The Season 22 expansion draft is in the books and with it, we’ve got two brand new teams. We got the Honolulu Hahalua and the Sarasota Sailfish, two brand new fledgeling teams that, while they may not be ready to compete, they’ve definitely set themselves up for the future. A bunch of players changed hands and users have found themselves in different locker rooms (myself included). As is often the case with expansion, I expect a flurry of transactions with trades, signings, cuts and the rest all the way until the beginning of season 22.
Since one of the things I was most excited for when the draft was finished was a post-draft review of the expansion draft since I’m selfish and wanted to see what GMs or other major players thought of me. Well, since I’m a good person, I’ve decided to be the change I wish to see in the world. Therefore, I’m going to give my opinions on the first 8 picks and 8 “protections” of the Season 22 Expansion Draft.
To get this started, I would like to mention a couple of things. Number 1, I’m pretty out of it with minimal sim league experience and a total lack of NSFL knowledge. Number 2, I’m pretty biased from my own experience, so I’ll probably be proven wrong in the first few games of the season but I’m getting paid for participation and not correctness so deal with it. Number 3, I ended up finishing this article at about 2 AM the day after school, so if I make a mistake please correct me.
Pick Number 1 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Wide Receiver Dexter Banks III and, in response, the Orange County Otters protect Linebacker Lanzer Grievous
A season 17 WR with over 850 TPE, Banks will serve as a huge piece in the build of the Sailfish. Banks has multiple years left in his prime and he’s one of the top earners in his class, which is going to be a huge boon for the team that selected him. Although there were potentially some choices about who to take with this choice, Banks was a fantastic choice for a team that’s looking to the future. The user has a ton of sim league history, as a GM for Arizona alongside other things, and therefore can really be a leader in the locker room and helpful not only on the field but also in the front office war rooms. His last season was a really good one, as he was a top-15 wide receiver and one of the biggest weapons for Armstrong, racking up a solid 824 yards on 57 receptions (14.5 ypc).
Banks was a star wideout for the Orange County Otters, so the Otters got an extra protection slot to use on Lanzer Grievous. Grievous had made it clear that he wouldn’t want to be selected away from the Otters. For unknown reasons (I’d posit its likely due to his advanced regression class) the Otters didn’t feel comfortable using one of the first 7 expansion slots on him, but the Otters secured him with their eighth. An Otters defense that may lose up to two more pieces in this draft gets to retain one of their cornerstones at 1141 TPE and, for a team that’s window is still wide open, it’s a very useful protection.
Transaction Number 2 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Linebacker Mack Arianlacher and in response, the New Orleans Second Line protect Cornerback Xavien Adams.
Wow. The Hahalua really knocked this one out of the park — it’s really incredible what a steal they got. Mack is just the most important player of the NSFL and picking him up is genius. No bias. But in actuality, without tooting my own horn, this feels like a pretty solid pick. Linebacker is a very very important position for the defense (obviously), so snagging a young player with a high upside is key for a team that wants to compete in the future. Even though I’m not a max earner, I’m still a mid-high earner and, like my GM Raven says, “...mid-high is enough to make a great career out of.” I think I can be useful to a team like the Hahalua, especially because I don’t mind being on a lower tier team as long as the future is bright. Additionally, I am the highest earning linebacker in my regression class, and the third earning highest defensive player. With their next pick it definitely is, but I’m getting ahead of myself because I have to talk to about my ex-teammate and the response protection, Xavien Adams.
This protection makes a lot of sense. Losing one young player on defense really necessitates making sure other parts of your defense stay young and solid. Adams is a huge part of the very good secondary in New Orleans, and he’s close to being one of the top earners in his class (a solid mid-high guy as well). With 7 passes deflected, 73 tackles, and 2 forced turnovers in the previous season, he projects to be a cornerstone of the defense for years to come. New Orleans just traded for him as well, so losing him in the expansion would be a larger burden than many of the other players and therefore makes a lot of sense to protect. That being said, positionally, it may have made more sense to protect this next pick, my personal favorite expansion pick.
Pick Number 3 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Wide Receiver Jed Podolak, and in response, the New Orleans Second Line protect Offensive Lineman Givussafare Rubbe.
Jed Podolak is in my opinion one of the steals of the draft. First off, this user is one that I know a lot about. KC15 technically was my general manager twice in the PBE — once for the now defunct Utah Railroaders and once for the Kansas City Hepcats. Over there, he was always an incredibly helpful person and a solid locker room presence and the kind of guy you can count on to continue his current very high earning projection. By securing Jed, the Hahalua got their hands on the #7 and #8 earners in the S19 regression class, and the best available earning wideout (RainDelay is, obviously, the GM of the Sailfish). His stats are fantastic (782 yds, 50 catches) and only look to get better. The GMs of the Second Line were really put in an impossible position, because they would pretty much definitely lose one of Adams, Podolak, or Rubbe, but losing Podolak hurts pretty bad for a team with an already thin wide receiving corps. Luckily they still have McCormick, but their next protection would be key to maintaining a strong contending team. By locking up Givussafare Rubbe they do just that.
Thanks to the work of many users, but this user in particular, we all know how important offensive linemen are to the win rate of a team. We’ll give them a Fair Rub! And, for the Second Line and their incredibly powerful backfield, this is doubly true. With Gump and Toriki as their committee of RBs, two insane earners, keeping a strong offensive line will be key for the Second Line to maintain their strength as Ultimus contenders. By locking up Rubbe, they really make sure their backfield is dangerous enough to alleviate the struggles they may have in the passing game and all the losses they have to cope with thanks to the retirements and this expansion draft.
Pick Number 4 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Defensive End Fabricio Baldari, and in response, the Baltimore Hawks protect Defensive End Terry Taffy.
What ability is the most useful for an expansion team? Availability. Baldari as a user really wanted to have the chance to be taken on an expansion. Rumors have it that he was close to even demanding it in his contract. Regardless, he ended up getting what is likely a favorable outcome to him, sending him to the Sarasota Sailfish to be a solid cornerstone to the team’s future success. Sitting at about 610 TPE for a member of the season 18 regression, he projects nicely as a mid-high earner for the years to come. With 40 tackles (11 for loss), 4 sacks, and a blocked punt, Baldari will grow to be a menace for opposing Qbs to worry about along with the rest of this defense.
As a reaction, the Hawks decided to protect breakout defensive end Terry Taffy. With 40 tackles and a monstrous 11 sacks, Taffy far outperformed his 400 TPE. That sim luck will likely subside next season, but he’ll still see an expanded role seeing as Fabricio is now gone. However, he seems inactive, so defensive end looks like a position of need for the Hawks now that they’ve lost Baldari. For me, it seems like the Hawks would really have preferred to protect Baldari, but keeping Taffy will have to do. They’ll probably look to fill that either in the draft or with a free agent.
Pick Number 5 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Defensive End Steco Ocewilder, and in response, the Colorado Yeti protect Safety Thor Kirkby.
Steco Ocewilder was a huge part of the Colorado Yeti’s defensive line. With 45 tackles (8 TFL) and 4 sacks, all 500+ TPE of his absence will be strongly felt. Obviously, it looks like the Sailfish are focusing on the defensive line, seeing as the defensive line can be one of the toughest positions to draft an active earner. Steco is also a solid team player — he started as a tight end for the Yeti but was willing to switch to defensive end. That kind of team player is key for an expansion team, and especially an expansion team that’s all but guaranteed to be building for the future. However, maybe the Sailfish may have been better served picking the player who was protected instead.
Protecting Thor Kirkby cut off the expansion GMs at the pass. A young player who’s active and projecting to be in the top 10 of earners in his class would make any GM looking to build for the future salivate. However, the Yeti made the smart decision to head off any attempts to snag this guy for their building teams, a decision that will really help the Yeti stay competitive.
Pick Number 6 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Defensive End Jayson Kearse, activating the de facto protection for all Yellowknife players.
This is another really solid pick for my team. Since the Wraiths can only lose one player, picking a Wraith’s player Honolulu getting Kearse. Kearse is the 3rd defensive end selected in a row, and feels like a no-brainer for the expansion franchise. A mid-tier earner on the defensive line, he has likely maxed out a lot of the necessary abilities and snagging him up helps to start building a solid defensive line for the future.
No more Wraiths can be picked since 2 of their players went to be GMs for the expansion franchises, which is tough for a team that fell just short in the Ultimus.
Pick Number 7 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Wide Receiver Jacoby Clay, and in response, the Austin Copperheads protect Wide Receiver Rod Tidwell.
Klay is another young, active user that will be a building block for the future. An S20 player that has been active for his entire career, he was a casualty of the small protection list and the availability argument I made earlier, along with the expansion focus on younger earners. While Clay hasn’t updated in about a month, he has been an active user and rumors suggest that he was enthusiastic about returning to the sim league after his brief hiatus. A solid pick for a team building for the future, Clay alongside Podolak will help build a dangerous wide receiver corps in two to three seasons. However, losing a wide receiver (especially a young one) always hurts, and so ensuring that another wide receiver can’t be stolen is probably a good choice. Therefore, the Copperheads protected Tidwell.
Tidwell is a weapon — no two ways about it. With 1100 TPE, he’s one of the best weapons in the league. However, he is a S15 regression class and he will lose a significant amount of that TPE before the Hahalua are ready to compete. While they could have drafted him and shopped him for more rebuilding pieces, the Honolulu GMs decided to take the chance on Clay. Only time will tell if that decision works out, but I’m confident that it will.
Pick Number 8 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Cornerback Jordan Andrews, activating the de facto protection for all New Orleans Second Line players.
Juice is a fantastic user and was one of the big parts of the terrifying NOLA defense that won the Ultimus. 97 tackles, 4 passes defended, 3 sacks, and a 612 TPE S17 stud will be bolstering the secondary of the Sailfish team that is looking dangerous for the future. This is a great pick and will pay off dividends, as he projects to be a mid-high earner for the Sailfish. Which is exactly what they need. But talking about the other side of this coin is the activation of the de facto New Orleans protection, and boy do they need it.
Talk about a tough off-season. With the retirements of Bona’beri Jones, Bjorn Ironside, Johnny Slothface, and Blake Faux all coinciding with the loss of Mack Arianlacher, Jed Podolak, and Andrews in expansion, the reigning champions in New Orleans has lost over a third of its active starters. I strongly believe in TH and Isa to build off the really excellent building blocks that they have left, but with college football levels of talent drain, I wouldn’t envy them. Still, the three player rule kicks in for the Second Line, allowing them the freedom to not have to worry about the players that haven’t been snatched from their arms. And its still a very solid, and very dangerous, group. Losing three players in the expansion draft is really tough, though, and three really solid guys.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Hahalua also snagged a max earning kicker in Venus Powers. That seems exciting for reasons I don’t know yet, but maybe they’ll be like the all time leading scorer or whatever that would be cool.
Overview:
Both teams were obviously building a roster with the knowledge that competing right now is just not in the cards. This is an intelligent decision, as it’s very hard to compete year 1 as an expansion franchise and doing so often leaves you hamstrung for the next few years. Most of the players are on the younger side and there are very few even sniffing regression. In that regard, both teams did very well in my opinion. This is in spite of sandbagging and other less than savory tactics taken by gms to make it more difficult for the expansion GMs to scout players but that’s none of my business. As they say on the game show, lets get right into the picks and the protections to see how teams fared.
Since one of the things I was most excited for when the draft was finished was a post-draft review of the expansion draft since I’m selfish and wanted to see what GMs or other major players thought of me. Well, since I’m a good person, I’ve decided to be the change I wish to see in the world. Therefore, I’m going to give my opinions on the first 8 picks and 8 “protections” of the Season 22 Expansion Draft.
To get this started, I would like to mention a couple of things. Number 1, I’m pretty out of it with minimal sim league experience and a total lack of NSFL knowledge. Number 2, I’m pretty biased from my own experience, so I’ll probably be proven wrong in the first few games of the season but I’m getting paid for participation and not correctness so deal with it. Number 3, I ended up finishing this article at about 2 AM the day after school, so if I make a mistake please correct me.
Pick Number 1 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Wide Receiver Dexter Banks III and, in response, the Orange County Otters protect Linebacker Lanzer Grievous
A season 17 WR with over 850 TPE, Banks will serve as a huge piece in the build of the Sailfish. Banks has multiple years left in his prime and he’s one of the top earners in his class, which is going to be a huge boon for the team that selected him. Although there were potentially some choices about who to take with this choice, Banks was a fantastic choice for a team that’s looking to the future. The user has a ton of sim league history, as a GM for Arizona alongside other things, and therefore can really be a leader in the locker room and helpful not only on the field but also in the front office war rooms. His last season was a really good one, as he was a top-15 wide receiver and one of the biggest weapons for Armstrong, racking up a solid 824 yards on 57 receptions (14.5 ypc).
Banks was a star wideout for the Orange County Otters, so the Otters got an extra protection slot to use on Lanzer Grievous. Grievous had made it clear that he wouldn’t want to be selected away from the Otters. For unknown reasons (I’d posit its likely due to his advanced regression class) the Otters didn’t feel comfortable using one of the first 7 expansion slots on him, but the Otters secured him with their eighth. An Otters defense that may lose up to two more pieces in this draft gets to retain one of their cornerstones at 1141 TPE and, for a team that’s window is still wide open, it’s a very useful protection.
Transaction Number 2 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Linebacker Mack Arianlacher and in response, the New Orleans Second Line protect Cornerback Xavien Adams.
Wow. The Hahalua really knocked this one out of the park — it’s really incredible what a steal they got. Mack is just the most important player of the NSFL and picking him up is genius. No bias. But in actuality, without tooting my own horn, this feels like a pretty solid pick. Linebacker is a very very important position for the defense (obviously), so snagging a young player with a high upside is key for a team that wants to compete in the future. Even though I’m not a max earner, I’m still a mid-high earner and, like my GM Raven says, “...mid-high is enough to make a great career out of.” I think I can be useful to a team like the Hahalua, especially because I don’t mind being on a lower tier team as long as the future is bright. Additionally, I am the highest earning linebacker in my regression class, and the third earning highest defensive player. With their next pick it definitely is, but I’m getting ahead of myself because I have to talk to about my ex-teammate and the response protection, Xavien Adams.
This protection makes a lot of sense. Losing one young player on defense really necessitates making sure other parts of your defense stay young and solid. Adams is a huge part of the very good secondary in New Orleans, and he’s close to being one of the top earners in his class (a solid mid-high guy as well). With 7 passes deflected, 73 tackles, and 2 forced turnovers in the previous season, he projects to be a cornerstone of the defense for years to come. New Orleans just traded for him as well, so losing him in the expansion would be a larger burden than many of the other players and therefore makes a lot of sense to protect. That being said, positionally, it may have made more sense to protect this next pick, my personal favorite expansion pick.
Pick Number 3 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Wide Receiver Jed Podolak, and in response, the New Orleans Second Line protect Offensive Lineman Givussafare Rubbe.
Jed Podolak is in my opinion one of the steals of the draft. First off, this user is one that I know a lot about. KC15 technically was my general manager twice in the PBE — once for the now defunct Utah Railroaders and once for the Kansas City Hepcats. Over there, he was always an incredibly helpful person and a solid locker room presence and the kind of guy you can count on to continue his current very high earning projection. By securing Jed, the Hahalua got their hands on the #7 and #8 earners in the S19 regression class, and the best available earning wideout (RainDelay is, obviously, the GM of the Sailfish). His stats are fantastic (782 yds, 50 catches) and only look to get better. The GMs of the Second Line were really put in an impossible position, because they would pretty much definitely lose one of Adams, Podolak, or Rubbe, but losing Podolak hurts pretty bad for a team with an already thin wide receiving corps. Luckily they still have McCormick, but their next protection would be key to maintaining a strong contending team. By locking up Givussafare Rubbe they do just that.
Thanks to the work of many users, but this user in particular, we all know how important offensive linemen are to the win rate of a team. We’ll give them a Fair Rub! And, for the Second Line and their incredibly powerful backfield, this is doubly true. With Gump and Toriki as their committee of RBs, two insane earners, keeping a strong offensive line will be key for the Second Line to maintain their strength as Ultimus contenders. By locking up Rubbe, they really make sure their backfield is dangerous enough to alleviate the struggles they may have in the passing game and all the losses they have to cope with thanks to the retirements and this expansion draft.
Pick Number 4 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Defensive End Fabricio Baldari, and in response, the Baltimore Hawks protect Defensive End Terry Taffy.
What ability is the most useful for an expansion team? Availability. Baldari as a user really wanted to have the chance to be taken on an expansion. Rumors have it that he was close to even demanding it in his contract. Regardless, he ended up getting what is likely a favorable outcome to him, sending him to the Sarasota Sailfish to be a solid cornerstone to the team’s future success. Sitting at about 610 TPE for a member of the season 18 regression, he projects nicely as a mid-high earner for the years to come. With 40 tackles (11 for loss), 4 sacks, and a blocked punt, Baldari will grow to be a menace for opposing Qbs to worry about along with the rest of this defense.
As a reaction, the Hawks decided to protect breakout defensive end Terry Taffy. With 40 tackles and a monstrous 11 sacks, Taffy far outperformed his 400 TPE. That sim luck will likely subside next season, but he’ll still see an expanded role seeing as Fabricio is now gone. However, he seems inactive, so defensive end looks like a position of need for the Hawks now that they’ve lost Baldari. For me, it seems like the Hawks would really have preferred to protect Baldari, but keeping Taffy will have to do. They’ll probably look to fill that either in the draft or with a free agent.
Pick Number 5 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Defensive End Steco Ocewilder, and in response, the Colorado Yeti protect Safety Thor Kirkby.
Steco Ocewilder was a huge part of the Colorado Yeti’s defensive line. With 45 tackles (8 TFL) and 4 sacks, all 500+ TPE of his absence will be strongly felt. Obviously, it looks like the Sailfish are focusing on the defensive line, seeing as the defensive line can be one of the toughest positions to draft an active earner. Steco is also a solid team player — he started as a tight end for the Yeti but was willing to switch to defensive end. That kind of team player is key for an expansion team, and especially an expansion team that’s all but guaranteed to be building for the future. However, maybe the Sailfish may have been better served picking the player who was protected instead.
Protecting Thor Kirkby cut off the expansion GMs at the pass. A young player who’s active and projecting to be in the top 10 of earners in his class would make any GM looking to build for the future salivate. However, the Yeti made the smart decision to head off any attempts to snag this guy for their building teams, a decision that will really help the Yeti stay competitive.
Pick Number 6 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Defensive End Jayson Kearse, activating the de facto protection for all Yellowknife players.
This is another really solid pick for my team. Since the Wraiths can only lose one player, picking a Wraith’s player Honolulu getting Kearse. Kearse is the 3rd defensive end selected in a row, and feels like a no-brainer for the expansion franchise. A mid-tier earner on the defensive line, he has likely maxed out a lot of the necessary abilities and snagging him up helps to start building a solid defensive line for the future.
No more Wraiths can be picked since 2 of their players went to be GMs for the expansion franchises, which is tough for a team that fell just short in the Ultimus.
Pick Number 7 - the Honolulu Hahalua select Wide Receiver Jacoby Clay, and in response, the Austin Copperheads protect Wide Receiver Rod Tidwell.
Klay is another young, active user that will be a building block for the future. An S20 player that has been active for his entire career, he was a casualty of the small protection list and the availability argument I made earlier, along with the expansion focus on younger earners. While Clay hasn’t updated in about a month, he has been an active user and rumors suggest that he was enthusiastic about returning to the sim league after his brief hiatus. A solid pick for a team building for the future, Clay alongside Podolak will help build a dangerous wide receiver corps in two to three seasons. However, losing a wide receiver (especially a young one) always hurts, and so ensuring that another wide receiver can’t be stolen is probably a good choice. Therefore, the Copperheads protected Tidwell.
Tidwell is a weapon — no two ways about it. With 1100 TPE, he’s one of the best weapons in the league. However, he is a S15 regression class and he will lose a significant amount of that TPE before the Hahalua are ready to compete. While they could have drafted him and shopped him for more rebuilding pieces, the Honolulu GMs decided to take the chance on Clay. Only time will tell if that decision works out, but I’m confident that it will.
Pick Number 8 - the Sarasota Sailfish select Cornerback Jordan Andrews, activating the de facto protection for all New Orleans Second Line players.
Juice is a fantastic user and was one of the big parts of the terrifying NOLA defense that won the Ultimus. 97 tackles, 4 passes defended, 3 sacks, and a 612 TPE S17 stud will be bolstering the secondary of the Sailfish team that is looking dangerous for the future. This is a great pick and will pay off dividends, as he projects to be a mid-high earner for the Sailfish. Which is exactly what they need. But talking about the other side of this coin is the activation of the de facto New Orleans protection, and boy do they need it.
Talk about a tough off-season. With the retirements of Bona’beri Jones, Bjorn Ironside, Johnny Slothface, and Blake Faux all coinciding with the loss of Mack Arianlacher, Jed Podolak, and Andrews in expansion, the reigning champions in New Orleans has lost over a third of its active starters. I strongly believe in TH and Isa to build off the really excellent building blocks that they have left, but with college football levels of talent drain, I wouldn’t envy them. Still, the three player rule kicks in for the Second Line, allowing them the freedom to not have to worry about the players that haven’t been snatched from their arms. And its still a very solid, and very dangerous, group. Losing three players in the expansion draft is really tough, though, and three really solid guys.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Hahalua also snagged a max earning kicker in Venus Powers. That seems exciting for reasons I don’t know yet, but maybe they’ll be like the all time leading scorer or whatever that would be cool.
Overview:
Both teams were obviously building a roster with the knowledge that competing right now is just not in the cards. This is an intelligent decision, as it’s very hard to compete year 1 as an expansion franchise and doing so often leaves you hamstrung for the next few years. Most of the players are on the younger side and there are very few even sniffing regression. In that regard, both teams did very well in my opinion. This is in spite of sandbagging and other less than savory tactics taken by gms to make it more difficult for the expansion GMs to scout players but that’s none of my business. As they say on the game show, lets get right into the picks and the protections to see how teams fared.