Code:
2949 words
Please split pay as follows:
@slate - 28% (Blame me for the long-ass intro)
8% each for:
@katarn22
@Swanty
@zaynzk
@.simo
@"Punter715"
@Jo3fish5
@ReverendOReily
@zeagle1
@Hordle
Hello everyone! My eye was recently caught by ISFL Redraft series, where a group of 7 ISFL veterans each took control of 2 teams and redrafted the entire userbase of the ISFL onto their teams. However, as a member of the greatest class in the history of the ISFL (S25 obviously) I was appalled to see that a full 122 picks went by at the start of the draft without drafting a single member of our excellent class. With a bunch of us who have already become cornerstone players for some ISFL teams, league job holders, and even some GMs and co-GMs, I figured that surely there was at least one S25 user/player who would be a top 100 pick for a franchise just starting out.
I shared this finding with some of my friends in the league who were mostly S25, with a few people from other post-S22 classes as well. We figured that this was probably because the draft was focused only on constructing the best roster right now, on the field, with less consideration paid to off-field contributions or to the future development of the team more than one season down the road. We also thought that, despite these drawbacks, the article was really fun and a good idea to make some sweet league money as we head into the offseason. With that said, we decided to make our own ISFL redraft media with blackjack and hookers a more holistic approach to team construction in mind. We were trying to draft basically as expansion teams to the league selecting among the entirety of the league's player pool, focusing not just on winning immediately with high TPE players but also on developing into a strong year-in, year-out contender.
We also changed the format a little from the article we were inspired by (to make it slightly less blatant of a rip-off for a media idea). We had 10 people interested in participating, so rather than figure out how to apportion the 14 ISFL teams to 10 users or find 4 more users who would be interested in participating, we just decided to make it a fake 10 team league. Essentially consider this draft as a mock draft for a scenario where the ISFL folds but everyone keeps their player and moves to start a new league. Once we decided we were making teams from scratch, we decided to also make up our own team names for the occasion. And once we had done that, the wonderful @Mojojojo volunteered to mock up what she considered to be low effort logos for all of us. They were in fact great. Keep your eyes peeled for those logos over in the Graphics subforum over the next few weeks! (There is a 4 logos per week limit sadly) Actually I realized I can just link them here. Click the team names below to see the logos!
The users, teams, and draft order (decided randomly) is as follows:
1. Slate - Santiago Condors
2. Katarn - Seoul Searchers
3. Swanty - Tokyo Tanuki
4. Zayn - Fargo Woodchippers
5. Simo - Western Reds
6. Punter715 (Pat) - Munich Machtapparat
7. Joefish - Pacific Ocean Gulls
8. Rev - Bali Banteng
9. zEagle - Barbary Pirates
10. Hordle - Krakow Knights
We also changed the format somewhat from the previous instance. With the sim change coming up, we were less concerned about strict roster controls as there is more uncertainty around what positions will be needed and how rosters will be constructed. We decided on the following roster minimums:
Offense
1 QB
2 RB
2 WR
1 TE
2 OL
Defense
3 DL
3 LB
3 CB
2 S
Special Teams
1 K/P
In addition, 5 FLEX spots were available which were free to be allocated amongst offense, defense, and even special teams however the drafting team preferred. In total, this meant a 25 round draft (!) for 250 total picks (!!!!).
We are actually still in the middle of the draft as I post the first part of this series, but we are progressing at a quick pace and we wanted to release them in 2500 word chunks anyway for the pay bonus, so we figured we would start putting them out when we finished enough writeups for a nice article! Since I've already written too much intro, let's just dive into Round 1 of Project Redraft!
Round 1, Pick 1 - Santiago Condors
BRANDON BOOKER, Cornerback (S22)
@Memento Mori - 1123 TPE
Slate: The first overall pick in this kind of thing is always a daunting task. How is it even possible to pick the overall best player/user in the ISFL? To start with, I narrowed it down on two dimensions: what draft class(es) was I going to take from, and what position did I want to start my team with? For the first question, I thought that Season 22 was a good balance between high enough TPE to be a star player right out of the gate, and young enough to be able to stay at that peak as the rest of the team matures around them.
As for position, I might be a little biased but I think the secondary, and in particular the CB spot, is critical for a defense to be able to stand up to some of the great offensive talent in the league. With a 30 TPE lead on the 2nd highest S22 CB (and a nearly 80 TPE lead over 3rd), Booker was an easy selection to kick off the draft. In addition to a fantastic player at a key position, I also get a fantastic user to help run the team - he's someone I've looked up to basically since joining this league, and his contributions are clearly recognized having just stepped up to co-GM the Otters. While the Sailfish's FA bid for him last season was ultimately unsuccessful, I am thrilled to have him as the first member of my Condors.
Round 1, Pick 2 - Seoul Searchers
COLBY JACK, Quarterback (S22)
@flyeaglesfly29 - 1159 TPE
Katarn: The Seoul Searchers (credit to Mojojo for this incredible name) decide to take the core of their team with their first selection. Unlike some other teams in this draft, the Searchers are putting all of their eggs in Colby Jack's basket and are looking to win the Ultimus as soon as possible. Colby Jack led the Yellowknife Wraiths this past season to a very respectable 13-3 record, the best in the league. With 1159 TPE, Jack is in his prime and ready to lead Seoul's offense through the air (and on the ground if need be). As a user, flyeaglesfly29 serves as GM of the Wraiths and brings leadership both on and off the field. While there are plenty of other quarterbacks that may have been available later, the Searchers feel that Mr. Jack gives them the best opportunity to win and win often.
Round 1, Pick 3 - Tokyo Tanuki
JUAN DOMINE, Linebacker (S24)
@"Maglubiyet" - 808 TPE
Swanty: I could have gone for one of the highest-TPE players in the league here, but we're taking users into account in this draft as well. Thankfully, Domine is not only a season or two away from being one of the league's best players at a key position, but user Mag makes this pick a no-brainer for me. War room members, like all humans, have strengths and weaknesses, but I've never really seen any weakesses from my former GM Mag. Equally proficient in football strategy, technical understanding of the sim + attributes that we use and the soft skills required to help nurture new talent and motivate his teammates, Mag has already proven why he won the DSFL's Most Dedicated Member award and is a former #1 overall pick. And that's before he became a Ultimini-winning GM! I'm delighted with both the user and the player for this early pick.
Round 1, Pick 4 - Fargo Woodchippers
COLT MENDOZA, Cornerback (S22)
@iStegosauruz - 1040 TPE
Zayn: With my first pick in the draft I picked Colt Mendoza from the user iStegosaurus. This pick make sense for the first pick in this draft for a few reasons. Firstly I wanted to get a solid CB early in the draft, as they are very important to the sim and getting a good one who is an S22, meaning they have 2 seasons before they even start regressing is incredible. This is a pick I penciled myself in for taking from the beginning, while Mori is a cool user, Steg is my favorite S22 CB in the entire league. Steg also fits a few other important needs, he is one of the best sim testers in the league, and while in the new sim, we are moving away from testing, it still important to have someone like Steg who understands how the old sim works very well, and can hopefully transfer some of that knowledge to the new sim. Steg is also in HO showing he is a dedicated user who clearly cares for the league, and was a former DSFL GM. In fact Steg was the GM that first drafted me to the Dallas Birddogs, so he is someone I know I would work well with and would enjoy having him as my first pick. I am proud to have him on my team
Round 1, Pick 5 - Western Reds
JAMAR LACKSON, Running Back (S22)
@BenDover - 1135 TPE
Simo: With the first pick for the ISFL re-draft the Western Reds select ... Jamar Lackson. Righteo, so this pick happened when I didn't actually have a draft plan yet. But I just was like fuck it let's go Jamar. He's an awesome guy, everyone loves him and will be fun around the locker room and I need a running back at some point so may as well fill that hole here. As a season 22 player, like a lot of people, and at his earning rate he'll be a great player for the Western Reds for a long time to come. Not sure what else to really say about this pick. It was very straight forward. Just go get one of the best in the league at his position and we all move on happily except 9 other GMs who are fewmin that they don't get Jamar Lackson on their team. Straight to the pool war room with Jamar.
Round 1, Pick 6 - Munich Machtapparat
ANDREW WITTEN, Cornerback (S22)
@mithrandir - 1091 TPE
Pat: Six picks in and this makes three Cornerbacks off the board. Coming into this draft I knew one thing was certain: I needed a lockdown Corner who could shut down an entire half of the field. Witten is one of the top CBs in the league, and as a Season 22 player he not only has a couple more seasons left to earn, but will have a large enough TPE cushion to survive regression for a while. Mithrandir the user is known by all as not only an Ultimini-winning GM but also as a successful ISFL GM who made the playoffs in his first season at the helm of the Second Line. It's almost poetic that my first General Manager in the ISFL who drafted me as an unheralded DSFL prospect is now my first pick in this league redraft. Hey Mith, let's see how you like being bossed around!
Round 1, Pick 7 - Pacific Ocean Gulls
CUCO CLEMENTE, Safety (S22)
@Billybolo53 - 1114 TPE
Joefish: Well, so far this is the hardest decision for a pick I've had to make.And just ignore that it's the only decision I've had to make so far. Before the draft started and my fellow GMs and I learned the draft order, I really would have liked to get a top cornerback with this pick. But once I saw where I was I knew it was better to steer away from there. Sure enough, by the time my pick rolled around three of the top four in terms of TPE earned, I turned to another position for my first round pick for the POG. To start to narrow my choices, I decided that I was definitely going to get a player on the defensive side of the ball. That was the meta and who am I to go against it? Eventually, I whittled the choices down to either Safety or Linebacker, and after looking at how close together the top of LB class is for season 22, season 23, and season 24, I knew Safety was the decision. That immediately brought the decision down to two players, Cuco Clemente and Prince Vegeta. People might be yelling at me and saying I should've gone with jeffie's player, but Clemente is a season younger, with the added bonus of me having a better relationship with billybolo than jeffie. because of this, the Pacific Ocean Gulls welcome their first pick ever, Cuco Clemente to the locker room!
Round 1, Pick 8 - Bali Banteng
MAGNUS RIKIYA, Defensive Tackle (S22)
@Tesla - 1115 TPE
Rev: With our very first pick of maybe the most in depth redraft the ISFL has ever seen, the Bali Banteng select (drumroll please) Magnus Rikiya, season 22 defensive lineman from the New Orleans Second Line. Let's not beat around the bush here - I think most users in the league would agree that defensive line is probably not the most important position in this sim, so why in the world would I draft a defensive lineman at 8 overall? Two reasons: number one, defensive line is more important than you, the hypothetical reader, think. It's important to have a strong defensive foundation, and I can't think of a better one than Magnus Rikiya. At the time of writing this, Magnus is the 25th highest TPE player in the league and the 5th highest TPE defensive tackle. Magnus is a nose tackle who is sure to strike fear in the hearts of opposing offensive linemen every time they line up. I think it's probably fair to question this pick from a simming perspective, but in this strange hypothetical scenario where I'm poaching players to start my own team from scratch, I can think of few users I'd rather start off with than Tesla. A strong foundation is key to this whole team building thing, both in the sim and in the locker room, and if Tesla is the foundation upon which I'm building my team's culture, I think I'm going to have a pretty excellent locker room. Anyone who has interacted with Tesla before knows that the previous statement is indisputable; they have somehow managed to be one of the league's most dedicated members while also being probably the single nicest person in the league, and I'm quite happy with how the Bali Banteng have started off in the draft.
Round 1, Pick 9 - Barbary Pirates
PRINCE VEGETA, Safety (S21)
@jeffie43 - 1333 TPE
Zeagle: Honestly, I’ve never had any interactions with Jeffie. Hopefully he likes me more than the rest of the OCO war room. However, at the tail end of the first round, I knew I had to secure not only one of the best players in the draft, but also one of the best users in it as well. When my pick came up there was not a second of hesitation from me, as this was the obvious decision to make. Sitting at nearly 1400 TPE with a couple of seasons until regression, Prince Vegeta will serve as the anchor to my secondary for the foreseeable future. Safety is one of the most important positions in the sim and Prince Vegeta has a sizable gap over any other Safety. Although I’ve never interacted with him, I have heard nothing but positive things about Jeffie from my friends on OCO who are teammates with him. His work ethic, leadership experience, and sim knowledge will be invaluable to the Barbary Pirates. I will be leaning on his experience heavily. Plus, I will be hoping he can bring a little bit of that Orange County sim magic over- everyone needs a sim blessing or two every season to make a deep playoff run, and I know that with Jeffie, that is very likely to happen. I am excited to welcome Jeffie to my locker room and Prince Vegeta to my team! I hope this will be a long and fruitful partnership that results in a few championships!
Round 1, Pick 10 - Krakow Knights
DOUGLAS QUAID, Linebacker (S21)
@HENDRIX 2.0 - 1289 TPE
Hordle: I had a specific idea that I wanted to try with my team. I am a huge fan of defensively strong teams. So my general thought process was to get players with high tpe in defensive spots. Unlike some of our other GM’s. I haven’t had much interaction with a lot of people outside my locker rooms. So I am going off of position need and TPE strength. Unlike some teams, I was more interested in the win now philosophy. So with that and my defensive front running mindset, I set out to build my team. With my first pick I selected Douglas Quaid. Linebacker of the Wraiths. He fit with the idea I was working with. Speed rushing LB’s are great and he’s one of the highest TPE LB’s out there right now. Hopefully Quaid can help lead the attack. Quaid will also be getting some help from my next pick. (Thanks snake draft) Who happens to be in the same class as he is. Hopefully the two will work out as a knockout pair.
Let us know who's doing the best so far and whose team sux lmap. Keep your eyes peeled soon for future rounds!