After the draft aired, rookies were welcomed to their teams, and contract talks began or continued, I started reflecting on my own draft back in the S26 days. The sim swap was big on everyone’s minds and I was looking to do better on my second player than I had on my first, who capped at 725 TPE and retired early after losing a season and a half of production to a sudden weight loss issue. A couple times in the past, I have toyed with the idea of doing a draft review article. But I never did actually sit down and finish typing one out. So here we go! Ephenssta’s S26 draft review begins now.
Round 1 –
1. Berlin selects Bambam McMullet – LB
To the best of my knowledge, no one was surprised when the Fire Salamanders took Manic first overall. Manic is a bit of a legendary user and the team was still looking to get itself off the ground after going 3-13 in their inaugural season. At the end of last season, going off the tracker, BamBam has 974 TPE. In S29, McMullet forced three fumbles, recovered one, recorded 6 TFL (T9th in the league), 3 interceptions, 9 pass deflections, and 13 sacks (T7th in the league).
2. New York selects Dogwood Maple – S
New York fared slightly better than Berlin in their first season, but not by a whole lot. They managed four wins and earned the second pick of the draft and also went with a defender. Dogwood’s last update has them at 945 TPE, slightly behind Manic’s impressive total but still an impressive sum that will cement them as a staple in a New York secondary that has an impressive stockpile of TPE. Last season, Maple managed a single tackle for loss, forced a fumble, 4 sacks, a pair of interceptions, and deflected 10 passes. It seems like Maple’s time in the spotlight hasn’t quite come yet, with New York’s secondary generally being incredibly strong. Yet I’m sure with this level of earning, the chance will soon come and Maple will cement their legacy with the team. Still, they get to be a part of the team that won the final game of the season, against their fellow expansion team of all the possible opponents.
3. Baltimore selects Ernest Lover – DE
The top of this draft was pretty defense heavy, as Lover makes the third consecutive pick on defense. Ernest Lover is a great player name and Mojojojo is a master of earning. Their last update put them at 1,014 TPE, the highest total of the class SO FAR. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Lover would not stick around for long. A few seasons after the pick, Lover packed up and moved to Sarasota, taking their talents to the Sailfish and being the first player from this draft to have taken their talents to another team. Mojojojo has since taken over as one of the Sarasota GMs, so congrats to them! I believe this becomes the first real miss of the draft. Baltimore took a player who was not around and now lines up against them twice a season.
4. Yellowknife selects Arthur Naught – WR
The first player on offense is off the board and we have the second “miss” of the draft, though I doubt anyone would have considered this at the time the pick was made. The user was found to be a multi by Head Office and Naught is currently a free agent with only 373 TPE. I do not believe you can fault Yellowknife for this pick, it seemed to be a great acquisition at the time.
5. New Orleans selects Vincent Jones – LB
The fourth defensive player taken in the draft and the second linebacker off the boards rounds out the top 5. Jones finished last season with an impressive 981 TPE, which makes them the highest earning linebacker on the New Orleans roster by a long shot. Jones finished this season with 95 tackles, 4 TFL, 4 forced fumbles (only four players had more last season), 11 passes deflected, and recorded a safety. Jones has made the New Orleans linebacker room significantly stronger and has obviously made some big contributions to the team since being drafted a few seasons ago. This pick was certainly a success for the SecondLine, though it seems they’re still in pretty bad need of even more help at linebacker. One player is not able to do it all, it seems.
6. Philadelphia select Ryan Negs – QB
Philly needed a quarterback and they got their man with this pick. Negs has recently taken over as a Norfolk GM after isa’s brief return to GMing and find themselves with 948 TPE, which seems to be right about in line with the other top earners taken off the board so far in this class. The Liberty are still trying to put themselves through a rebuild after some GM turmoil, but Negs seems to be a great person to build a budding team around. Negs has one of the lowest TPE totals of any starting QB as of the end of last season, but they are also the second youngest and will likely find themselves near the top as teams look to replace their current aging QBs over the next few seasons. When you have a need at QB and someone like negs is still available at 6, you pull the trigger. It will be interesting to see what Philly can get done over the next few seasons with Negs under center.
7. Honolulu selects Cobra Kai – RB
For the first time in this draft, we have two picks on offense back to back. As of their last update, Kai was only the second player selected so far to have crossed the 1,000 TPE mark, joining Mojojojo in that elite earning group. Kai is the primary runningback for the Hahalua. Kai finished the S29 season 17th in yards, though Kai had fewer attempts than everyone ahead on the list. When someone has fewer carries, we can look at averages to compare, but even there Kai does not seem to break out of the middle of the pack, with an average YPC of 4.6. That is 6th among other workhorse runningbacks. That is not at all bad for a guy who is 10th in TPE among running backs. I expect to see those numbers improve, at least slightly, over the next few seasons. No one ahead of Kai in terms of TPE is younger and a few will be regressing in the next couple seasons. Kai could be a dominant force within a couple seasons, though only time will tell.
8. Chicago selects Alexander Franklin – OL
We have now seen three players on offense go in a row and the first offensive lineman. As of their last update, Franklin has amassed 788 TPE, but has become the third player from this class to no longer be with the team that drafted them. Franklin has packed up and taken their skills to Philadelphia, where they lead their position group in TPE. Hordle is 14th in TPE among the fair rubs club and second among S26 OL in terms of TPE. Franklin allowed only one sack on the season, amassing 132 (3rd in the league) pancakes in the process. There are always a few what-ifs on my mind when someone puts up those kinds of numbers for a team that they went to in free agency, and it certainly seems that Chicago is missing out.
9. Arizona selects Moe Skeeter – S
And with this pick we are right back to defense. Unfortunately for Arizona, Skeeter is the fourth player who has not remained with the team that selected them. Skeeter and their 476 TPE have not only changed teams, they have changed positions. The former safety now lines up with the Copperheads OL. Skeeter, though, has been far less successful than Franklin. They allowed four sacks and only managed 54 pancakes. As a GM, you want your first picks to both stay with the team and gather more than 500 TPE.
10. Sarasota selects Demon Jaxson – DE
Yet another player on defense comes off the block in the first round and Jaxson gets us back on track for what you would expect to see out of a first round pick. With 939 TPE, Jaxson has the second lowest TPE total on SAR’s defensive line, but is also the youngest member of the group. Jaxson has the 12th most TPE among all defensive ends and is the youngest of that category, which seems to be a trend among a lot of these players selected early in the draft. Jaxson recorded 5 tackles for loss, forced a pair of fumbles and recovered three, sacked 9 quarterbacks, and blocked a punt. I would argue that blocked punts are one of the most exciting lays in football, both because they are so rare and provide huge swings in field position.
11. Berlin selects Derek Wildstar – S
Once again, we have three defensive players in a row selected as Berlin makes their second pick on defense in the first round. Wildstar has earned 720 TPE as of their last update and is still with the Firesalamanders, who recently made a trip to the Ultimus game, though they ultimately fell short against the Silverbacks. Wildstar is listed as 25th in TPE at safety, though I am sure that will change as I know at least one of the players ahead has retired and a few more will be regressing. There are four players ahead of Wildstar at this point that are from the S26 class or younger that have more TPE. Wildstar managed four sacks and six pass deflections on the season, racking up 52 tackles on the way.
12. Yellowknife selects Leonard Taylor – LB
Yellowknife makes their second pick and goes to defense, after taking a WR with the 4th overall pick. Since the selection, the Wraiths have turned Taylor into a speed rusher at defensive end. Taylor has amassed 924 TPE, which is second highest on the Wraiths defensive line and 13th highest on the tracker at defensive end, with only Jaxson, who was taken earlier in the first, ahead at that position in the S26 class. Taylor forced four fumbles, picked up a massive 15 sacks, and recorded two safeties, joining three other players in a tie for the league lead in safeties.
13. Colorado selects Redbeard McFredbeard – DT
This pick will always have a special place in my heart because this is where I was brought back to the Yeti. I have really enjoyed my time in Colorado, ever since I signed with them in free agency during my first player’s career. I was overjoyed to be brought back. Since the draft, RedBeard has switched to cornerback for the Yeti. At the end of last season, Redbeard had accumulated 736 TPE and has just signed an extension with the Yeti. Redbeard is 25th overall in TPE at cornerback per the tracker, and while no one on ahead of Redbeard on that list is younger, quite a few are from S25, which is only one class before this one. McFredbeard has the least TPE of any Yeti cornerback. Redbeard picked up 57 tackles on the season, along with 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 11 pass deflections.
14. San Jose selects Tugg Speedman – WR
With the final pick of the first round, the Sabercats finish it off on offense. Speedman has picked up 973 TPE since the draft, but no longer plays for the Sabercats. This probably was a good career move for Speedman, who has an Ultimus win under their belt as a result of the move. Speedman has the most TPE of the New York wide receiver group and is 19th in TPE at wide receiver in the league, though again no one ahead of them in TPE is from a younger class, though Delacour is right on their heels.
There weren’t many bad picks in the first round, so that makes it difficult to do a good/bad kind of list. Since most of the picks were good, we will just skip ahead to the bad.
The bad:
1. Baltimore selects Ernest Lover – the pick would be a great one, had Lover not gone to Sarasota to GM. As it stands, this is a big miss for Baltimore. This was great for Sarasota, though, as they got a great earner and a GM out of it.
2. Yellowknife selects Arthur Naught – nothing wrong with this pick at the time, but it’s always gutting to find out later that you’ve drafted a now-banned multi.
3. Arizona selects Moe Skeeter – Skeeter has managed to pick up less than 500 TPE since being drafted. That’s not what you want to see from a top 10 pick.
Round 2 –
15. Chicago selects Raphael Delacour – WR
Speaking of Delacour, he was the next pick in the S26 draft. Chicago goes right back to WR to start the round, though Delacour would soon head to the Yeti as a free agent signing, taking the WR2 position and becoming the heir apparent to Lim’s domination at the position. With 959 TPE, Delacour is the 20th best receiver in the league at TPE and is second on the Yeti at the position. Delacour earned 4 touchdowns on 106 receptions as the Yeti’s second target last season.
16. Baltimore selects AJ Lucas – LB
Lucas has 827 TPE since the draft, which is the second most on the entire team, though not by much. Still, unlike their first pick, Lucas has stuck around with the team while they go through the pains of the league’s most recent GM crisis. The team now looks to rebuild and the only remaining question is how Lucas fits that timeline. Lucas had an impressive 104 tackles last season, along with 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 14 pass deflections.
17. Austin selects Slurms McKenzie – CB
Slurms has stuck around with the Copperheads, but has only managed to get to 388 TPE and has swapped to offensive line. Slurms allowed 3 of Austin’s 14 sacks on the season.
18. Arizona selects Tim Teboat – TE
This seems to be another miss for Arizona. Teboat has managed 422 TPE with a max of 424 (I’m guessing the two that were lost were taken away during the TPE theft after HO found out a bunch of late credit had been given). Teboat’s last update was in January.
19. New Orleans selects Mr. Forty-Two – RB
I believe this running back later came to be known as Botty, but someone please yell at me if I’m wrong. Botty reached 779 TPE for New Orleans, but has since retired, abruptly ending a promising career.
20. Baltimore selects Mario Messi – WR
Mario becomes the second player taken in this draft that Baltimore lost to Sarasota. After the draft, Messi swapped to tight end and has accumulated 843 TPE. Last season, Messi picked up 285 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Messi is 8th at TE and will likely take over for Angler sometime in the not-too-distant future as the TE1 at Sarasota, where I am certain they will have the stuff to put up some big numbers. Based on the way the second round has gone so far, this could have been a really solid pick for Baltimore had they been able to keep Messi around.
21. Honolulu selects Lalo Salamanca – WR
Another WR goes off the boards, the second in a row and the fourth consecutive player on offense to go. Salamanca has stuck with Honolulu, earning 615 TPE since the draft. They have the second most TPE in the Honolulu WR room, behind Kendrick-Watts who was taken in the S27 draft.
22. Baltimore selects Caven McRae – S
Baltimore ends the string of players taken on offense by going to the secondary with this pick. McRae has stuck it out with the team, earning 652 TPE since the draft. At this point in the rebuild, Baltimore’s secondary really just needs bodies. Zelos is the highest TPE safety they have at 679. Their only cornerback, Gallgher, has 464 TPE. The team needs every warm body they can find for the secondary at this point, so they are fortunate to have found and kept McRae in the secondary.
23. Arizona selects Logan Sarrasin – LB
Sarrasin has stuck around with the Outlaws since the draft, but has only managed to gain 472 TPE and appears to be inactive, updating last in February. Sarrasin has the least TPE in the linebacker room at Arizona, as even the S28 pick Smart has surpassed them by over 100 TPE. Sarrasin cannot be found in the index.
24. Sarasota selects LeBron James III – QB
The second QB of the boards, James III goes to the Sailfish. Since the selection, LeBron James III has swapped to join the fair rubs club and has earned 534 TPE, though they have not updated since mid May.
25. Chicago selects Evan Jones – S
Jones has earned 753 TPE since the draft, but has since moved to play for the Copperheads. Jones has the least TPE of that secondary, but still fills a valuable role as the second safety and is still applying updates. The loss does not seem to be impacting the Butchers too much, though, as they have two safeties who surpass that TPE mark and an S28 player who seems likely to catch up quickly.
26. New York selects Makota Otawara – DE
Otawara has moved from DE to LB since the draft, earning 768 TPE along the way, and is still updating to boot. There are numerous players taken ahead of Otawara, so this seems like a great pick this late in the draft. Otawara rounds out that linebacker corps nicely and has picked up that Ultimus win with the team.
27. Berlin selects Captain John Price – S
After earning 266 TPE, the player retired before ever even being called up.
28. San Jose selects Jaja Ding Dong – TE
Ding Dong has continued earning, reaching 853 TPE on their last update, but has swapped to join the O-line for the Sabercats. Ding Dong is the only offensive lineman currently on the Sabercats roster (per the tracker), making this selection appear even more valuable. Ding Dong lead the league in pancakes with 140 last season, allowing one sack on the season.
This round appears, to me, as much more of a mixed bag than the first. We see some great value and some players who never even saw a snap at the ISFL level.
The good:
1. San Jose selects Jaja Ding Dong – Ding Dong has earned very well since being drafted and provides a lot of value to San Jose as the only human OL on the roster. For the 28th pick in a draft that barely went into the fifth round, that is a great selection.
2. New York selects Makota Otawara – Otawara has provided that depth that New York needed at linebacker to make a run for the championship. After spending some time on the market, Otawara contented themselves to stay home and took care of business.
3. Baltimore selects Caven McRae – although the earning isn’t really anything particularly special, Baltimore badly needed bodies in the secondary and has managed to keep someone active on that part of the team. That is a win for them.
The bad:
1. Chicago selects Raphael Delacour – at 15oa, Delacour has left the team to go to the Yeti. The passing game is incredibly important in this sim and Delacour looks to have the earning to make a difference…for someone else.
2. Austin selects Slurms McKenzie – slurms just didn’t earn well and should not have gone that high as a result. That is a big whiff for the Austin staff.
3. Arizona selects Tim Teboat – this makes the list for the same reason Slurms does. The player simply didn’t earn well enough to justify the pick this high in the draft, unfortunately.
Round 3 –
29. Yellowknife selects Big Slammu – LB
Slammu has earned 911 TPE for the wraiths and is a huge part of that LB group. Slammu had 81 tackles, 3 TFL, a forced fumble and a recovery, 6 sacks, an interception, and 11 pass deflections. That’s a pretty good season and great value out of a third round pick.
30. Orange County selects – Maiteers Rico-Shea – OL
This is the first pick for the Otters in this draft, and they only made one more pick for the remainder of the S26 rookie draft. Rico Shea has earned 558 TPE for the Otters and updated late last season. They have been earning, if a little inconsistently. S29 was their rookie season at the ISFL level and they managed to gather 82 pancakes without allowing a sack. Human OL is very valuable for a team, so someone who earns steadily, even if a little slower than some of their other classmates, and can provide the benefits a human OL can in the third round strikes me as a solid pick up.
31. Baltimore selects Chet Larson – LB
Larson has picked up 820 TPE for the Hawks and was part of the interim GM committee that saw them through the GM crisis that tore the team apart. 820 is near the team lead in TPE, so getting Larson and keeping them around and active was a big win for the Hawks.
32. Berlin selects Schumi Hulkenvettel – WR
Named after a handful of Formula 1 drivers, Hulkenvettel did not live up to the namesake. They earned just 322 TPE and are currently a free agent.
33. New Orleans selects Jonathan Shuffleboard – S
Shuffleboard has earned 732 TPE since the draft and remains with the Second Line at safety. Though the stats haven’t been too impressive so far, having someone steadily earning and providing depth out of the third round is huge for a team.
34. Philadelphia selects Laxus Dreyar – DE
Laxus just was not made for the ISFL. They earned 346 TPE before ultimately retiring.
35. Honolulu selects Richard Littlewood – OL
Littlewood earned 427 TPE and still plays for the Hahalua on the offensive line. They have not updated since January.
36. Sarasota selects Quavious McGrady – WR
Grady earned 250 TPE, but has since become a free agent.
37. Arizona selects Akil Ozymandias – RB
Ozymandias earned a peak of 310 TPE and is listed on Bondi Beach’s roster, but has not updated since late April.
38. Sarasota selects Big Chungus – RB
Chungus has earned 534 TPE and has packed up and moved to Baltimore, which seems to be the opposite of the trend established earlier in this draft. Chungus updated at the end of the season and still appears to be active, even if the earning is lagging a little bit. Chungus has the least TPE of any Baltimore WR, sitting behind Quick and Parker, both of which are younger. Still, the player is active, which I’m not sure can be said for the last several picks.
CORRECTION
Chungus retired with 254 TPE as a part of Bondi Beach's roster.
39. Baltimore selects Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems – RB
Miglaskems has since moved to Honolulu, but has only earned 334 TPE since the draft, though they did update in June. They have not been seen since a couple days after that update and are likely inactive.
40. New York selects Primo Berto – DT
Berto has also since moved to Honolulu, but only has 283 TPE and has not updated since early April, though they were seen online in June.
41. Honolulu selects Pope Francis – DE
Francis has switched to the offensive line, but has only earned 274 TPE and has not been seen since early June.
42. San Jose selects Byakuya Togami – DE
Togami earned 137 TPE and is listed as being on Bondi Beach’s roster, but has not been seen since 2020.
This round had a lot more bad than good as the talent quickly dried up. The good, though, was very good.
The good:
1. Yellowknife selects Big Slammu – Slammu was a huge pickup who probably could have gone high in the first in hindsight, based on nothing but that earning. I think you could officially classify this as a steal.
2. Baltimore selects Chet Larson – Larson has one of the highest TPE totals on a frankly terrible Baltimore team. Given their luck earlier in the draft, this is an absolute win for the Hawks.
3. New Orleans selects Jonathan Shuffleboard – Shuffleboard adds some quality depth to this secondary and is one of the few players from this round with a respectable TPE total, bringing some good value this late.
The bad is mostly what you would expect and there weren’t too many misses, so it feels wrong calling them “bad” picks since there wasn’t too much left at this point.
Round 4 –
43. Berlin selects Erik Kirkland – LB
Kirkland earned 118 TPE and is now a free agent.
44. Austin selects Glueteus Maximus – K
Maximus swapped to OL and currently has 486 TPE. They last updated on June 19th.
45. New York selects Jalen Washington – WR
Washington retired with 156 TPE.
46. Berlin selects Rocky Jackman – WR
Jackman is a free agent with 172 TPE
47. New Orleans selects Julian Jurevicius – Wr
Three straight WRs, three straight players who never got past 200 TPE. Jurevicius retired with 150 TPE.
48. Philadelphia selects Emi Rune – QB
Rune retired with 143 TPE
49. Honolulu selects John Johnson – TE
Johnson retired with 62 TPE
50. Baltimore selects Something McDerpants – K
McDerpants retired with 120 TPE
51. Arizona selects Bismo Funyuns – WR
Funyuns retired with 139 TPE
52. Sarasota selects Owmy Back – TE
Back is a free agent with 216 TPE.
53. Chicago selects H. H. Hopkins – Wr
Hopkins retired with only 50 TPE.
54. Orange County selects Ty Tyson – LB
Tyson retired with 198 TPE
55. Chicago selects Ben Siegel – DT
Siegel retired with 65 TPE
56. San Jose selects Dick Grayson – Wr
Grayson retired with 91 TPE.
The only selection of note was Austin take Maximus 44th overall. Maximus has at least earned some and plays at OL, which can still be a boost to a team with some positional experience and cap savings. There were five picks in the fifth round, but none of them made it. All are retired with low TPE. I won’t even bother.
Round 1 –
1. Berlin selects Bambam McMullet – LB
To the best of my knowledge, no one was surprised when the Fire Salamanders took Manic first overall. Manic is a bit of a legendary user and the team was still looking to get itself off the ground after going 3-13 in their inaugural season. At the end of last season, going off the tracker, BamBam has 974 TPE. In S29, McMullet forced three fumbles, recovered one, recorded 6 TFL (T9th in the league), 3 interceptions, 9 pass deflections, and 13 sacks (T7th in the league).
2. New York selects Dogwood Maple – S
New York fared slightly better than Berlin in their first season, but not by a whole lot. They managed four wins and earned the second pick of the draft and also went with a defender. Dogwood’s last update has them at 945 TPE, slightly behind Manic’s impressive total but still an impressive sum that will cement them as a staple in a New York secondary that has an impressive stockpile of TPE. Last season, Maple managed a single tackle for loss, forced a fumble, 4 sacks, a pair of interceptions, and deflected 10 passes. It seems like Maple’s time in the spotlight hasn’t quite come yet, with New York’s secondary generally being incredibly strong. Yet I’m sure with this level of earning, the chance will soon come and Maple will cement their legacy with the team. Still, they get to be a part of the team that won the final game of the season, against their fellow expansion team of all the possible opponents.
3. Baltimore selects Ernest Lover – DE
The top of this draft was pretty defense heavy, as Lover makes the third consecutive pick on defense. Ernest Lover is a great player name and Mojojojo is a master of earning. Their last update put them at 1,014 TPE, the highest total of the class SO FAR. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Lover would not stick around for long. A few seasons after the pick, Lover packed up and moved to Sarasota, taking their talents to the Sailfish and being the first player from this draft to have taken their talents to another team. Mojojojo has since taken over as one of the Sarasota GMs, so congrats to them! I believe this becomes the first real miss of the draft. Baltimore took a player who was not around and now lines up against them twice a season.
4. Yellowknife selects Arthur Naught – WR
The first player on offense is off the board and we have the second “miss” of the draft, though I doubt anyone would have considered this at the time the pick was made. The user was found to be a multi by Head Office and Naught is currently a free agent with only 373 TPE. I do not believe you can fault Yellowknife for this pick, it seemed to be a great acquisition at the time.
5. New Orleans selects Vincent Jones – LB
The fourth defensive player taken in the draft and the second linebacker off the boards rounds out the top 5. Jones finished last season with an impressive 981 TPE, which makes them the highest earning linebacker on the New Orleans roster by a long shot. Jones finished this season with 95 tackles, 4 TFL, 4 forced fumbles (only four players had more last season), 11 passes deflected, and recorded a safety. Jones has made the New Orleans linebacker room significantly stronger and has obviously made some big contributions to the team since being drafted a few seasons ago. This pick was certainly a success for the SecondLine, though it seems they’re still in pretty bad need of even more help at linebacker. One player is not able to do it all, it seems.
6. Philadelphia select Ryan Negs – QB
Philly needed a quarterback and they got their man with this pick. Negs has recently taken over as a Norfolk GM after isa’s brief return to GMing and find themselves with 948 TPE, which seems to be right about in line with the other top earners taken off the board so far in this class. The Liberty are still trying to put themselves through a rebuild after some GM turmoil, but Negs seems to be a great person to build a budding team around. Negs has one of the lowest TPE totals of any starting QB as of the end of last season, but they are also the second youngest and will likely find themselves near the top as teams look to replace their current aging QBs over the next few seasons. When you have a need at QB and someone like negs is still available at 6, you pull the trigger. It will be interesting to see what Philly can get done over the next few seasons with Negs under center.
7. Honolulu selects Cobra Kai – RB
For the first time in this draft, we have two picks on offense back to back. As of their last update, Kai was only the second player selected so far to have crossed the 1,000 TPE mark, joining Mojojojo in that elite earning group. Kai is the primary runningback for the Hahalua. Kai finished the S29 season 17th in yards, though Kai had fewer attempts than everyone ahead on the list. When someone has fewer carries, we can look at averages to compare, but even there Kai does not seem to break out of the middle of the pack, with an average YPC of 4.6. That is 6th among other workhorse runningbacks. That is not at all bad for a guy who is 10th in TPE among running backs. I expect to see those numbers improve, at least slightly, over the next few seasons. No one ahead of Kai in terms of TPE is younger and a few will be regressing in the next couple seasons. Kai could be a dominant force within a couple seasons, though only time will tell.
8. Chicago selects Alexander Franklin – OL
We have now seen three players on offense go in a row and the first offensive lineman. As of their last update, Franklin has amassed 788 TPE, but has become the third player from this class to no longer be with the team that drafted them. Franklin has packed up and taken their skills to Philadelphia, where they lead their position group in TPE. Hordle is 14th in TPE among the fair rubs club and second among S26 OL in terms of TPE. Franklin allowed only one sack on the season, amassing 132 (3rd in the league) pancakes in the process. There are always a few what-ifs on my mind when someone puts up those kinds of numbers for a team that they went to in free agency, and it certainly seems that Chicago is missing out.
9. Arizona selects Moe Skeeter – S
And with this pick we are right back to defense. Unfortunately for Arizona, Skeeter is the fourth player who has not remained with the team that selected them. Skeeter and their 476 TPE have not only changed teams, they have changed positions. The former safety now lines up with the Copperheads OL. Skeeter, though, has been far less successful than Franklin. They allowed four sacks and only managed 54 pancakes. As a GM, you want your first picks to both stay with the team and gather more than 500 TPE.
10. Sarasota selects Demon Jaxson – DE
Yet another player on defense comes off the block in the first round and Jaxson gets us back on track for what you would expect to see out of a first round pick. With 939 TPE, Jaxson has the second lowest TPE total on SAR’s defensive line, but is also the youngest member of the group. Jaxson has the 12th most TPE among all defensive ends and is the youngest of that category, which seems to be a trend among a lot of these players selected early in the draft. Jaxson recorded 5 tackles for loss, forced a pair of fumbles and recovered three, sacked 9 quarterbacks, and blocked a punt. I would argue that blocked punts are one of the most exciting lays in football, both because they are so rare and provide huge swings in field position.
11. Berlin selects Derek Wildstar – S
Once again, we have three defensive players in a row selected as Berlin makes their second pick on defense in the first round. Wildstar has earned 720 TPE as of their last update and is still with the Firesalamanders, who recently made a trip to the Ultimus game, though they ultimately fell short against the Silverbacks. Wildstar is listed as 25th in TPE at safety, though I am sure that will change as I know at least one of the players ahead has retired and a few more will be regressing. There are four players ahead of Wildstar at this point that are from the S26 class or younger that have more TPE. Wildstar managed four sacks and six pass deflections on the season, racking up 52 tackles on the way.
12. Yellowknife selects Leonard Taylor – LB
Yellowknife makes their second pick and goes to defense, after taking a WR with the 4th overall pick. Since the selection, the Wraiths have turned Taylor into a speed rusher at defensive end. Taylor has amassed 924 TPE, which is second highest on the Wraiths defensive line and 13th highest on the tracker at defensive end, with only Jaxson, who was taken earlier in the first, ahead at that position in the S26 class. Taylor forced four fumbles, picked up a massive 15 sacks, and recorded two safeties, joining three other players in a tie for the league lead in safeties.
13. Colorado selects Redbeard McFredbeard – DT
This pick will always have a special place in my heart because this is where I was brought back to the Yeti. I have really enjoyed my time in Colorado, ever since I signed with them in free agency during my first player’s career. I was overjoyed to be brought back. Since the draft, RedBeard has switched to cornerback for the Yeti. At the end of last season, Redbeard had accumulated 736 TPE and has just signed an extension with the Yeti. Redbeard is 25th overall in TPE at cornerback per the tracker, and while no one on ahead of Redbeard on that list is younger, quite a few are from S25, which is only one class before this one. McFredbeard has the least TPE of any Yeti cornerback. Redbeard picked up 57 tackles on the season, along with 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 11 pass deflections.
14. San Jose selects Tugg Speedman – WR
With the final pick of the first round, the Sabercats finish it off on offense. Speedman has picked up 973 TPE since the draft, but no longer plays for the Sabercats. This probably was a good career move for Speedman, who has an Ultimus win under their belt as a result of the move. Speedman has the most TPE of the New York wide receiver group and is 19th in TPE at wide receiver in the league, though again no one ahead of them in TPE is from a younger class, though Delacour is right on their heels.
There weren’t many bad picks in the first round, so that makes it difficult to do a good/bad kind of list. Since most of the picks were good, we will just skip ahead to the bad.
The bad:
1. Baltimore selects Ernest Lover – the pick would be a great one, had Lover not gone to Sarasota to GM. As it stands, this is a big miss for Baltimore. This was great for Sarasota, though, as they got a great earner and a GM out of it.
2. Yellowknife selects Arthur Naught – nothing wrong with this pick at the time, but it’s always gutting to find out later that you’ve drafted a now-banned multi.
3. Arizona selects Moe Skeeter – Skeeter has managed to pick up less than 500 TPE since being drafted. That’s not what you want to see from a top 10 pick.
Round 2 –
15. Chicago selects Raphael Delacour – WR
Speaking of Delacour, he was the next pick in the S26 draft. Chicago goes right back to WR to start the round, though Delacour would soon head to the Yeti as a free agent signing, taking the WR2 position and becoming the heir apparent to Lim’s domination at the position. With 959 TPE, Delacour is the 20th best receiver in the league at TPE and is second on the Yeti at the position. Delacour earned 4 touchdowns on 106 receptions as the Yeti’s second target last season.
16. Baltimore selects AJ Lucas – LB
Lucas has 827 TPE since the draft, which is the second most on the entire team, though not by much. Still, unlike their first pick, Lucas has stuck around with the team while they go through the pains of the league’s most recent GM crisis. The team now looks to rebuild and the only remaining question is how Lucas fits that timeline. Lucas had an impressive 104 tackles last season, along with 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 14 pass deflections.
17. Austin selects Slurms McKenzie – CB
Slurms has stuck around with the Copperheads, but has only managed to get to 388 TPE and has swapped to offensive line. Slurms allowed 3 of Austin’s 14 sacks on the season.
18. Arizona selects Tim Teboat – TE
This seems to be another miss for Arizona. Teboat has managed 422 TPE with a max of 424 (I’m guessing the two that were lost were taken away during the TPE theft after HO found out a bunch of late credit had been given). Teboat’s last update was in January.
19. New Orleans selects Mr. Forty-Two – RB
I believe this running back later came to be known as Botty, but someone please yell at me if I’m wrong. Botty reached 779 TPE for New Orleans, but has since retired, abruptly ending a promising career.
20. Baltimore selects Mario Messi – WR
Mario becomes the second player taken in this draft that Baltimore lost to Sarasota. After the draft, Messi swapped to tight end and has accumulated 843 TPE. Last season, Messi picked up 285 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Messi is 8th at TE and will likely take over for Angler sometime in the not-too-distant future as the TE1 at Sarasota, where I am certain they will have the stuff to put up some big numbers. Based on the way the second round has gone so far, this could have been a really solid pick for Baltimore had they been able to keep Messi around.
21. Honolulu selects Lalo Salamanca – WR
Another WR goes off the boards, the second in a row and the fourth consecutive player on offense to go. Salamanca has stuck with Honolulu, earning 615 TPE since the draft. They have the second most TPE in the Honolulu WR room, behind Kendrick-Watts who was taken in the S27 draft.
22. Baltimore selects Caven McRae – S
Baltimore ends the string of players taken on offense by going to the secondary with this pick. McRae has stuck it out with the team, earning 652 TPE since the draft. At this point in the rebuild, Baltimore’s secondary really just needs bodies. Zelos is the highest TPE safety they have at 679. Their only cornerback, Gallgher, has 464 TPE. The team needs every warm body they can find for the secondary at this point, so they are fortunate to have found and kept McRae in the secondary.
23. Arizona selects Logan Sarrasin – LB
Sarrasin has stuck around with the Outlaws since the draft, but has only managed to gain 472 TPE and appears to be inactive, updating last in February. Sarrasin has the least TPE in the linebacker room at Arizona, as even the S28 pick Smart has surpassed them by over 100 TPE. Sarrasin cannot be found in the index.
24. Sarasota selects LeBron James III – QB
The second QB of the boards, James III goes to the Sailfish. Since the selection, LeBron James III has swapped to join the fair rubs club and has earned 534 TPE, though they have not updated since mid May.
25. Chicago selects Evan Jones – S
Jones has earned 753 TPE since the draft, but has since moved to play for the Copperheads. Jones has the least TPE of that secondary, but still fills a valuable role as the second safety and is still applying updates. The loss does not seem to be impacting the Butchers too much, though, as they have two safeties who surpass that TPE mark and an S28 player who seems likely to catch up quickly.
26. New York selects Makota Otawara – DE
Otawara has moved from DE to LB since the draft, earning 768 TPE along the way, and is still updating to boot. There are numerous players taken ahead of Otawara, so this seems like a great pick this late in the draft. Otawara rounds out that linebacker corps nicely and has picked up that Ultimus win with the team.
27. Berlin selects Captain John Price – S
After earning 266 TPE, the player retired before ever even being called up.
28. San Jose selects Jaja Ding Dong – TE
Ding Dong has continued earning, reaching 853 TPE on their last update, but has swapped to join the O-line for the Sabercats. Ding Dong is the only offensive lineman currently on the Sabercats roster (per the tracker), making this selection appear even more valuable. Ding Dong lead the league in pancakes with 140 last season, allowing one sack on the season.
This round appears, to me, as much more of a mixed bag than the first. We see some great value and some players who never even saw a snap at the ISFL level.
The good:
1. San Jose selects Jaja Ding Dong – Ding Dong has earned very well since being drafted and provides a lot of value to San Jose as the only human OL on the roster. For the 28th pick in a draft that barely went into the fifth round, that is a great selection.
2. New York selects Makota Otawara – Otawara has provided that depth that New York needed at linebacker to make a run for the championship. After spending some time on the market, Otawara contented themselves to stay home and took care of business.
3. Baltimore selects Caven McRae – although the earning isn’t really anything particularly special, Baltimore badly needed bodies in the secondary and has managed to keep someone active on that part of the team. That is a win for them.
The bad:
1. Chicago selects Raphael Delacour – at 15oa, Delacour has left the team to go to the Yeti. The passing game is incredibly important in this sim and Delacour looks to have the earning to make a difference…for someone else.
2. Austin selects Slurms McKenzie – slurms just didn’t earn well and should not have gone that high as a result. That is a big whiff for the Austin staff.
3. Arizona selects Tim Teboat – this makes the list for the same reason Slurms does. The player simply didn’t earn well enough to justify the pick this high in the draft, unfortunately.
Round 3 –
29. Yellowknife selects Big Slammu – LB
Slammu has earned 911 TPE for the wraiths and is a huge part of that LB group. Slammu had 81 tackles, 3 TFL, a forced fumble and a recovery, 6 sacks, an interception, and 11 pass deflections. That’s a pretty good season and great value out of a third round pick.
30. Orange County selects – Maiteers Rico-Shea – OL
This is the first pick for the Otters in this draft, and they only made one more pick for the remainder of the S26 rookie draft. Rico Shea has earned 558 TPE for the Otters and updated late last season. They have been earning, if a little inconsistently. S29 was their rookie season at the ISFL level and they managed to gather 82 pancakes without allowing a sack. Human OL is very valuable for a team, so someone who earns steadily, even if a little slower than some of their other classmates, and can provide the benefits a human OL can in the third round strikes me as a solid pick up.
31. Baltimore selects Chet Larson – LB
Larson has picked up 820 TPE for the Hawks and was part of the interim GM committee that saw them through the GM crisis that tore the team apart. 820 is near the team lead in TPE, so getting Larson and keeping them around and active was a big win for the Hawks.
32. Berlin selects Schumi Hulkenvettel – WR
Named after a handful of Formula 1 drivers, Hulkenvettel did not live up to the namesake. They earned just 322 TPE and are currently a free agent.
33. New Orleans selects Jonathan Shuffleboard – S
Shuffleboard has earned 732 TPE since the draft and remains with the Second Line at safety. Though the stats haven’t been too impressive so far, having someone steadily earning and providing depth out of the third round is huge for a team.
34. Philadelphia selects Laxus Dreyar – DE
Laxus just was not made for the ISFL. They earned 346 TPE before ultimately retiring.
35. Honolulu selects Richard Littlewood – OL
Littlewood earned 427 TPE and still plays for the Hahalua on the offensive line. They have not updated since January.
36. Sarasota selects Quavious McGrady – WR
Grady earned 250 TPE, but has since become a free agent.
37. Arizona selects Akil Ozymandias – RB
Ozymandias earned a peak of 310 TPE and is listed on Bondi Beach’s roster, but has not updated since late April.
38. Sarasota selects Big Chungus – RB
Chungus has earned 534 TPE and has packed up and moved to Baltimore, which seems to be the opposite of the trend established earlier in this draft. Chungus updated at the end of the season and still appears to be active, even if the earning is lagging a little bit. Chungus has the least TPE of any Baltimore WR, sitting behind Quick and Parker, both of which are younger. Still, the player is active, which I’m not sure can be said for the last several picks.
CORRECTION
Chungus retired with 254 TPE as a part of Bondi Beach's roster.
39. Baltimore selects Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems – RB
Miglaskems has since moved to Honolulu, but has only earned 334 TPE since the draft, though they did update in June. They have not been seen since a couple days after that update and are likely inactive.
40. New York selects Primo Berto – DT
Berto has also since moved to Honolulu, but only has 283 TPE and has not updated since early April, though they were seen online in June.
41. Honolulu selects Pope Francis – DE
Francis has switched to the offensive line, but has only earned 274 TPE and has not been seen since early June.
42. San Jose selects Byakuya Togami – DE
Togami earned 137 TPE and is listed as being on Bondi Beach’s roster, but has not been seen since 2020.
This round had a lot more bad than good as the talent quickly dried up. The good, though, was very good.
The good:
1. Yellowknife selects Big Slammu – Slammu was a huge pickup who probably could have gone high in the first in hindsight, based on nothing but that earning. I think you could officially classify this as a steal.
2. Baltimore selects Chet Larson – Larson has one of the highest TPE totals on a frankly terrible Baltimore team. Given their luck earlier in the draft, this is an absolute win for the Hawks.
3. New Orleans selects Jonathan Shuffleboard – Shuffleboard adds some quality depth to this secondary and is one of the few players from this round with a respectable TPE total, bringing some good value this late.
The bad is mostly what you would expect and there weren’t too many misses, so it feels wrong calling them “bad” picks since there wasn’t too much left at this point.
Round 4 –
43. Berlin selects Erik Kirkland – LB
Kirkland earned 118 TPE and is now a free agent.
44. Austin selects Glueteus Maximus – K
Maximus swapped to OL and currently has 486 TPE. They last updated on June 19th.
45. New York selects Jalen Washington – WR
Washington retired with 156 TPE.
46. Berlin selects Rocky Jackman – WR
Jackman is a free agent with 172 TPE
47. New Orleans selects Julian Jurevicius – Wr
Three straight WRs, three straight players who never got past 200 TPE. Jurevicius retired with 150 TPE.
48. Philadelphia selects Emi Rune – QB
Rune retired with 143 TPE
49. Honolulu selects John Johnson – TE
Johnson retired with 62 TPE
50. Baltimore selects Something McDerpants – K
McDerpants retired with 120 TPE
51. Arizona selects Bismo Funyuns – WR
Funyuns retired with 139 TPE
52. Sarasota selects Owmy Back – TE
Back is a free agent with 216 TPE.
53. Chicago selects H. H. Hopkins – Wr
Hopkins retired with only 50 TPE.
54. Orange County selects Ty Tyson – LB
Tyson retired with 198 TPE
55. Chicago selects Ben Siegel – DT
Siegel retired with 65 TPE
56. San Jose selects Dick Grayson – Wr
Grayson retired with 91 TPE.
The only selection of note was Austin take Maximus 44th overall. Maximus has at least earned some and plays at OL, which can still be a boost to a team with some positional experience and cap savings. There were five picks in the fifth round, but none of them made it. All are retired with low TPE. I won’t even bother.