with the retirement of veteran receiver Hugh Mongo. Mo, after all, is the fastest TE archetype and is capable of filling in at WR in a pinch. A target of the aforementioned Joseph Joestar, Mo caught 44 passes for 350 yards and a touchdown in their rookie season. Yet another new user, Sushi has written some particular clever PT and media posts to expand the life of actual fish Ne Mo and is a common presence in the Myrtle Beach locker room.
1. @Z-Whiz, WR Gunner Thorbjornsson (+41)
DSFL Team Round 6, Pick 7 (47)
ISFL Team Round 1, Pick 6 (6)
Can you tell that this guy is the reason that I wrote this article? Moving up a whopping 41 spots into the middle of the first round, Royals WR Gunner Thorbjornsson put himself on the map in the second half of the DSFL season. Thorbjornsson's 44 receptions and 587 receiving yards led all rookie WRs, and additionally he is also very proud to have scored a touchdown. The future of the Outlaws looks bright, as the chemistry between fellows Royals QB Charlemagne Cortez and Thorbjornsson will continue to flourish when they are both brought to Arizona to lead the offense's high-octane passing attack. However, as I tried to warn everyone in my mock draft, user Z-Whiz has been one of the primary users behind the Royals' sim strategy, which saw them to a second consecutive playoff berth in their third year as a member of the DSFL. Even I mocked Z-Whiz too low! Look for Arizona to get over the hump next year with a crucial member added to the team.
Below I've listed the best-performing teams in the same metric by taking the median average of their S24 players, and I listed the best player for each team. Originally I had every player listed but it feels a bit unkind to point out poor draft performance, so feel free to double check it yourself if you'd like. Just for frame of reference, the average value across all teams is not 0 due to the addition of UDFA-rather, it is -7. In other words, a prospect can expect their draft position value to decrease by approximately seven spots due to the expanded size of the draft class as new prospects are added throughout the year.
Average Draft Position Change by Team
1.0
Most Improved Player: @Z-Whiz, WR Gunner Thorbjornsson (+41)
-0.3
Most Improved Player: @SchwarzNarr, K/P Melvin Murder-Moose (+22.5)
-5.4
Most Improved Player: @Sushi, TE Ne Mo (+29)
-8.3
Most Improved Player: @RDBSouthPaw, LB Brach Thomaslacher (+5)
-8.3
Most Improved Player: @`Netlandic`, S Oliver Sloan (+17)
-10.2
Most Improved Player: @Mavfatha, OL Icebox Riposte (+22)
-11.4
Most Improved Player: @PigSnout, QB Mattathias Caliban (+7)
-14.1
Most Improved Player: @Trautner, QB Sam Howitzer (+2)