Going into the S25 ISFL Entry Draft, the Orange County Otters knew they would be able to add some big pieces to bolster their present and future after their semifinals elimination to San Jose, but things went better than they ever could have imagined based on how pre-draft predictions looked. Let's dive into the picks they made this draft and discuss the prospects they added.
11th Overall: Goat Tank (DT)
This was a shocking fall in the draft that the Otters ended up being very grateful beneficiaries from. With Tank slated to be an easily top end of the first round pick, Otters GM Easton Morshiken told media at the time of the pick that he was trying to trade up to any pick between 1st and 7th overall to land him. When the 11th pick finally came around, Orange County management could not believe their luck that the defensive tackle was still on the board. Several scouts have said regarding Tank that he is a very intelligent player who possesses easily ISFL level game sense and technique. Playing as a key player for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers last season, Tank was tied for 5th in the league in sacks and on one occasion even forced a safety. Furthermore, his 59 tackles were first among all defensive tackles across the league last season, and along with that he also managed a couple of tackles for losses. To top it off, he forced three fumbles and recovered all of them. Likely to be immediately joining the Otters' stacked squad, he joins a great defensive line including stars like Rapid Eagle and Carl Wheezer, a line that will now be possibly one of the biggest threats to QBs league wide for a while to come.
20th Overall: Richard Leaking (LB)
Orange County went for another defensive player with their mid second round pick, as this time they went for Dallas Birddogs linebacker Richard Leaking. Leaking was a very effective linebacker for Dallas, getting 102 tackles, 10th in the DSFL. He was also tied for third in the league and second among LBs in sacks, managing to take out opposing QBs an impressive nine times over the season. He also has ten passes deflected, which was good for second among all linebackers in the league and 7th overall among defensive players. The Otters get a very good value pick here in Leaking, who could be a long term replacement for soon to be regressing linebacker Inspectah Deck.
39th Overall: Owen Holloway (WR)
The first offensive player Otters took in this draft, wide receiver Holloway was a quite surprising slip to this pick. He started off his juniors season as a quarterback for Myrtle Beach before switching over to being the one catching the passes instead. In his limited games as a wide receiver last season, Holloway had 16 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown. Despite being considered a pretty clearly top level prospect in the class, there were many question marks surrounding Holloway due to demanding that whoever drafts him has to call him up right away. Orange County has no issues with the instant call-up, as Holloway can break into some consistent game time under the wing of star receiver Future Trunks and possible rookie of the year candidate Garfield Despacito Jr. It will be interesting to monitor how the receiver many teams let slip due to his perceived 'diva' status will perform.
40th Overall: Bronko Mills (RB)
With the second of their back to back picks in the third round, Orange County took another offensive player in Tijuana starting running back Bronko Mills. Going into the draft, it was known that Mills is a good friend of Owen Holloway's, so the Otters will be very happy to have picked the pair of them with back to back picks. Mills was very impressive in his rookie DSFL season for the Luchadores, scoring 1214 yards out of 239 rushing attempts, along with four touchdowns. Along with his rushing yards that were good for third highest in the entire league, his 103 receiving yards were also good for third in his position. It's unclear where Mills' future in the team lies at this moment in time due to Tatsu Nakamura being a great young talent for Orange County at running back, but in the short term he could potentially play another season in Tijuana and then come up to replace Keynel McZeal as Nakamura's backup.
95th Overall: Bulldog Willard (RB)
More of a shot in the dark pick for the Otters most likely, Willard was a late addition to the Dallas Birddogs roster last season, and despite only making one catch for 7 yards all season, the Otters saw enough potential in the young wide receiver to take a late swing on him and hope they got a late steal. With the future out wide looking pretty set for the Otters for a while though, we will have to see where Willard would fit long term.
109th Overall (technically): Tyrone Biggums (CB)
Orange County initially took running back King Tutankhamun with their 109th overall pick, but he was later flipped to Baltimore in a deal that sent corner back Tyrone Biggums, picked 102nd overall, to the Otters. Biggums wasn't too involved with the Kansas City Coyotes this season, making 10 tackles in 7 games, and is considered a long shot prospect. Funnily enough though, he shares a name with star Orange County safety...Tyrone Biggums.
This offseason for Orange County was incredibly productive for them, as they not only pulled off an unexpectedly incredible S25 Draft haul in picking up 4 high end prospects, but they also managed to avoid being hit too hard by expansion, trading back for career Otter Lord Beerus after he was selected by New York. The big four prospects that they landed in Goat Tank, Richard Leaking, Owen Holloway and Bronko Mills are all projected to be high ceiling prospects, and as one of the consistently best managed teams in the league, Orange County have showed their consistent Ultimus competitor status is not going away anytime soon.
11th Overall: Goat Tank (DT)
This was a shocking fall in the draft that the Otters ended up being very grateful beneficiaries from. With Tank slated to be an easily top end of the first round pick, Otters GM Easton Morshiken told media at the time of the pick that he was trying to trade up to any pick between 1st and 7th overall to land him. When the 11th pick finally came around, Orange County management could not believe their luck that the defensive tackle was still on the board. Several scouts have said regarding Tank that he is a very intelligent player who possesses easily ISFL level game sense and technique. Playing as a key player for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers last season, Tank was tied for 5th in the league in sacks and on one occasion even forced a safety. Furthermore, his 59 tackles were first among all defensive tackles across the league last season, and along with that he also managed a couple of tackles for losses. To top it off, he forced three fumbles and recovered all of them. Likely to be immediately joining the Otters' stacked squad, he joins a great defensive line including stars like Rapid Eagle and Carl Wheezer, a line that will now be possibly one of the biggest threats to QBs league wide for a while to come.
20th Overall: Richard Leaking (LB)
Orange County went for another defensive player with their mid second round pick, as this time they went for Dallas Birddogs linebacker Richard Leaking. Leaking was a very effective linebacker for Dallas, getting 102 tackles, 10th in the DSFL. He was also tied for third in the league and second among LBs in sacks, managing to take out opposing QBs an impressive nine times over the season. He also has ten passes deflected, which was good for second among all linebackers in the league and 7th overall among defensive players. The Otters get a very good value pick here in Leaking, who could be a long term replacement for soon to be regressing linebacker Inspectah Deck.
39th Overall: Owen Holloway (WR)
The first offensive player Otters took in this draft, wide receiver Holloway was a quite surprising slip to this pick. He started off his juniors season as a quarterback for Myrtle Beach before switching over to being the one catching the passes instead. In his limited games as a wide receiver last season, Holloway had 16 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown. Despite being considered a pretty clearly top level prospect in the class, there were many question marks surrounding Holloway due to demanding that whoever drafts him has to call him up right away. Orange County has no issues with the instant call-up, as Holloway can break into some consistent game time under the wing of star receiver Future Trunks and possible rookie of the year candidate Garfield Despacito Jr. It will be interesting to monitor how the receiver many teams let slip due to his perceived 'diva' status will perform.
40th Overall: Bronko Mills (RB)
With the second of their back to back picks in the third round, Orange County took another offensive player in Tijuana starting running back Bronko Mills. Going into the draft, it was known that Mills is a good friend of Owen Holloway's, so the Otters will be very happy to have picked the pair of them with back to back picks. Mills was very impressive in his rookie DSFL season for the Luchadores, scoring 1214 yards out of 239 rushing attempts, along with four touchdowns. Along with his rushing yards that were good for third highest in the entire league, his 103 receiving yards were also good for third in his position. It's unclear where Mills' future in the team lies at this moment in time due to Tatsu Nakamura being a great young talent for Orange County at running back, but in the short term he could potentially play another season in Tijuana and then come up to replace Keynel McZeal as Nakamura's backup.
95th Overall: Bulldog Willard (RB)
More of a shot in the dark pick for the Otters most likely, Willard was a late addition to the Dallas Birddogs roster last season, and despite only making one catch for 7 yards all season, the Otters saw enough potential in the young wide receiver to take a late swing on him and hope they got a late steal. With the future out wide looking pretty set for the Otters for a while though, we will have to see where Willard would fit long term.
109th Overall (technically): Tyrone Biggums (CB)
Orange County initially took running back King Tutankhamun with their 109th overall pick, but he was later flipped to Baltimore in a deal that sent corner back Tyrone Biggums, picked 102nd overall, to the Otters. Biggums wasn't too involved with the Kansas City Coyotes this season, making 10 tackles in 7 games, and is considered a long shot prospect. Funnily enough though, he shares a name with star Orange County safety...Tyrone Biggums.
This offseason for Orange County was incredibly productive for them, as they not only pulled off an unexpectedly incredible S25 Draft haul in picking up 4 high end prospects, but they also managed to avoid being hit too hard by expansion, trading back for career Otter Lord Beerus after he was selected by New York. The big four prospects that they landed in Goat Tank, Richard Leaking, Owen Holloway and Bronko Mills are all projected to be high ceiling prospects, and as one of the consistently best managed teams in the league, Orange County have showed their consistent Ultimus competitor status is not going away anytime soon.
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