A lot of different things will influence a general manager's approach to drafting. Some will deliberately try to fill a need, others will aim to draft talented players and accrue them regardless of positions, others are in the middle ground and hope to have players switch positions altogether.
And when considering top draft picks, it's not always as simple as looking at someone's TPE. Does the user have a history in this league or others? Is it positive or negative? Have they expressed an interest to play somewhere in particular, or *not* play somewhere else? How will their build effect their long-term success? Are they going to want a lot of money or to be a star player, or are they a team person and a silent grinder?
If all the draft came down to was TPE, then no general manager would ever make mistakes. But they do make mistakes, because rating players involves a complex interplay of their TPE, activity, projected activity, league history, player build, personality, the existing users in the team locker room, and their performances thus far.
Taking all that into account, here are the players I consider to be the top prospects on both sides of the ball.
Offense
Player: Blake McCargue
User: @Alkaiid
Position: Offensive Lineman
TPE: 143 (not taking into account unprocessed updates)
DSFL Team: Tijuana Luchadores
S12 Stats
Games: 14
Pancakes: 25
Sacks Allowed: 0
User Analysis
Having only joined the league in November 2018, it will perhaps be surprising to some that Al beats out more well-known users, such as infamous recreate @Noble, whose latest player (194 TPE WR Lucius Kaine) would also be a good pick.
But Al is given bonus points for the same reasons I outline again below: he's playing an undesirable, but crucial, position. While offensive line bots have all but eliminated teams' struggles in pass-protection (depending on their cap situations), the whispers of dissent about the current setup and calls for the OL bots to be capped at a lower tier than is currently available to purchase mean that an active, real-life offensive lineman may once again be in demand.
While it is doubtful that the offensive line will see the sort of love it received in the early seasons after the league's inception, I still believe there will be enough of a renewed interest in the position for Al to be at or near the top of a number of teams' draft boards.
What Al also has going for him is that he's a new user. While some may view this as a negative in some senses, one guaranteed positive is that he does not carry with him any existing allegiances. It is not unwise for general managers to be wary of users who are in their first seasons away from teams where they spent their entire (or the majority of) previous careers. A user who is equally open to playing for any team is appealing as it means a possibility that they don't develop as much of a desire to test free agency or be traded as perhaps some more seasoned users would.
Finally, I love that not only has Al decided to play on the offensive line, he has publicly defended the decision, requesting that people stop trying to convince him to do otherwise. That's another big tick in my book, and I think McCargue will be a driving force behind the establishment of the offensive line once again being a popular user position.
Defense
Player: Johnny Snuggles
User: @manicmav36
Position: Cornerback
TPE: 226 (not taking into account unprocessed updates)
DSFL Team: Kansas City Coyotes (the champions baby!)
S12 Stats
Games: 14
Tackles: 53
TFL: 1
INT: 2
PD: 9
TD: 1
User Analysis
Free from the shackles of being a general manager of his former team, the Baltimore Hawks, Manic can choose to play where he likes now. This would no doubt be a viewed as a very good thing to all 7 remaining sets of general managers, as the user behind the greatest running back in the history of the National Simulation Football League is once again up for grabs.
Perhaps more importantly, amid an inundation of recreates choosing to play offensive skill positions, Manic opted to go with the much-maligned position of cornerback. The issues with the position are greatly documented, perhaps most noteably by @majesiu, who opted to position switch to wide receiver rather than endure more seasons at the thankless position.
With true cornerbacks becoming increasingly rare, Manic is somewhat of a unicorn. A top-tier use with a sure-fire hall-of-fame resume on his previous player, a member of the Head Office, an in-demand player, an already high TPE count, and just a good dude in general. Teams with be chomping at the bit to bring Manic in and to be on the winning end of his seemingly endless, constantly successful career.
And when considering top draft picks, it's not always as simple as looking at someone's TPE. Does the user have a history in this league or others? Is it positive or negative? Have they expressed an interest to play somewhere in particular, or *not* play somewhere else? How will their build effect their long-term success? Are they going to want a lot of money or to be a star player, or are they a team person and a silent grinder?
If all the draft came down to was TPE, then no general manager would ever make mistakes. But they do make mistakes, because rating players involves a complex interplay of their TPE, activity, projected activity, league history, player build, personality, the existing users in the team locker room, and their performances thus far.
Taking all that into account, here are the players I consider to be the top prospects on both sides of the ball.
Offense
Player: Blake McCargue
User: @Alkaiid
Position: Offensive Lineman
TPE: 143 (not taking into account unprocessed updates)
DSFL Team: Tijuana Luchadores
S12 Stats
Games: 14
Pancakes: 25
Sacks Allowed: 0
User Analysis
Having only joined the league in November 2018, it will perhaps be surprising to some that Al beats out more well-known users, such as infamous recreate @
But Al is given bonus points for the same reasons I outline again below: he's playing an undesirable, but crucial, position. While offensive line bots have all but eliminated teams' struggles in pass-protection (depending on their cap situations), the whispers of dissent about the current setup and calls for the OL bots to be capped at a lower tier than is currently available to purchase mean that an active, real-life offensive lineman may once again be in demand.
While it is doubtful that the offensive line will see the sort of love it received in the early seasons after the league's inception, I still believe there will be enough of a renewed interest in the position for Al to be at or near the top of a number of teams' draft boards.
What Al also has going for him is that he's a new user. While some may view this as a negative in some senses, one guaranteed positive is that he does not carry with him any existing allegiances. It is not unwise for general managers to be wary of users who are in their first seasons away from teams where they spent their entire (or the majority of) previous careers. A user who is equally open to playing for any team is appealing as it means a possibility that they don't develop as much of a desire to test free agency or be traded as perhaps some more seasoned users would.
Finally, I love that not only has Al decided to play on the offensive line, he has publicly defended the decision, requesting that people stop trying to convince him to do otherwise. That's another big tick in my book, and I think McCargue will be a driving force behind the establishment of the offensive line once again being a popular user position.
Defense
Player: Johnny Snuggles
User: @manicmav36
Position: Cornerback
TPE: 226 (not taking into account unprocessed updates)
DSFL Team: Kansas City Coyotes (the champions baby!)
S12 Stats
Games: 14
Tackles: 53
TFL: 1
INT: 2
PD: 9
TD: 1
User Analysis
Free from the shackles of being a general manager of his former team, the Baltimore Hawks, Manic can choose to play where he likes now. This would no doubt be a viewed as a very good thing to all 7 remaining sets of general managers, as the user behind the greatest running back in the history of the National Simulation Football League is once again up for grabs.
Perhaps more importantly, amid an inundation of recreates choosing to play offensive skill positions, Manic opted to go with the much-maligned position of cornerback. The issues with the position are greatly documented, perhaps most noteably by @majesiu, who opted to position switch to wide receiver rather than endure more seasons at the thankless position.
With true cornerbacks becoming increasingly rare, Manic is somewhat of a unicorn. A top-tier use with a sure-fire hall-of-fame resume on his previous player, a member of the Head Office, an in-demand player, an already high TPE count, and just a good dude in general. Teams with be chomping at the bit to bring Manic in and to be on the winning end of his seemingly endless, constantly successful career.
Code:
~800 words - paid at x2 for draft media
[div align=center]
Update Page
[div align=center][/align]
[div align=center][SELECT style="background-color:maroon; color:white; font-family:Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 400px; "][br]
[OPTION]Scott Michaels || Colorado Yeti General Manager || #YetiNoises
[OPTION]Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] NSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S9: 3 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 9 - 5
[OPTION] S11: 8 - 6
[OPTION] S12: 6 - 8
[OPTION] S13: 8 - 6
[OPTION] Career: 34 - 26 (.567)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION] S9: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S11: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S12: DNQ
[OPTION] S13: 1 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 4 (.200)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] DSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S8: 10 - 4
[OPTION] S9: 9 - 5
[OPTION] Career: 19 - 9 (.792)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION]S8: 1 - 1
[OPTION]S9 0 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 2 (.333)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Accolades
[OPTION]S11 NSFL GM of the Year
[OPTION]S9 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFC Conference Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]===========================================
Update Page
[div align=center][/align]
[div align=center][SELECT style="background-color:maroon; color:white; font-family:Arial; font-size: 12px; width: 400px; "][br]
[OPTION]Scott Michaels || Colorado Yeti General Manager || #YetiNoises
[OPTION]Birthplace: Scranton, Pennsylvania
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] NSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S9: 3 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 9 - 5
[OPTION] S11: 8 - 6
[OPTION] S12: 6 - 8
[OPTION] S13: 8 - 6
[OPTION] Career: 34 - 26 (.567)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]NSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION] S9: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S10: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S11: 0 - 1
[OPTION] S12: DNQ
[OPTION] S13: 1 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 4 (.200)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION] DSFL Regular Season Record
[OPTION] S8: 10 - 4
[OPTION] S9: 9 - 5
[OPTION] Career: 19 - 9 (.792)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Record
[OPTION]S8: 1 - 1
[OPTION]S9 0 - 1
[OPTION] Career: 1 - 2 (.333)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Accolades
[OPTION]S11 NSFL GM of the Year
[OPTION]S9 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFC Conference Champions
[OPTION]S8 DSFL NFCN Division Champions
[OPTION]===========================================