Season 25 ISFL Draft Prospect Positional Breakdown – Running Back
Hey there sports fans! Draft week(s) festivities are finally upon us! On Friday, September 25th we have the Season 25 ISFL Rookie Draft, which is followed up a week later with the Season 25 DSFL Draft. Due to my overflowing excitement over my first ever ISFL Draft, I am going to try and do a write-up of every position group coming into the draft.
In this edition of the positional breakdown of the Season 25 ISFL Draft, we are looking at the cool kids on offense in the DSFL: Running Back
Position Stats
Active Players*: 8
*To qualify as an active player for this breakdown, the player had to have been updated in the last update of Season 24 – 9/12/2020 in the TPE Tracker
Average TPE: 181
Highest TPE: 232 (Mike Rotchburns)
Running backs are at a weird spot in the ISFL right now. Between the prevalence of the running Quarterback, the running back by committee approach, and a lot of old farts at the position refusing to give up the ball (I’m looking at you @TomHanks) the position appears to be one that every team needs, but not one that I don’t believe every team will be willing to spend an early round pick on. The position has a lot of strong options in the ISFL, but there are a few teams that still need a player or two in a bad way. Running back traditionally is not a position that teams look to call up a player right away, but I strongly believe we will see at least two players drafted on Friday called up.
Before I get too far into these player breakdowns, I want to preface by saying these are all subjective and based on my knowledge of the players. I know that I do not know everyone in the league, their stories, or how active they really are. If I missed any information or got something wrong about a player, feel free to correct me and know it mistakes are not intentional.
The Players
Mike Rotchburns | Minnesota Grey Ducks | 232 TPE | @SchoolboyShue
One half of the best rookie running back duo in the DSFL this past season (possibly ever?) Rotchburns was easily a contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year in season 24. As for the user, SchoolboyShue (I really hope his name is some sort of homage to Elizabeth Shue!), I can’t really speak too much. He hasn’t been extremely active on the forums, which is a shame. I know I say this a lot in these articles, but he put out some really good media early on, especially his DSFL Running Back Rankings, that I really wish he would get back to writing. For now, however, Rotchburns has been a TPE monster, and if that continues, he could see himself called up to the big leagues if a RB-needy team snatches him up.
Jameson Vermillion | Minnesota Grey Ducks | 231 TPE | @Vainknight13
The other half of the aforementioned rookie running back duo up in Minnesota this past year, Vermillion is easily one of the stars of this draft at the position. Nothing against his teammate, Rotchburns, but I see Vermillion being taken just slightly ahead of him, and that’s because of user VainKnight13 and his crazy media portfolio. If you’ve read any of my previous articles, you know that I place value on activity, and VainKnight has been producing media at a crazy pace. Where VainKnight shines in his media, however, is not in necessarily deep analysis of numbers and stats, but with just general writing about his and his player’s personal thoughts and feelings. You might think that writing about fake football should be all about the sim and stats and numbers, but take some time to read his articles. He’s a very talented writer and frankly I am jealous of his ability. I predict Vermillion to be the top running back taken on Friday.
Darren Pama | Portland Pythons | 228 TPE | @ztarwarz
There are very few times that a person can say they lived history. Those of us who participated or watched the Season 24 DSFL Draft can say they got to see the Portland Pythons All Tight End strategy go live. The team got meme’d preeeeeeeeetty hard after it, as many users were wondering what the heck they were doing up in the Pacific Northwest. “Keep Portland Weird” is a rallying cry for the hipsters in the city, but I didn’t know it applied to fake football, too.
One of those 37 Tight Ends picked was Darren Pama, who user zstarwarz switched over to Running Back at I assume the request of the team, and pretty quickly his play on the field shut us all up. Pama had a fantastic rookie season, and zstarwarz cranked out media like it was his day job. His 23 articles posted since creating his player are the most I’ve seen so far out of all the users I’ve researched. If he keeps it up, I think zstarwarz will become a well-known commodity within the ISFL for seasons to come.
Buster Bawls | Portland Pythons | 196 TPE | @ryd029aird13
Buster Bawls is what you would call a throwback player. In today’s football, the Fullback position has been phased out, as most teams don’t rely on the power run game. If you ask me, that’s a damn tragedy. All season, Bawls has been putting his body and brain on the line in order to help his fellow Pythons backs find holes and gain yards. He didn’t put up much for stats in the run game, but his 20 pancakes were good for fourth out of all non-OL players this past season. Speaking of which, I can see teams placing a little extra value on a bona fide blocking back in the ISFL since most teams do not have a full compliment of offensive line players. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have much I can say about user ryd029, since I don’t spend time in the Pythons’ locker room, and he hasn’t really been a big presence creating media. Hopefully one of his snek boys can comment on the user for me!
Bronko Mills | Tijuiana Luchadores | 163 TPE | @PaytonM34
Our first (and only!) recreate Running Back in the Season 25 draft is none other than Bronko Mills, assumed to be the child of legendary Linebacker and former Luchadores General Manager, Brian Mills. Bronko was a beast in his rookie season in Tijuana, as he finished the season in the top three for rushing yards and is expected to be a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. User PaytonM34 really needs no introduction, as he’s well known around the league for both his former players (Mills and OL Brave Ulysses), and for his time as a General Manager. I believe Mills feels pretty certain that he will be spending a second season in the DSFL, so I expect a team with aging running backs (is that a Silverback howl I hear?) to take him and stash him away.
Terry Yaki | London Royals | 160 TPE | @Doomraider
The award for making me hungry goes to the London running back, Terry Yaki. Come on man, you can’t have a delicious name like that. It’s just rude! Off the field, user Doomraider has been kind of a ghost on the forums, submitting only one piece of media since creation. He’s been keeping up on his point tasks for the most part, and according to his Royals teammates he’s an active user in their locker room, especially on game day. If a team can keep Yaki active enough to complete his point tasks, then at the very least he could shape up to be a nice late round pick for a team without an immediate need for a running back.
Anders Christiansen | Portland Pythons | 144 TPE | @bluesfan55
So remember when I said that Mills was our only recreate running back this season? Well, I spoke too soon because Christiansen is also a recreate running back. Now, I haven’t even posted this article so I could very easily go and edit it, but, authenticity is the mark of a true scholar. Or, it’s the sign of laziness. I’ll let you decide.
Anyways, I don’t know much about Christiansen nor user bluesfan55, other than two things: One, he’s been around for a long time, creating his account back in season 3. Two, he’s named after Danish Footballer Anders Christiansen. I want to focus on point two. Bluesfan, you were SO close to naming your player after one of the most famous Danes of all time, Hans Christian Andersen. Honestly, until I actually looked up Anders Christiansen, I thought you were making a reference to one of the most famed playwrights of all time.
For the younger users here (so basically 90% of you), Hans Christian Andersen wrote some bangers of players that you probably are familiar with – the most famous being The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Anyways, Christiansen will most likely be in a similar position as Mills and Yaki above him, as I expect a team with aging running backs to take him and stash him in the DSFL for at least one more season.
King Tutenkhamun | Kansas City Coyotes | 96 TPE | @WALDO
Okay what the hell. I thought there was only one recreate running back in this class and now I find out that there are three?! WALDO, stop making podcasts and get your player more TPE, dammit! Seeing recreates down near the bottom of the TPE pile just makes things not seem right. I was going to write a witty little article talking about WALDO’s lack of activity and TPE using all the low-hanging fruit of, “Where’s Waldo?” I could muster, but now I can’t since the guy is a freaking media king and has been an active user for like two freaking years. Thanks a lot.
Final Thoughts
As I touched on a few times in these players’ summaries, running back is a position that is simultaneously a position of need for a number of teams in the ISFL, while also being a position of low value due to the lack of immediate need for many teams. This group of users might be the overall strongest, as the new players are for the most part very active and good users, and the recreates are from users that have been around the block a few times. Running back might be the hardest position to project going into Friday’s draft.
Once again, thank you for reading. If you have any corrections or comments, please leave them below!
Previous versions of Pat’s Season 25 ISFL Draft Prospect Positional Breakdown:
Defensive End
Offensive Line
Safety
Wide Receiver
Linebacker
Cornerback
Hey there sports fans! Draft week(s) festivities are finally upon us! On Friday, September 25th we have the Season 25 ISFL Rookie Draft, which is followed up a week later with the Season 25 DSFL Draft. Due to my overflowing excitement over my first ever ISFL Draft, I am going to try and do a write-up of every position group coming into the draft.
In this edition of the positional breakdown of the Season 25 ISFL Draft, we are looking at the cool kids on offense in the DSFL: Running Back
Position Stats
Active Players*: 8
*To qualify as an active player for this breakdown, the player had to have been updated in the last update of Season 24 – 9/12/2020 in the TPE Tracker
Average TPE: 181
Highest TPE: 232 (Mike Rotchburns)
Running backs are at a weird spot in the ISFL right now. Between the prevalence of the running Quarterback, the running back by committee approach, and a lot of old farts at the position refusing to give up the ball (I’m looking at you @TomHanks) the position appears to be one that every team needs, but not one that I don’t believe every team will be willing to spend an early round pick on. The position has a lot of strong options in the ISFL, but there are a few teams that still need a player or two in a bad way. Running back traditionally is not a position that teams look to call up a player right away, but I strongly believe we will see at least two players drafted on Friday called up.
Before I get too far into these player breakdowns, I want to preface by saying these are all subjective and based on my knowledge of the players. I know that I do not know everyone in the league, their stories, or how active they really are. If I missed any information or got something wrong about a player, feel free to correct me and know it mistakes are not intentional.
The Players
Mike Rotchburns | Minnesota Grey Ducks | 232 TPE | @SchoolboyShue
One half of the best rookie running back duo in the DSFL this past season (possibly ever?) Rotchburns was easily a contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year in season 24. As for the user, SchoolboyShue (I really hope his name is some sort of homage to Elizabeth Shue!), I can’t really speak too much. He hasn’t been extremely active on the forums, which is a shame. I know I say this a lot in these articles, but he put out some really good media early on, especially his DSFL Running Back Rankings, that I really wish he would get back to writing. For now, however, Rotchburns has been a TPE monster, and if that continues, he could see himself called up to the big leagues if a RB-needy team snatches him up.
Jameson Vermillion | Minnesota Grey Ducks | 231 TPE | @Vainknight13
The other half of the aforementioned rookie running back duo up in Minnesota this past year, Vermillion is easily one of the stars of this draft at the position. Nothing against his teammate, Rotchburns, but I see Vermillion being taken just slightly ahead of him, and that’s because of user VainKnight13 and his crazy media portfolio. If you’ve read any of my previous articles, you know that I place value on activity, and VainKnight has been producing media at a crazy pace. Where VainKnight shines in his media, however, is not in necessarily deep analysis of numbers and stats, but with just general writing about his and his player’s personal thoughts and feelings. You might think that writing about fake football should be all about the sim and stats and numbers, but take some time to read his articles. He’s a very talented writer and frankly I am jealous of his ability. I predict Vermillion to be the top running back taken on Friday.
Darren Pama | Portland Pythons | 228 TPE | @ztarwarz
There are very few times that a person can say they lived history. Those of us who participated or watched the Season 24 DSFL Draft can say they got to see the Portland Pythons All Tight End strategy go live. The team got meme’d preeeeeeeeetty hard after it, as many users were wondering what the heck they were doing up in the Pacific Northwest. “Keep Portland Weird” is a rallying cry for the hipsters in the city, but I didn’t know it applied to fake football, too.
One of those 37 Tight Ends picked was Darren Pama, who user zstarwarz switched over to Running Back at I assume the request of the team, and pretty quickly his play on the field shut us all up. Pama had a fantastic rookie season, and zstarwarz cranked out media like it was his day job. His 23 articles posted since creating his player are the most I’ve seen so far out of all the users I’ve researched. If he keeps it up, I think zstarwarz will become a well-known commodity within the ISFL for seasons to come.
Buster Bawls | Portland Pythons | 196 TPE | @ryd029aird13
Buster Bawls is what you would call a throwback player. In today’s football, the Fullback position has been phased out, as most teams don’t rely on the power run game. If you ask me, that’s a damn tragedy. All season, Bawls has been putting his body and brain on the line in order to help his fellow Pythons backs find holes and gain yards. He didn’t put up much for stats in the run game, but his 20 pancakes were good for fourth out of all non-OL players this past season. Speaking of which, I can see teams placing a little extra value on a bona fide blocking back in the ISFL since most teams do not have a full compliment of offensive line players. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have much I can say about user ryd029, since I don’t spend time in the Pythons’ locker room, and he hasn’t really been a big presence creating media. Hopefully one of his snek boys can comment on the user for me!
Bronko Mills | Tijuiana Luchadores | 163 TPE | @PaytonM34
Our first (and only!) recreate Running Back in the Season 25 draft is none other than Bronko Mills, assumed to be the child of legendary Linebacker and former Luchadores General Manager, Brian Mills. Bronko was a beast in his rookie season in Tijuana, as he finished the season in the top three for rushing yards and is expected to be a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. User PaytonM34 really needs no introduction, as he’s well known around the league for both his former players (Mills and OL Brave Ulysses), and for his time as a General Manager. I believe Mills feels pretty certain that he will be spending a second season in the DSFL, so I expect a team with aging running backs (is that a Silverback howl I hear?) to take him and stash him away.
Terry Yaki | London Royals | 160 TPE | @Doomraider
The award for making me hungry goes to the London running back, Terry Yaki. Come on man, you can’t have a delicious name like that. It’s just rude! Off the field, user Doomraider has been kind of a ghost on the forums, submitting only one piece of media since creation. He’s been keeping up on his point tasks for the most part, and according to his Royals teammates he’s an active user in their locker room, especially on game day. If a team can keep Yaki active enough to complete his point tasks, then at the very least he could shape up to be a nice late round pick for a team without an immediate need for a running back.
Anders Christiansen | Portland Pythons | 144 TPE | @bluesfan55
So remember when I said that Mills was our only recreate running back this season? Well, I spoke too soon because Christiansen is also a recreate running back. Now, I haven’t even posted this article so I could very easily go and edit it, but, authenticity is the mark of a true scholar. Or, it’s the sign of laziness. I’ll let you decide.
Anyways, I don’t know much about Christiansen nor user bluesfan55, other than two things: One, he’s been around for a long time, creating his account back in season 3. Two, he’s named after Danish Footballer Anders Christiansen. I want to focus on point two. Bluesfan, you were SO close to naming your player after one of the most famous Danes of all time, Hans Christian Andersen. Honestly, until I actually looked up Anders Christiansen, I thought you were making a reference to one of the most famed playwrights of all time.
For the younger users here (so basically 90% of you), Hans Christian Andersen wrote some bangers of players that you probably are familiar with – the most famous being The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Anyways, Christiansen will most likely be in a similar position as Mills and Yaki above him, as I expect a team with aging running backs to take him and stash him in the DSFL for at least one more season.
King Tutenkhamun | Kansas City Coyotes | 96 TPE | @WALDO
Okay what the hell. I thought there was only one recreate running back in this class and now I find out that there are three?! WALDO, stop making podcasts and get your player more TPE, dammit! Seeing recreates down near the bottom of the TPE pile just makes things not seem right. I was going to write a witty little article talking about WALDO’s lack of activity and TPE using all the low-hanging fruit of, “Where’s Waldo?” I could muster, but now I can’t since the guy is a freaking media king and has been an active user for like two freaking years. Thanks a lot.
Final Thoughts
As I touched on a few times in these players’ summaries, running back is a position that is simultaneously a position of need for a number of teams in the ISFL, while also being a position of low value due to the lack of immediate need for many teams. This group of users might be the overall strongest, as the new players are for the most part very active and good users, and the recreates are from users that have been around the block a few times. Running back might be the hardest position to project going into Friday’s draft.
Once again, thank you for reading. If you have any corrections or comments, please leave them below!
Previous versions of Pat’s Season 25 ISFL Draft Prospect Positional Breakdown:
Defensive End
Offensive Line
Safety
Wide Receiver
Linebacker
Cornerback