My team, the London Royals, is an expansion team in the DSFL, and as such the entire team are new additions this year. As recent media articles have shown, we do not have the highest TPE in the league, or even as high as the other expansion team, the Dallas Birddogs. Still, I don’t think that means that we won’t be able to make a run at the Ultimini this years. In my opinion, our GMs did a great job of adding talented and active players at key positions. First and foremost is Colby Jack, who we drafted 2nd overall. Colby has high TPE and is very active and will look to be one of the top QBs in the DSFL this season. A high daft pick was also used to add Acura Skyline, who was one of the best RBs in the draft. We also added one of the top wide receivers in the draft, in Susan Cash Jr. As is the case with expansion teams, we weren’t able to use a high draft pick at every position. We didn’t draft a tight end until 146th overall, however the guy we got there, Donatello Arabbiata is looking more and more like an absolute steal at that spot. He is very active and a great presence in our lr, and is already closing in on 100 TPE. While the above mentioned players give our offense a lot of promise, it is actually the defense that will likely be the strength of this team. 8 of our top 11 draft picks were used on defensive players, and plenty of talent exists at all three levels of our defense.
If everybody buys in and does their job, and some of the later round draftees continue to be as active as they have been post draft, the London Royals will have a great chance to surprise a lot of people this season.
With the Luchadores' recent draft class comes plenty of promise and potential, putting them in contention for an Ultimini berth after a disappointing record last season. They successfully filled the hole at QB by drafting two QBs in Ben Slothlisberger and Jim Waters, and although Waters was taken 170 picks later, they are nearly identical in TPE and both are viable options to open the season as starting QB. After trading out of their 2nd round pick Tijuana was able to double-dip at the CB position, taking Andrew Witten and Ozamataz Buckshank with back-to-back picks. Witten should offer an immediate impact as a starter, with his 80 speed and 70 agility, and is very active on the forums and in the locker room. Buckshank matches Witten in speed, but lacks some of his agility and endurance. Regardless, the Luchadores were able to land two starting CBs that possess great speed, a key attribute for defenders, with the 28th and 29th picks. Later in the draft, with the 48th pick, Tijuana was able to draft linebacker George Fisher. Despite playing linebacker, Fisher is the fastest player in the Luchadores' draft class with 83 speed, making him a great option in coverage and a dangerous Blitzer shooting gaps. His other attributes may not be as impressive, but he has plenty of potential and room to improve this season. With the 60th pick the Luchadores' stayed true to their roots and took an OL, Calvin Golladay. Golladay is a well-rounded blocker with great strength, and despite being the 4th OL off the board he narrowly leads all S22 OL in TPE. The final impact player to be highlighted is Richard Gilbert, an RB selected with the 96th pick. Although he won't start due to the presence of Ed Barker, Gilbert's TPE of 98 is much higher than his draft position would suggest, and was used to give this class yet another speedster, with 80 speed. That's not to say he's just a sprinter, though, as he also has a 70 strength in case he can't outrun an opposing player.
The Luchadores' draft class brings an infusion of speed to the team, bringing an explosive offense to match the sideline-to-sideline speed of their defense, all while filling key holes at positions such as QB and CB. 382 words
PT1 - Reloaded (World Count: 207)
As a DSFL team, the Kansas City Coyotes are more inclined to build a lot of their talent for the upcoming season - outside of send-downs - through the draft. This is a great strategy for teams of all levels to build well for the future, but with a draft class the size of the one in Season 21, it made getting the best draft harder; and yet, even more crucial. Some draftees, such as Phat Boi, are obvious standouts in a class already stocked full of talent. But the supplement of WRs that case after the pick of Mr. Boi - commonly referred to in the Coyotes community as the “Yeet Squad” - only serve to make our squad even stronger and very capable of Ultimini success on both sides of the ball. And in-between those areas, there exists special teams - consisting not only of send-down Lefty Louis, but also exciting rookie prospect Matthew McDairmid, who looks set to share the short end of snaps with Mr. Louis and make a small impact this season, with hopes of a further impact in the season after. Altogether, this team is built for success now on paper; it just has to prove its capabilities on the field.
As a member of the London Royals, my entire team is made up of new faces. Some of these faces recreates, but most are new to the league entirely when they joined from the reddit r/NFL thread. Being a new franchise, its important to temper expectations. As I discussed in my DSFL Power rankings found here, the London Royals (and the other expansion team the Dallas Birddogs) both occupy the bottom 2 positions in my rankings. Expecting championships in this first season would be unrealistic. I think a good goal for my team would be to finish ahead of both Norfolk and Dallas, two teams that occupy the same team as the London Royals. I believe the way that will happen is through exemplary play from the Royals DB’s. The Royals have, through one draft alone, a 4th-5th ranked backfield, which in my opinion is quite remarkable for just one draft. With CB’s Cadillac Harris, Eldrich Avery and Ben Stackinpaper providing a strong presence, and safeties Ed Ball and myself, I believe the Royals path to a strong first season involves these 5 players to really set the tone on defense. On the offensive side of the ball the Royals had the #2 pick of the DSFL draft and selected Colby Jack. A lot is riding on Colby to perform. Without Colby the Royals won’t win much of anything this year.
One of the big plus signs for the Austin Copperheads’ S20 Ultimus win was that we didn’t really have any giant holes to fill in the offseason. We come back this season for our title defense with pretty much the same team across the board. Our only subtractions were an aging Xerxes Ridley at CB, and an aging Sandip Bakshi at LB. We took care of Ridley’s replacement last draft, when we selected Victor Moreno and now he’s called up to the squad from the DSFL this season. Honda Edmond is ready for a bigger role to replace Bakshi in the lineup, but we drafted Holden Summers 11th overall to take over Edmond’s old spot on the defense and it looks like we won’t miss a beat. We added Riles McTackle, our 10th overall draft pick, to our DL and he’s won the job over John Caleb Bradberton this training camp, and he’s an improvement as well. The way we built the team in Austin was to consistently compete for championships. Now that we’ve got the machine moving in the proper direction, we should always be competing for the Ultimus. We have mostly the same team back, we didn’t lose anyone in free agency, and we upgraded at a few positions. We should be ready to successfully defend this Ultimus. (221)
The S21 DSFL draft is history now and every eligible player at draft start has a new team now. I, Michael Witheblock, was selected at #53 by the Kansas City Coyotes. Being in the DSFL, seeing lots of new faces every season is nothing new. But what an overload of talent was the S21 draft. There were 271 prospects to be split between just 8 teams. The Coyotes were on the lower side of additions with already 29, which is a crazy high number.
The first selection was Phat Boi at #5, who brings all what you want from a defensive tackle. He gathered already 187 TPE and clearly knows how to spend them. He will give much needed stability to the line and will help improve the defense as a whole. With pick #109 they could also get a steal in Nuniq Annastesia, who will help to tighten things even more up. With the addition of Eddie Jeeta at #13, the Coyotes could add a precious piece in their wide receiver corps. After last season with Chris Kross and Red Arrow, the Coyotes could add again solid wideouts with #53 Michael Witheblock and #101 Tan Johnson. Those three will shine in the passing game under quarterback Chika Fujiwara and can hopefully show that passing is a serious threat in this run heavy league. Apropos run heavy, with pick #21 Kevin Fakon was added. He is a running back with high hopes for the season that should be ready from day 1 to split reps with Andrew Nova. But don’t count out the prospect taken at #20. The defensive backfield improved with the addition of all-around cornerback Chester Sweets. Teamed up with an already solid backfield, they will tighten the game through the air for every opponent. Sean O’Donohue at #37 and Fawn Dillimiballs at #69 were strong additions for the linebackers and with picking Ismael Sanchez (#61) and Patrik Money (#85), the edge has gained threatening potential when lined up with veteran Chip Otle. All in all it was a very good draft for the Coyotes and in my opinion they have a valid shot at the Ultimini. They added talent all over their roster and will be ready to compete against every team in the league. Expect Kansas City to rise up and be a big threat for everyone they play. *393 words
Kansas City Coyotes are not a team to be slept on this season. The S21 DSFL Draft was loaded with talent which is no surprise as we saw the largest draft take place in league history with 271 prospects. The first few rounds it’s hard not to get quality players but to start the draft off at pick #5, The Coyotes were able to secure the very top prospect in the entire draft with DT Phat Boi. Thanks to Expansion teams needing QB, Kansas City lucked out and had the best player fall to them at 5th overall. Secondly at pick #13 they picked Eddie Jeeta. The top Wide receiver prospect in the draft and gives Starboy’s Chika Fujiwara an elite option to throw to. Later on in the draft at pick #53, Kansas got a huge steal in wide receiver Michael Witheblock. While he was the 7th WR off the board, he’s already 2nd in TPE for the position just behind Jeeta. So right off the bat Kansas City has the meanest WR core. Not to mention the steal in WR Tan Johnson at pick #101. Kansas making it pretty clear this team intends to show that rushing isn’t everything and that with the right talent, the passing game is gonna make a huge resurgence into the DSFL. Defensively, Phat Boi and Chip Otle are going to be accompanied by yet another fantastic draft pick in DE Ismael Sanchez at pick #61 and just behind them, LB Sean O’Donohue at pick #37. And leading the charge for the DBs is stud Cornerback Chester Sweets who Kansas traded up to get at pick #20. Kansas City players are going to be in contention for almost every positional award there is, and undoubtedly a strong team to make a run for the Ultimini.
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My team drafted very strongly, and this new, quick earning blood should provide an infusion of youth and energy that will pay off on the pitch. Tijuana added two young wide receivers who are enthused about the league and have strong speed builds. My player, Thomas Passmann, is one of them, and he started out with a ton of speed in his build right out of the gate. Speed is everything, and the Luchadores are incredibly smart to pick speed-prioritizing players who can made long runs and get stuff done. They also have been willing to bank on veterans, and the leadership and experience of veteran agents from this draft class should give the recreates an edge over the first gens. I think Tijuana will be a deep and strong team at all positions, and this diversity and depth is how you win a championship. They are looking both short term and long term, and they are gathering all the right pieces they will need to achieve great things. Few if any teams can rival their strength and talented capacity at all positions, and on their best days, with their hard working crew, the Luchadores should be able to defeat any opponent and to take home a championship ring.
I was only recently drafted into the DSFL by the Minnesota Grey Ducks but even as a rookie I can tell that our team has some serious potential to win its third Ultimini in a row. You have to give credit where credit is due and even if you‘re a fan of one of the other DSFL team (although I don‘t know why anyone should be this foolish), you have to admit that our GMs have done a hell of a job to build on the team‘s already excellent foundation. The Grey Ducks had the best offense and second best defense in the DSFL last season and we only got stronger through the draft.
It was dominated by defensive players, adding Buck Thornton, a safety so fast he‘ll break up the play before the offense knows what‘s going on, Sebastian Vettel, another safety showcasing a rare combination of speed and football IQ, Mo „Mamba“ Magic, a well-rounded DT who is equally fast and strong and will tackle you with such force you‘ll wish you had turned pro as a golfer instead, Lawrence Bass, a line backer that has a speed advantage over most offensive lineman and if they manage to stand in his way, also has the strength to push them out of the way and get to the quarterback. And that‘s only to name a few, no disrespect to Bo Jangles, Jamar Lackson and all the other excellent players on the team who prove time and time again in training camp that they should all be picked up by NSFL teams next season. Of course the team also drafted a great wide receiver named William Alexander (that‘s me!) but I‘ll let other people talk about my strengths and weaknesses. Mostly strengths of course. So as you can see, the Grey Ducks have done a great job of building for future success and playing a dominant season. |
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