It's often fun to look back at past season's drafts and see how good or bad teams drafted. Since I came into the league at Season 2, and it was a pretty sizeable draft class, I'm gonna redo the draft's first 3 rounds, knowing what we know now. Who the busts were, who retired already and also, who the multis are.
ROUND 1
Pick 1: - Dermot Lavelle (CB)
This pick remains the same. Dermot has been one of the best players in the league. Both on and off the field. He's now the Commissioner because Noble cheated like a mofo.
Pick 2: - Paul DiMirio (TE)
This was Blaster Blade, and at the time, everyone loved this pick. And for a couple seasons, Blade was a great player. But he went inactive and looking back, there's a better value. DiMirio has been the arguably best TE in the NSFL since the day of this draft. And for sure the best in the last 2 years. Colorado needs offensive playmakers.
Pick 3: - Vincent Sharpei (OL)
This was Tim Pest, and up until it came to light that Pest was secretly ErMurazor in disguise, this was the best pick in the draft, in my opinion. But now that we know Tim never should have existed, I have the Outlaws taking Sharpei. Vincent was OL at the time, and even in season 1, he was a damn good one. He's since converted to LB and is still wrecking it.
Pick 4: - Micah Hendrix (OL)
This was Sharpei, a great pick for SJS, however in this mock, he's gone. So, looking at the careers of the other OL drafted, Hendrix has had the next most impact. Again, now a LB because of the introduction of the OLineBot-5000s he's out there making the most of every down.
Pick 5: - Kevin Cushing (LB)
Not that their first pick of Bork Bork was bad, it's just... he retired already. He was a solid player but here I have the Wraiths taking here, who they took in Rd 2, Cushing. He's a very active guy who seems to really love this league. Can't have enough users like kckolbe in this league, I say.
Pick 6: - Avon Blocksdale (OL)
Not a knock on Clegane. I think you're great. But Blockdale is a TPE monster. I considered him at 4 for the Cats, but went with Hendrix. Avon is now the star QB of the Hawks, which doesn't fit OCO because Boss is still the Boss. But Avon's willingness to swap to position of need shows he could do what Clegane has for us, and be an amazing LB.
Pick 7: - Fox North (WR)
As I recall, he was forced to be picked here because he was the GM of the Liberty at the time. But even if that weren't the case, he's a top flight WR and a damn good pick here. There were only 4 good WRs in this class and it's tough to say he's worse than Evans, personally. And he's definitely better than Smallwood and Chess.
Pick 8: - Torque Lewith (QB)
He immediately switched from being a QB to a FS and was a huge impact. He was drafted originally in the 11th round because he was a poor archetype as a QB and all the teams were set at QB at the time. But knowing he'd switch and the impact he'd make, he's a great pick here.
ROUND 2
Pick 9 - Darnell Turner (CB)
It's tough here to see who is the best CB in the draft remaining after Dermot. Turner was the pick at this time and I cant say for certain Oles or I are a better pick here. So, I'm going with Darnell.
Pick 10: - Gregor Clegane (OL)
Here's my boy, Clegane. He dropped a bit but really that's not a knock on his talent because he's still very much a useful player. Once a great OL stud, now is a LB just like many other OL studs in this draft became.
Pick 11: - Ardie Savea (RB)
Savea is a steal here. Given that this pick was Jordan Yates, who converted from OL to RB and then left via FA, looking at the available RB prospects, Savea's impact on the NSFL has been tremendous and would have provided a solid run game from here on out. Ardie has beed, possibly, the best player LVL has had in franchise history. A good pick for the Sabes at 11.
Pick 12: - Dustin Evans (WR)
To compete against the Hawks and Wraiths, the Liberty needed offense. They got 2 stud WRs in this draft with Fox and Dustin. A much better option than Hunter Mason as their S2 WR2. And considering they won't get DiMirio, he makes up for that production loss as well. This was Oles, but Evans makes a bit more sense here, to me.
Pick 13: - Owen Taylor (DE)
Owen Taylor is a great pickup here. The Wraiths wanted to address D-Line this draft, as evidenced by their original 1st rd pick of Bork Bjornnson but looking at the rest of this draft, and the players available on the defensive front, Taylor is the last one who's still active. Yes, he's a Running Back now for the Hawks, but he easily could have stayed a DE or position changed to the DT they needed.
Pick 14: - Tyler Oles (CB)
As much as I'd like to say I'm better than Oles, the numbers don't lie. Over the course of the last 3 seasons, he's been better. The pick of Savea here scratched a lot of heads as he was traded right after the draft to LVL. Considering they had Leroy Jenkins, they didn't need a RB. So, they went CB and picked up Oles who is a fantastic dude.
Pick 15: - CA Chess (WR)
After the Liberty snagged the best 2 receivers in this class, the Yeti take CA Chess here to be their Number 2, across from Kendrick Hendrix. Knowing what we know now about Logan Noble and his multis, who the QB would be for the Yeti remains a mystery. But whomever took the helm, they'd need a good second receiver. Chess is that.
Pick 16: - Marc Spector (CB)
I don't like this, but it's where the cookie crumbled. I'm the next best CB on the board. They originally took Evans here but he's in Philly now. They could go Smallwood or Kroetch, but pure player value says I'm slightly better than them. So, I guess I'm an Outlaw. I feel dirty.
ROUND 3
Pick 17: - Jordan Yates (OL)
In Season 2, the Liberty acquired the rights to Omar Wright, who was part of the Season 1 RB duo in OCO. Yates would provide good blocking for him until he faded into non-existence and the OL Bot switch happened, where he'd take over as the primary RB for the Taco Bells. Smallwood has higher value overall, but he's a WR and they already have 2 top tier ones this draft.
Pick 18: - Darren Smallwood (WR)
Here's Checkers! Baltimore had Cooper Christmas and picked up Matthew Vincent in this draft to make a pretty solid WR duo. But Christmas flew the Coop, and Vincent followed suit. This forced the Hawks to go get Trey Willie in S3. Having Smallwood here makes sense because he'd become the defacto #1 in a good offense when those 2 faded into obscurity. And if the chips fell the same way, he could transition to RB and be their RB now as well.
Pick 19: - Bork Bjornnson (DT)
Yes, he's since retired. But given the remaining talent, he's still the best pick here. It could be argued that he's worth it higher even if he was only around for 3 seasons. The Swede (or Icelander? I can't remember... Some Scandinavian country that produces large burly men) was their 1st round pick in this draft so getting the performance of those 3 years at a 3rd round value is great. Just... not for any longer than that, sadly.
Pick 20: - Ragnar Kronen (S)
Ragnar was active for 2 seasons and helped the Otters defense, but he came down with the unfortunate inactivity bug and was dealt away in the recent offseason. But for the duration he was active, he was a great pickup. Much better than Jorge Masvidal was. That's who the Hawks originally took here, at Safety. Even as an inactive, he's a competent starter in the league right now.
Pick 21: - Big Bot (DE)
Big Bot retired. That really sucks. But part of me thinks he retired because it was the thing to do in that Las Vegas locker room at the time. If he was on a team that actually cared about itself, he might still be here. But as it stands, he's retired, and even though he only gave 3 years to this league, he's a great pick here for Philly who needs some defense after the 3 offensive sided picks they took already.
Pick 22: - Eric Kennedy (RB)
The Otters had Leroy. No need to get a 2nd RB. But in this draft, we know Leroy will retire. And that Burnsman, who lit the league on fire in S3 would fade faster than he came on, so this would leave a HUGE hole at RB for the Otters at RB which is now filled with Jordan Yates. Given what he can do as a passing threat as a running back, he's the perfect fit for the west coast style offense that OCO employs. He fell this far because he's really kinda been... mediocre. But he's still active, so that's important.
Pick 23: - Blaster Blade (DE)
How the might fall. He was the 2nd overall pick in this draft, but at least he is being picked here in this 3 round mock draft. He was useful for a few seasons before falling off the face of the earth. Coupled with Big Bot, Philly could have had a somewhat solid defensive line for a while. Better than what Von Gerhardt and Davidson gave them before they also went inactive.
Pick 24: - Damien Kroetch (WR)
He's semi-active, and because the Outlaws didn't get Evans, like in their original draft, they snag Kroetch who isn't nearly as prolific, but at least still checks in from time to time. It's hard for the Outlaws to keep their crown knowing the future won't let them draft the best OL in history, have Luke Leuchly "fall to them" in Round 5 and Cristiano Ronaldo booting 50 yarders 2-3 times a game. So, they have to make concessions, like settling for a semi-active and not an ErClone.
After this round, there's not a whole lot of talent left. Enchilada Charlton is considerably useful and would be taken in the 4th. So would Isaiah McGinn and Matthew Vincent. You could argue Vincent instead or Kroetch at 24, because Vincent was a better receiver the first 2-3 seasons but as I said, Damien is at least semi-active. So, I prefer that. Madad is still around semi-active too, as a kicker for the Otters. But a barely active kicker isn't top 3 round worthy, I think we can all argue. Drew Davidson and Otto Von Gerhardt are other inactives who'd be 4th round worthy.
I think using hindsight, it's fun to mock who went where. Don't take it personally if I drafted you later than you think you're worth. It is also entirely possible that I completely missed someone who's secretly been active and contributing and I overlooked them.
Knowing what happens to Noble, how poor Bercovici and Christ would be, or that Scrub would go MIA and Hunt would stop caring altogether, it's possible if Christian Adams and Shawn Brady had stuck around a bit longer, they'd be where Blocksdale, Stone, Rove, Pierno or Akselsen are now as starting QBs. That is one thing this draft class had almost no effect on, the QB position. Certainly now that Blocksdale is a QB we can say it sort of did, but we definitely didn't draft any here to be QBs. Lewith is the only drafted QB left from this class and he never threw a single pass.
Plus this class had quite an impact when it came to Multis. Pest, Lee, Leuchly, James, Ronoldo, Pancake, Smith and Doddgy all were drafted this season. Some of those players really shaped the way this league ran for the next 3 seasons. Leuchly, Pest, Pancake and Ronoldo were Pro-bowlers every season. Maybe if he hadn't cheated, this league, and draft class could have totally been shaped differently.
(2,136 Words)
GRADED
ROUND 1
Pick 1: - Dermot Lavelle (CB)
This pick remains the same. Dermot has been one of the best players in the league. Both on and off the field. He's now the Commissioner because Noble cheated like a mofo.
Pick 2: - Paul DiMirio (TE)
This was Blaster Blade, and at the time, everyone loved this pick. And for a couple seasons, Blade was a great player. But he went inactive and looking back, there's a better value. DiMirio has been the arguably best TE in the NSFL since the day of this draft. And for sure the best in the last 2 years. Colorado needs offensive playmakers.
Pick 3: - Vincent Sharpei (OL)
This was Tim Pest, and up until it came to light that Pest was secretly ErMurazor in disguise, this was the best pick in the draft, in my opinion. But now that we know Tim never should have existed, I have the Outlaws taking Sharpei. Vincent was OL at the time, and even in season 1, he was a damn good one. He's since converted to LB and is still wrecking it.
Pick 4: - Micah Hendrix (OL)
This was Sharpei, a great pick for SJS, however in this mock, he's gone. So, looking at the careers of the other OL drafted, Hendrix has had the next most impact. Again, now a LB because of the introduction of the OLineBot-5000s he's out there making the most of every down.
Pick 5: - Kevin Cushing (LB)
Not that their first pick of Bork Bork was bad, it's just... he retired already. He was a solid player but here I have the Wraiths taking here, who they took in Rd 2, Cushing. He's a very active guy who seems to really love this league. Can't have enough users like kckolbe in this league, I say.
Pick 6: - Avon Blocksdale (OL)
Not a knock on Clegane. I think you're great. But Blockdale is a TPE monster. I considered him at 4 for the Cats, but went with Hendrix. Avon is now the star QB of the Hawks, which doesn't fit OCO because Boss is still the Boss. But Avon's willingness to swap to position of need shows he could do what Clegane has for us, and be an amazing LB.
Pick 7: - Fox North (WR)
As I recall, he was forced to be picked here because he was the GM of the Liberty at the time. But even if that weren't the case, he's a top flight WR and a damn good pick here. There were only 4 good WRs in this class and it's tough to say he's worse than Evans, personally. And he's definitely better than Smallwood and Chess.
Pick 8: - Torque Lewith (QB)
He immediately switched from being a QB to a FS and was a huge impact. He was drafted originally in the 11th round because he was a poor archetype as a QB and all the teams were set at QB at the time. But knowing he'd switch and the impact he'd make, he's a great pick here.
ROUND 2
Pick 9 - Darnell Turner (CB)
It's tough here to see who is the best CB in the draft remaining after Dermot. Turner was the pick at this time and I cant say for certain Oles or I are a better pick here. So, I'm going with Darnell.
Pick 10: - Gregor Clegane (OL)
Here's my boy, Clegane. He dropped a bit but really that's not a knock on his talent because he's still very much a useful player. Once a great OL stud, now is a LB just like many other OL studs in this draft became.
Pick 11: - Ardie Savea (RB)
Savea is a steal here. Given that this pick was Jordan Yates, who converted from OL to RB and then left via FA, looking at the available RB prospects, Savea's impact on the NSFL has been tremendous and would have provided a solid run game from here on out. Ardie has beed, possibly, the best player LVL has had in franchise history. A good pick for the Sabes at 11.
Pick 12: - Dustin Evans (WR)
To compete against the Hawks and Wraiths, the Liberty needed offense. They got 2 stud WRs in this draft with Fox and Dustin. A much better option than Hunter Mason as their S2 WR2. And considering they won't get DiMirio, he makes up for that production loss as well. This was Oles, but Evans makes a bit more sense here, to me.
Pick 13: - Owen Taylor (DE)
Owen Taylor is a great pickup here. The Wraiths wanted to address D-Line this draft, as evidenced by their original 1st rd pick of Bork Bjornnson but looking at the rest of this draft, and the players available on the defensive front, Taylor is the last one who's still active. Yes, he's a Running Back now for the Hawks, but he easily could have stayed a DE or position changed to the DT they needed.
Pick 14: - Tyler Oles (CB)
As much as I'd like to say I'm better than Oles, the numbers don't lie. Over the course of the last 3 seasons, he's been better. The pick of Savea here scratched a lot of heads as he was traded right after the draft to LVL. Considering they had Leroy Jenkins, they didn't need a RB. So, they went CB and picked up Oles who is a fantastic dude.
Pick 15: - CA Chess (WR)
After the Liberty snagged the best 2 receivers in this class, the Yeti take CA Chess here to be their Number 2, across from Kendrick Hendrix. Knowing what we know now about Logan Noble and his multis, who the QB would be for the Yeti remains a mystery. But whomever took the helm, they'd need a good second receiver. Chess is that.
Pick 16: - Marc Spector (CB)
I don't like this, but it's where the cookie crumbled. I'm the next best CB on the board. They originally took Evans here but he's in Philly now. They could go Smallwood or Kroetch, but pure player value says I'm slightly better than them. So, I guess I'm an Outlaw. I feel dirty.
ROUND 3
Pick 17: - Jordan Yates (OL)
In Season 2, the Liberty acquired the rights to Omar Wright, who was part of the Season 1 RB duo in OCO. Yates would provide good blocking for him until he faded into non-existence and the OL Bot switch happened, where he'd take over as the primary RB for the Taco Bells. Smallwood has higher value overall, but he's a WR and they already have 2 top tier ones this draft.
Pick 18: - Darren Smallwood (WR)
Here's Checkers! Baltimore had Cooper Christmas and picked up Matthew Vincent in this draft to make a pretty solid WR duo. But Christmas flew the Coop, and Vincent followed suit. This forced the Hawks to go get Trey Willie in S3. Having Smallwood here makes sense because he'd become the defacto #1 in a good offense when those 2 faded into obscurity. And if the chips fell the same way, he could transition to RB and be their RB now as well.
Pick 19: - Bork Bjornnson (DT)
Yes, he's since retired. But given the remaining talent, he's still the best pick here. It could be argued that he's worth it higher even if he was only around for 3 seasons. The Swede (or Icelander? I can't remember... Some Scandinavian country that produces large burly men) was their 1st round pick in this draft so getting the performance of those 3 years at a 3rd round value is great. Just... not for any longer than that, sadly.
Pick 20: - Ragnar Kronen (S)
Ragnar was active for 2 seasons and helped the Otters defense, but he came down with the unfortunate inactivity bug and was dealt away in the recent offseason. But for the duration he was active, he was a great pickup. Much better than Jorge Masvidal was. That's who the Hawks originally took here, at Safety. Even as an inactive, he's a competent starter in the league right now.
Pick 21: - Big Bot (DE)
Big Bot retired. That really sucks. But part of me thinks he retired because it was the thing to do in that Las Vegas locker room at the time. If he was on a team that actually cared about itself, he might still be here. But as it stands, he's retired, and even though he only gave 3 years to this league, he's a great pick here for Philly who needs some defense after the 3 offensive sided picks they took already.
Pick 22: - Eric Kennedy (RB)
The Otters had Leroy. No need to get a 2nd RB. But in this draft, we know Leroy will retire. And that Burnsman, who lit the league on fire in S3 would fade faster than he came on, so this would leave a HUGE hole at RB for the Otters at RB which is now filled with Jordan Yates. Given what he can do as a passing threat as a running back, he's the perfect fit for the west coast style offense that OCO employs. He fell this far because he's really kinda been... mediocre. But he's still active, so that's important.
Pick 23: - Blaster Blade (DE)
How the might fall. He was the 2nd overall pick in this draft, but at least he is being picked here in this 3 round mock draft. He was useful for a few seasons before falling off the face of the earth. Coupled with Big Bot, Philly could have had a somewhat solid defensive line for a while. Better than what Von Gerhardt and Davidson gave them before they also went inactive.
Pick 24: - Damien Kroetch (WR)
He's semi-active, and because the Outlaws didn't get Evans, like in their original draft, they snag Kroetch who isn't nearly as prolific, but at least still checks in from time to time. It's hard for the Outlaws to keep their crown knowing the future won't let them draft the best OL in history, have Luke Leuchly "fall to them" in Round 5 and Cristiano Ronaldo booting 50 yarders 2-3 times a game. So, they have to make concessions, like settling for a semi-active and not an ErClone.
After this round, there's not a whole lot of talent left. Enchilada Charlton is considerably useful and would be taken in the 4th. So would Isaiah McGinn and Matthew Vincent. You could argue Vincent instead or Kroetch at 24, because Vincent was a better receiver the first 2-3 seasons but as I said, Damien is at least semi-active. So, I prefer that. Madad is still around semi-active too, as a kicker for the Otters. But a barely active kicker isn't top 3 round worthy, I think we can all argue. Drew Davidson and Otto Von Gerhardt are other inactives who'd be 4th round worthy.
I think using hindsight, it's fun to mock who went where. Don't take it personally if I drafted you later than you think you're worth. It is also entirely possible that I completely missed someone who's secretly been active and contributing and I overlooked them.
Knowing what happens to Noble, how poor Bercovici and Christ would be, or that Scrub would go MIA and Hunt would stop caring altogether, it's possible if Christian Adams and Shawn Brady had stuck around a bit longer, they'd be where Blocksdale, Stone, Rove, Pierno or Akselsen are now as starting QBs. That is one thing this draft class had almost no effect on, the QB position. Certainly now that Blocksdale is a QB we can say it sort of did, but we definitely didn't draft any here to be QBs. Lewith is the only drafted QB left from this class and he never threw a single pass.
Plus this class had quite an impact when it came to Multis. Pest, Lee, Leuchly, James, Ronoldo, Pancake, Smith and Doddgy all were drafted this season. Some of those players really shaped the way this league ran for the next 3 seasons. Leuchly, Pest, Pancake and Ronoldo were Pro-bowlers every season. Maybe if he hadn't cheated, this league, and draft class could have totally been shaped differently.
(2,136 Words)
GRADED
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