Task 4:
Orange County Otters Season 20 Draft Strategy
The Orange County Otters entered the season twenty draft coming off a narrow win over the Yellowknife Wraiths in the 2034 season Ultimus. Drafting for continued success can be a tricky goal, do you try to maintain? Do you attempt to continue improving and develop stars down the road, by drafting players that might sit on your decorated bench when they could be starting in less talented teams?
Simply looking at the draft board in a historical perspective tells us more about their previous season's strategy than it does about the draft. With no first round pick available to them they were clearly in "win now mode." A strategy that clearly paid off for them with their championship, being a repeat championship as it were.
Their first pick was a defensive end with the first pick of the second round. Bobby Boucher of the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. A strong relactively quick defensive end. In context this appears to have been more of a opportunity pick than one that shows they were trying to fix a hole in their scheme. They may have seentalent in Bobby Boucher and couldn't pass him up, in their four picks during the draft he was the only defensive player taken. Another possibility here was a shallow defensive end pool. Two were taken ahead of Boucher and only one taken afterwards for a total of four. Perhaps it was a pick they had to make out of necessity, with a need at this position and no guarantees anyone worth while would still be on the board by the time their second pick came around.
Their second pick in the draft took a quick turn. Taken fifteenth overall Siddhu Sarvepally, a prolific running back with two seasons well over a thousand yards rushing, another player coming from the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. This would signal the beginning of an offensive trend as the Otters looked to shore up their offense in an attempt at sustained success. With only one running back off the board, this seemed like a pick they really wanted to make. A good running back with a relatively decent history in the developmental football league of success. With their now champion running backs Reed and Shady it looked as if they wanted to begin a true running back by committee type back field one where they could rely on their runners to carry the load and find a sustained success on the ground.
The third pick, a tight end Dave Casper Jr. The last pick of the third round from the Minnesota Gray Ducks looked like another pick to shore up the offense, it seems at this point they had good faith in their defense or saw no defensive players worth the investment. This was the final tight end taken in the draft and appears to have been both a reach and a desperation pick. They saw a need at this position and took him when they had their chance. Unfortunately he would wash out of the league relatively quickly, another trend which becomes apparent in hind sight of their draft.
Their fourth and final pick with the last pick if the draft, a wide reciever. Emilio Cortez playing under the waiver rule. This pick shored up their commitment to reinvigorating the offense in an attempt for a higher scoring year, signaling they were uncomfortable with the nail biter of an Ultimus win by only three points. However Emilio like Casper would also wash out of the league relatively quickly.
They say hindsight is twenty twenty, but their draft strategy was apparent, in both its flaws and desires. You can see they really wanted a defensive end, signs of a rushed pick there for Bobby Boucher, the only pick of this draft to remain on the roster, a task in and of itself in the rigors of the league. Siddhu would see some playing time but would never quite reach the heights he did in the DSFL, only remaining active for a year or two. Both Casper and Cortez flunked out relatively quickly, a not too uncommon result for the later round picks. With the theme of hindsight commitment looked like a major issue from their draft picks, their overall theme of offense didn't pay off with any sustained success, although they seem to have an eye for defense, although it may have been an element of luck as Bobby Boucher was simply the best available at the time for the position they wanted. Siddhu could have been considered a steal at pick number fifteen, as he easily could have gone off the board as the number one running back, this one can only be judged in hindsight, it seemed a great deal with a committed young player at the time, no one could have predicted that he would fall off the horse so rapidly,with the numbers he put up. Their final two picks stunk from the start. Their dodgy natures and inability to commit to their careers were already apparent and noted. Perhaps the Otters and other teams can learn a lesson that a committed player who doesn't fit your team is better than an unreliable player with the talent to help you right away.
Word Count: 879
Orange County Otters Season 20 Draft Strategy
The Orange County Otters entered the season twenty draft coming off a narrow win over the Yellowknife Wraiths in the 2034 season Ultimus. Drafting for continued success can be a tricky goal, do you try to maintain? Do you attempt to continue improving and develop stars down the road, by drafting players that might sit on your decorated bench when they could be starting in less talented teams?
Simply looking at the draft board in a historical perspective tells us more about their previous season's strategy than it does about the draft. With no first round pick available to them they were clearly in "win now mode." A strategy that clearly paid off for them with their championship, being a repeat championship as it were.
Their first pick was a defensive end with the first pick of the second round. Bobby Boucher of the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. A strong relactively quick defensive end. In context this appears to have been more of a opportunity pick than one that shows they were trying to fix a hole in their scheme. They may have seentalent in Bobby Boucher and couldn't pass him up, in their four picks during the draft he was the only defensive player taken. Another possibility here was a shallow defensive end pool. Two were taken ahead of Boucher and only one taken afterwards for a total of four. Perhaps it was a pick they had to make out of necessity, with a need at this position and no guarantees anyone worth while would still be on the board by the time their second pick came around.
Their second pick in the draft took a quick turn. Taken fifteenth overall Siddhu Sarvepally, a prolific running back with two seasons well over a thousand yards rushing, another player coming from the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. This would signal the beginning of an offensive trend as the Otters looked to shore up their offense in an attempt at sustained success. With only one running back off the board, this seemed like a pick they really wanted to make. A good running back with a relatively decent history in the developmental football league of success. With their now champion running backs Reed and Shady it looked as if they wanted to begin a true running back by committee type back field one where they could rely on their runners to carry the load and find a sustained success on the ground.
The third pick, a tight end Dave Casper Jr. The last pick of the third round from the Minnesota Gray Ducks looked like another pick to shore up the offense, it seems at this point they had good faith in their defense or saw no defensive players worth the investment. This was the final tight end taken in the draft and appears to have been both a reach and a desperation pick. They saw a need at this position and took him when they had their chance. Unfortunately he would wash out of the league relatively quickly, another trend which becomes apparent in hind sight of their draft.
Their fourth and final pick with the last pick if the draft, a wide reciever. Emilio Cortez playing under the waiver rule. This pick shored up their commitment to reinvigorating the offense in an attempt for a higher scoring year, signaling they were uncomfortable with the nail biter of an Ultimus win by only three points. However Emilio like Casper would also wash out of the league relatively quickly.
They say hindsight is twenty twenty, but their draft strategy was apparent, in both its flaws and desires. You can see they really wanted a defensive end, signs of a rushed pick there for Bobby Boucher, the only pick of this draft to remain on the roster, a task in and of itself in the rigors of the league. Siddhu would see some playing time but would never quite reach the heights he did in the DSFL, only remaining active for a year or two. Both Casper and Cortez flunked out relatively quickly, a not too uncommon result for the later round picks. With the theme of hindsight commitment looked like a major issue from their draft picks, their overall theme of offense didn't pay off with any sustained success, although they seem to have an eye for defense, although it may have been an element of luck as Bobby Boucher was simply the best available at the time for the position they wanted. Siddhu could have been considered a steal at pick number fifteen, as he easily could have gone off the board as the number one running back, this one can only be judged in hindsight, it seemed a great deal with a committed young player at the time, no one could have predicted that he would fall off the horse so rapidly,with the numbers he put up. Their final two picks stunk from the start. Their dodgy natures and inability to commit to their careers were already apparent and noted. Perhaps the Otters and other teams can learn a lesson that a committed player who doesn't fit your team is better than an unreliable player with the talent to help you right away.
Word Count: 879