Continuing from my last article where I discussed how the careers of S22 wide receivers panned out after they got drafted into the ISFL, I'll be looking over the running back class of S22 in this article.
For a class which was historically massive, there weren't that many players in the S22 running back class, as 20 were all there was. Among those numbers, 8 went inactive with a TPE count of 57 or less. That percentage was around the norm for that class, as the retention rate for the whole S22 class was around 55% by ISFL draft time. The remaining 12 entered the ISFL draft as active prospects- albeit their levels of activeness were very diverse- and got drafted within the meaningful rounds. Those 12 are the ones that I'll be talking about in this article.
Similarly to the wide receivers, the running backs saw a massive collective drop in their drafy stock because of a very strong defensive class of the time. So while the first running back (White Goodman) was drafted with the 13th overall pick, it took almost 2 and a half rounds to be the time for the next running back to be drafted. And many prospects ended up falling to the point which was honestly ridiculously low for their earning level.
Despite the harsh treatment they received in the draft process, the S22 running backs prospered in the ISFL. It's very easy to find a name of a S22 RB or two mentioned as top fantasy picks, and you can see the users behind those players quite easily going around the league, too. So I would say that the S22 running backs showed how valuable of a group they really were.
The first running back to be drafted in S22 was White Goodman. Heading into the draft, Goodman was almost unanimously regarded as the top running back prospect of the S22 class. Being a max earner with a seasoned veteran user with high activity and league experience to his back, Goodman was more than suited to the projection. So many mock drafts had him going high, and no one was surprised when the Honolulu Hahalua selected him with the first pick of the second round, making him the first offensive player to be drafted by the team.
Goodman didn't disappoint the Hahalua. He continued his max earning pace ever since he got drafted, currently sitting at 1137 TPE. And hehas been a very productive running back for the Hahalua over the years. He was the award winner for best offensive songle game performance back in S25, too. Goodman, who changed his name to Ke'o Ke'o Kāne- Maika'i, (KKM for short... I'm not going to type all that again) decided to change positions to defensive end just before this seaeon started in order to help out his team's roster situation. And so far that decision seems to benefit both parties involved, as the Hahalua are doing great and KKM is currently leading the league in sacks.
User wise, Gucci is technically not a 'S22' user. He first joined the league in S15, when the first r/nfl recruitment happened. But regardless of when he first joined, it is a widely known fact that gucci has a lot of connections with S22 class. He was the GM for the expansion team Dallas Birddogs when S22 class first set foot in to this league, and he drafted what could be the single most successful draft class in DSFL history. Apart of that, he wrote quite a few media pieces such as the 'why your team sucks' series, which is an in depth dive into a certain team's history. More recently, gucci spent a couple seasons as the GM of the Hahalua, and has just been hired as the new DSFL HO intern. So he made a lot of contributions to this league, for sure!
After KKM, the running backs had to wait for a very long time to hear one of their own names to be called. That long wait finally ended towards the mid fourth round where the Austin Copperheads selected Kichwa Jones with the 42nd overall pick, making him the second overall running back and second overall Birddogs running back to be drafted. The selection of Jones was met with a bit of surprise, as he was one of the lesser known prospects at draft time despite his good earning pace. Despite that, Jones was still a high caliber prospect who was a max earner and was a good locker room presence.
However, it doesn't seem like Jones met the expectations the Copperheads set on him. Jones spent a season down in DSFL back with the Birddogs, and then came up to the ISFL to form a RBBC with regressing Mako Mendonca. However, he never duplicated the earning performance he had in his first season in the league, and went inactive around August. That resulted in Zoe Watts coming up from the Birddogs and taking over the RB1 spot that could've been his. Currently, Jones is serving as fullback in Copperheads roster. And while he's still contributing to that offense, and Jones's user howsour contributed a fair bit to both Birddogs and Copperheads locker room culture while he was active, his current state leaves some 'what if's in retrospect considering the names who got drafted after him.
4 picks later, Tatsu Nakamura was selected to the Orange County Otters with the 46th overall pick. Nakamura was a max earner with a good discord and forum activity heading into the draft, and in turn he was viewed as one of the top running backs of the class. The fact that he fell this far in the draft shows just how deep the S22 class was.
Nakamura was a big hit for the Otters. He took over the RB1 spot for the team soon enough, and didn't let go of the position for a long time. And he has been max earning for the whole time, with 1250 TPE to his name right now, which is good for 2nd among S22 running backs. He was a very productive running back and a top fantasy pick during his time with the Otters, something his S24 RBOTY trophy and 2 pro bowl appearances back up. Nakamura left Orange County for the Arizona Outlaws this offseason, and he's being just as productive with his new team.
As a user, Qwest contributed to this league in multiple aspects. Most notably, he served as the GM for the Portland Pythons in the DSFL for a couple seasons, and he did a great job in his tenure there. I believe qwest had a significant part in the reputation that Portland has today. Also, he created quite a few podcasts about the league, many of whoch I found very enjoyable. His podcasts were one of the first ones I listened to, and they had me interested in ISFL podcasts for quite a while. So all in all, Tatsu Nakamura and qwest had a very successful career in the ISFL after a year's time.
With the very next pick, the Yellowknife Wraiths selected Acura Skyline. Skyline was another top tier prospect who fell a lot in draft. Entering the draft process, he was categorized as a max earner while having a very good discord activity and a league job as a user.
Skyline had been one of the biggest rookie phenoms after he set foot in to the big leagues. He got a significant chunk of rushing yardage in his rookie season despite the presence of Matthias Hanyadi, and that resulted in him winning the offensive rookie of the year award. And over the years Skyline had been very productive like his rookie season self, something his 4 pro bowl appearances support. And he continued to max earn until recently, with current TPE level of 949, which amounts to 4th among S22 running backs.
User wise, Skyline was one of the users who showed up early on into the career. He made his name known as a member of events team (I think) since very early in his career, and I'm pretty sure that he has been a banker for quite a long time. And he was a very pleasant individual to chat with over at discord. So even if he went inactive about 3 months now, Skyline made a lot of contributions to this league through his jobs and activity through the time he was here.
After Skyline, there was another hiatus on drafting running backs. Somewhat fortunately for the running backs, however, this hiatus was only about half as long compared to the first one. The 19 pick long running back drought came to an end when the Chicago Butchers drafted Julio Tirtawidjaja with the 66th overall in the mid 6th round. At the time, Tirtawidjaja was classified as a semi max earner, with a user who had made several graphics to the point. So naturally that earned him a good draft value.
Tirtawidjaja was instantly good for Chicago. He got the RB1 spot from day 1, as the Butchers were in a midst of a full scale rebuild by that time. And he saw a great deal of production, and showed a lot of progress as he pretty much max earned. However, Tirtawidjaja started to see significantly less snaps when the team signed Baby Yoda off free agency, and he went inactive around that time. However, he continued to be a very solid player in a RBBC system even after.
User wise, Indonesian husker was among the better locker room guys of the class. I didn't have a lot of interactions with the user, but I only heard good things about him. He also made quite a few graphics along his time here, and recruited a few people to our league adding to the diversity. So even if he's currently inactive, husker contributed a fair bit to this league.
Nedt running back to be selected was Jamar Lackson, whom the San Jose Sabercats selected with the 74th overall pick. Lackson was a very well known prospect coming into draft time. He was earning in a good pace, was writing media pieces, and was a good presence in locker rooms. Personally I had no idea how he fell to this point of the draft.
Easily enough, Lackson proved his worth by cementing his place as one of the biggest steals in this draft. He won offensive rookie of the year award in his rookie season after a productive campaign, and has been one of the best RBs in the class ever since. The fact that he's been one of the most popular running backs in fantasy for a long time and his 3 pro bowl appearances will back that up.
As a user, Bendover had achievements of his own. He served as the GM of the Grey Ducks for a few seasons, and he helped a lot of prospects to get accustomed to the league, and develop into a good player and a user. And he has been a great presence in discord and game stream chats, and contributed a lot on our discord culture. All in all, Jamar Lackson was a pick of great value.
2 picks later, the Colorado Yeti selected Richard Gilbert. Gilbert was another underrated player coming into the draft. While his earning level was more than decent, he didn't get a lot of spotlight mostly because of the sheer number of other, more flashy prospects who had selling points like league jobs, fat bank accounts or sim abilities. So that caused Gilbert to slide a lot further down than his true value.
Gilbert was a massive hit for Yeti. He continued to max earn for the Yeti, and currently sits at 1135 TPE, which is 3rd among S22 running backs. Gilbert has been one of the unsung heroes of the Yeti offense through the forst few seasons of his career, as he showed efficiency in RBBC system that Yeti had. And then he started to pan out as a true elite running back in recent seasons. He had a pro bowl apperance in that stretch, and he's currently leading all running backs in fantasy points gained.
User wise, Swanky is someone who I'm very familiar with. I share a war room with him, and had numerous interactions in there. He's a very good scout and a great adviser in the war room, while also being an integral part of Yeti locker room culture (he even has 'his' emote). He's someone whom I really like, with a great personality and loyalty to team, given by the fact that he never complained despite having less flashy role for a long time. Swanky also served as the GM for Tijuana Luchadores for a number of seasons, and helped guide the team to an ultimini win while developing a lot of high caliber player/users. On top of that, he's a member of budget team and plays a big role in keeping happenstances around the league on check. So it would be safe to say that Swanky is one of the biggest cobtributors to this league from the S22 class.
Almost a full round later, the Arizona Outlaws selected Jacoby Batista with the 87th overall pick. Batista made his name known very early, as he absolutely popped up in prospect bowl. However, unfortunately for him, the teams didn't pay much attention to his prospect bowl performances. So as a low earner, Batista was selected when the number of actives began to dwindle.
After being drafted, Batista spent several seasons down in the DSFL because of his low earning level. And then he saw some action when the Outlaws called him up and played him in some snaps. However, he failed to utilize this opportunity as he never earned in a good pace and he eventually went inactive around mid august. He currently sits as a 210 TPE free agent, as the Outlaws let him go.
There was another gap of 11 picks until the next running back was picked, as the Sarasota Sailfish selected Aaron Feels with the 98th overall pick in the early 9th round. Entering the draft, Feels was not a good earner to say the least. So he got drafted with the last of the active players.
Feels never managed to stay active enough to set foot into ISFL. he went completely inactive around the middle of next season. He was near the bottom of the depth chart in DSFL by the time he went inactive. This was a bit of a shame, as I liked soupman, the user behind Feels, quite a bit. Hopefully he will come back and give this league another shot.
With the very next pick, the Philadelphia Liberty selected J. B. Apollo. Similar to Feels, Apollo entered the draft as a low earner, and got selected as the semi actives were going off the board. And sadly he too never got to see ISFL field, as he went inactive around draft time with only 126 total TPE to his name. Again hopefully, he'll come back and create another player.
The next running back to be drafted was Zed Keppler, who was drafted to the Arizona Outlaws with the 112th overall pick in the 10th round. Again Keppler was a low earner, and he got drafted at about the border between active and inactive players.
And for a player drafted so low, Keppler actually had some success in his career. After spending a few seasons down in the DSFL, the Outlaws called him up. And he saw a fair amount of snaps while he was playing for the Outlawsx and contributed to the offense despite going inactive around august. Currently he plays fullback for the Chicago Butchers, where he was signed off an inactice contract.
The last running back that we'll discuss here is Kevin Fakon, who was drafted 3 picks after Keppler to the Sarasota Sailfish. Toastydata, Fakon's user, was regarded as a very good locker room presence before the DSFL draft, and that resulted in Fakon being a high pick in the DSFL draft. However, his low earning level significantly damaged his draft stock, and Fakon got drafted near the end of active users despite his good user.
Unfortunately, Fakon wasn't able to pan out in ISFL. His earning level was too low for him to be called up, and he ended up spending his entire career in the DSFL. And user toastydata ended up retiring Fakon after a patch of inactivity. Fakon finished his career with only 242 TPE to his name. However, I really hope that toastydata will come back and make another player, as I really enjoyed his presence around this league.
For a class which was historically massive, there weren't that many players in the S22 running back class, as 20 were all there was. Among those numbers, 8 went inactive with a TPE count of 57 or less. That percentage was around the norm for that class, as the retention rate for the whole S22 class was around 55% by ISFL draft time. The remaining 12 entered the ISFL draft as active prospects- albeit their levels of activeness were very diverse- and got drafted within the meaningful rounds. Those 12 are the ones that I'll be talking about in this article.
Similarly to the wide receivers, the running backs saw a massive collective drop in their drafy stock because of a very strong defensive class of the time. So while the first running back (White Goodman) was drafted with the 13th overall pick, it took almost 2 and a half rounds to be the time for the next running back to be drafted. And many prospects ended up falling to the point which was honestly ridiculously low for their earning level.
Despite the harsh treatment they received in the draft process, the S22 running backs prospered in the ISFL. It's very easy to find a name of a S22 RB or two mentioned as top fantasy picks, and you can see the users behind those players quite easily going around the league, too. So I would say that the S22 running backs showed how valuable of a group they really were.
The first running back to be drafted in S22 was White Goodman. Heading into the draft, Goodman was almost unanimously regarded as the top running back prospect of the S22 class. Being a max earner with a seasoned veteran user with high activity and league experience to his back, Goodman was more than suited to the projection. So many mock drafts had him going high, and no one was surprised when the Honolulu Hahalua selected him with the first pick of the second round, making him the first offensive player to be drafted by the team.
Goodman didn't disappoint the Hahalua. He continued his max earning pace ever since he got drafted, currently sitting at 1137 TPE. And hehas been a very productive running back for the Hahalua over the years. He was the award winner for best offensive songle game performance back in S25, too. Goodman, who changed his name to Ke'o Ke'o Kāne- Maika'i, (KKM for short... I'm not going to type all that again) decided to change positions to defensive end just before this seaeon started in order to help out his team's roster situation. And so far that decision seems to benefit both parties involved, as the Hahalua are doing great and KKM is currently leading the league in sacks.
User wise, Gucci is technically not a 'S22' user. He first joined the league in S15, when the first r/nfl recruitment happened. But regardless of when he first joined, it is a widely known fact that gucci has a lot of connections with S22 class. He was the GM for the expansion team Dallas Birddogs when S22 class first set foot in to this league, and he drafted what could be the single most successful draft class in DSFL history. Apart of that, he wrote quite a few media pieces such as the 'why your team sucks' series, which is an in depth dive into a certain team's history. More recently, gucci spent a couple seasons as the GM of the Hahalua, and has just been hired as the new DSFL HO intern. So he made a lot of contributions to this league, for sure!
After KKM, the running backs had to wait for a very long time to hear one of their own names to be called. That long wait finally ended towards the mid fourth round where the Austin Copperheads selected Kichwa Jones with the 42nd overall pick, making him the second overall running back and second overall Birddogs running back to be drafted. The selection of Jones was met with a bit of surprise, as he was one of the lesser known prospects at draft time despite his good earning pace. Despite that, Jones was still a high caliber prospect who was a max earner and was a good locker room presence.
However, it doesn't seem like Jones met the expectations the Copperheads set on him. Jones spent a season down in DSFL back with the Birddogs, and then came up to the ISFL to form a RBBC with regressing Mako Mendonca. However, he never duplicated the earning performance he had in his first season in the league, and went inactive around August. That resulted in Zoe Watts coming up from the Birddogs and taking over the RB1 spot that could've been his. Currently, Jones is serving as fullback in Copperheads roster. And while he's still contributing to that offense, and Jones's user howsour contributed a fair bit to both Birddogs and Copperheads locker room culture while he was active, his current state leaves some 'what if's in retrospect considering the names who got drafted after him.
4 picks later, Tatsu Nakamura was selected to the Orange County Otters with the 46th overall pick. Nakamura was a max earner with a good discord and forum activity heading into the draft, and in turn he was viewed as one of the top running backs of the class. The fact that he fell this far in the draft shows just how deep the S22 class was.
Nakamura was a big hit for the Otters. He took over the RB1 spot for the team soon enough, and didn't let go of the position for a long time. And he has been max earning for the whole time, with 1250 TPE to his name right now, which is good for 2nd among S22 running backs. He was a very productive running back and a top fantasy pick during his time with the Otters, something his S24 RBOTY trophy and 2 pro bowl appearances back up. Nakamura left Orange County for the Arizona Outlaws this offseason, and he's being just as productive with his new team.
As a user, Qwest contributed to this league in multiple aspects. Most notably, he served as the GM for the Portland Pythons in the DSFL for a couple seasons, and he did a great job in his tenure there. I believe qwest had a significant part in the reputation that Portland has today. Also, he created quite a few podcasts about the league, many of whoch I found very enjoyable. His podcasts were one of the first ones I listened to, and they had me interested in ISFL podcasts for quite a while. So all in all, Tatsu Nakamura and qwest had a very successful career in the ISFL after a year's time.
With the very next pick, the Yellowknife Wraiths selected Acura Skyline. Skyline was another top tier prospect who fell a lot in draft. Entering the draft process, he was categorized as a max earner while having a very good discord activity and a league job as a user.
Skyline had been one of the biggest rookie phenoms after he set foot in to the big leagues. He got a significant chunk of rushing yardage in his rookie season despite the presence of Matthias Hanyadi, and that resulted in him winning the offensive rookie of the year award. And over the years Skyline had been very productive like his rookie season self, something his 4 pro bowl appearances support. And he continued to max earn until recently, with current TPE level of 949, which amounts to 4th among S22 running backs.
User wise, Skyline was one of the users who showed up early on into the career. He made his name known as a member of events team (I think) since very early in his career, and I'm pretty sure that he has been a banker for quite a long time. And he was a very pleasant individual to chat with over at discord. So even if he went inactive about 3 months now, Skyline made a lot of contributions to this league through his jobs and activity through the time he was here.
After Skyline, there was another hiatus on drafting running backs. Somewhat fortunately for the running backs, however, this hiatus was only about half as long compared to the first one. The 19 pick long running back drought came to an end when the Chicago Butchers drafted Julio Tirtawidjaja with the 66th overall in the mid 6th round. At the time, Tirtawidjaja was classified as a semi max earner, with a user who had made several graphics to the point. So naturally that earned him a good draft value.
Tirtawidjaja was instantly good for Chicago. He got the RB1 spot from day 1, as the Butchers were in a midst of a full scale rebuild by that time. And he saw a great deal of production, and showed a lot of progress as he pretty much max earned. However, Tirtawidjaja started to see significantly less snaps when the team signed Baby Yoda off free agency, and he went inactive around that time. However, he continued to be a very solid player in a RBBC system even after.
User wise, Indonesian husker was among the better locker room guys of the class. I didn't have a lot of interactions with the user, but I only heard good things about him. He also made quite a few graphics along his time here, and recruited a few people to our league adding to the diversity. So even if he's currently inactive, husker contributed a fair bit to this league.
Nedt running back to be selected was Jamar Lackson, whom the San Jose Sabercats selected with the 74th overall pick. Lackson was a very well known prospect coming into draft time. He was earning in a good pace, was writing media pieces, and was a good presence in locker rooms. Personally I had no idea how he fell to this point of the draft.
Easily enough, Lackson proved his worth by cementing his place as one of the biggest steals in this draft. He won offensive rookie of the year award in his rookie season after a productive campaign, and has been one of the best RBs in the class ever since. The fact that he's been one of the most popular running backs in fantasy for a long time and his 3 pro bowl appearances will back that up.
As a user, Bendover had achievements of his own. He served as the GM of the Grey Ducks for a few seasons, and he helped a lot of prospects to get accustomed to the league, and develop into a good player and a user. And he has been a great presence in discord and game stream chats, and contributed a lot on our discord culture. All in all, Jamar Lackson was a pick of great value.
2 picks later, the Colorado Yeti selected Richard Gilbert. Gilbert was another underrated player coming into the draft. While his earning level was more than decent, he didn't get a lot of spotlight mostly because of the sheer number of other, more flashy prospects who had selling points like league jobs, fat bank accounts or sim abilities. So that caused Gilbert to slide a lot further down than his true value.
Gilbert was a massive hit for Yeti. He continued to max earn for the Yeti, and currently sits at 1135 TPE, which is 3rd among S22 running backs. Gilbert has been one of the unsung heroes of the Yeti offense through the forst few seasons of his career, as he showed efficiency in RBBC system that Yeti had. And then he started to pan out as a true elite running back in recent seasons. He had a pro bowl apperance in that stretch, and he's currently leading all running backs in fantasy points gained.
User wise, Swanky is someone who I'm very familiar with. I share a war room with him, and had numerous interactions in there. He's a very good scout and a great adviser in the war room, while also being an integral part of Yeti locker room culture (he even has 'his' emote). He's someone whom I really like, with a great personality and loyalty to team, given by the fact that he never complained despite having less flashy role for a long time. Swanky also served as the GM for Tijuana Luchadores for a number of seasons, and helped guide the team to an ultimini win while developing a lot of high caliber player/users. On top of that, he's a member of budget team and plays a big role in keeping happenstances around the league on check. So it would be safe to say that Swanky is one of the biggest cobtributors to this league from the S22 class.
Almost a full round later, the Arizona Outlaws selected Jacoby Batista with the 87th overall pick. Batista made his name known very early, as he absolutely popped up in prospect bowl. However, unfortunately for him, the teams didn't pay much attention to his prospect bowl performances. So as a low earner, Batista was selected when the number of actives began to dwindle.
After being drafted, Batista spent several seasons down in the DSFL because of his low earning level. And then he saw some action when the Outlaws called him up and played him in some snaps. However, he failed to utilize this opportunity as he never earned in a good pace and he eventually went inactive around mid august. He currently sits as a 210 TPE free agent, as the Outlaws let him go.
There was another gap of 11 picks until the next running back was picked, as the Sarasota Sailfish selected Aaron Feels with the 98th overall pick in the early 9th round. Entering the draft, Feels was not a good earner to say the least. So he got drafted with the last of the active players.
Feels never managed to stay active enough to set foot into ISFL. he went completely inactive around the middle of next season. He was near the bottom of the depth chart in DSFL by the time he went inactive. This was a bit of a shame, as I liked soupman, the user behind Feels, quite a bit. Hopefully he will come back and give this league another shot.
With the very next pick, the Philadelphia Liberty selected J. B. Apollo. Similar to Feels, Apollo entered the draft as a low earner, and got selected as the semi actives were going off the board. And sadly he too never got to see ISFL field, as he went inactive around draft time with only 126 total TPE to his name. Again hopefully, he'll come back and create another player.
The next running back to be drafted was Zed Keppler, who was drafted to the Arizona Outlaws with the 112th overall pick in the 10th round. Again Keppler was a low earner, and he got drafted at about the border between active and inactive players.
And for a player drafted so low, Keppler actually had some success in his career. After spending a few seasons down in the DSFL, the Outlaws called him up. And he saw a fair amount of snaps while he was playing for the Outlawsx and contributed to the offense despite going inactive around august. Currently he plays fullback for the Chicago Butchers, where he was signed off an inactice contract.
The last running back that we'll discuss here is Kevin Fakon, who was drafted 3 picks after Keppler to the Sarasota Sailfish. Toastydata, Fakon's user, was regarded as a very good locker room presence before the DSFL draft, and that resulted in Fakon being a high pick in the DSFL draft. However, his low earning level significantly damaged his draft stock, and Fakon got drafted near the end of active users despite his good user.
Unfortunately, Fakon wasn't able to pan out in ISFL. His earning level was too low for him to be called up, and he ended up spending his entire career in the DSFL. And user toastydata ended up retiring Fakon after a patch of inactivity. Fakon finished his career with only 242 TPE to his name. However, I really hope that toastydata will come back and make another player, as I really enjoyed his presence around this league.