When I first got started with the ISFL, one of my first pieces of media was going over my current draft, the Season 25 draft. So far this is the 2nd largest in league history, and with everyone from S22 going through their second hit of regression right now, most if not all the teams in contention for the future are using great Season 25 players at multiple spots. This also happened to be the first draft for the Berlin Fire Salamanders and the New York Silverbacks, who have both been extremely successful in the seasons afterwards.
Coming up on a year since the DSFL draft, and 5 seasons since the ISFL draft, I thought it was a perfect time to do a retrospective. Who hit? Who missed? Who were the biggest busts, and who were the biggest steals? Let's see.
Round 1, Pick 1: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Swantavious Jones, CB, London Royals. User: Swanty
TPE at time of draft: 224
TPE at time of writing: 1133, 14th in the class, 8th among CBs
Stats in S29: 40 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 29, 28 spot improvement
Swantavious Jones, also commonly referred to by his username, was a common pick for number 1 in the draft by projections. I believe it had something to do with sim testing, but the details are lost to me. As is, he's only 8th among CBs because over half of the top 20 from S25 is made up of Cornerbacks. He also is a member of the Head Office. There's no way this can be considered a bust, even if his TPE isn't the tip top of the class.
Round 1, Pick 2: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Dan Foster, CB, Portland Pythons. User: Arkz
TPE at time of draft: 236
TPE at time of writing: 1142, 12th in the class, 7th among CBs
Stats in S29: 28 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 4 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 9, 7 spot improvement
I love Arkz a ton, and he was a ton of fun in the Portland Pythons locker room when we were still on the team. I believe he also got drafted highly due to sim work, and while he hasn't always performed well in the regular season, he has performed extremely well in the playoffs; I believe he is currently tied for most Pick Sixes by a single player in the playoffs, and got 2 of them in an Ultimus that Yellowknife won. He has still been extremely pleasant to be around when I've talked with him, has still continued to earn, and thus I cannot call this anything but a hit.
Round 1, Pick 3: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Tex Wrecks, DE, Tijuana Luchadores. User: 209Tacos
TPE at time of draft: 275
TPE at time of writing: 1063, 28th in the class, 3rd among DEs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 3 Sacks, 2 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 28, 25 spot improvement
From my memory, at the time of the draft Wrecks had more TPE than anyone else. That did not last all that long, and at this point he's been passed up by a decent chunk of the class. He's over 1000 with 2 full seasons of TPE to gain before regression, so I can't call this a miss, but at the same time if I remember correctly a good chunk of his draft position came from the fact that he had the most TPE and right now he's out of that spot by over 100. I'd give this 4 stars instead of the 5 the other two got.
Round 1, Pick 4: The San Jose Sabercats select...Raylan Crowder, DE, Dallas Birddogs. User: AskedMadden
TPE at time of draft: 239
TPE at time of writing: 1170, T-3rd in the class, 2nd among DEs
Stats in S29: 6TFLs, 7 Sacks, 3 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 6, 2 spot improvement
The Sabercats, fresh off of an Ultimus, got to pick 4th, and got a gem. Crowder was one of a friend group of 4 called the 4 horsemen heading into the draft, and while another one of that bunch has also had quite the successful career in the league, there's no question who the highest TPE member of that group is. Funnily enough, the 4th pick is technically in 4th position in the S25 TPE rankings.
Round 1, Pick 5: The Colorado Yeti select...Albert Ruschmann, DE (has since position swapped to CB), London Royals. User: Katarn22
TPE at time of draft: 232
TPE at time of writing: 1146, T-10th in the class, T-5th among CBs
Stats in S29: 36 Pass Deflections, 3 INTs, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 5, same spot
I somewhat miss Ruschmann being at his old position, as that was maybe the only pass rusher pun that was any good in a sea of really dumb, really blatant ones. That being said, he appears to have adapted to his new position quite well and could be nominated for CBotY. As for performance, I don't think anything over 1100 could really be a bad pickup as a first rounder. I do hope he gets his shiny Roggenrola on the PokeBot some day...speaking of bots on the Royals discord server, he's also been a really effective GM for London at the same time as he has played for the Yeti.
Round 1, Pick 6: The Baltimore Hawks select...Felix Archstone, OL, Kansas City Coyotes. User: GlimsTC
TPE at time of draft: 231
TPE at time of writing: 901, 40th in the class, 3rd among OLs
Stats in S29: 84 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 15, 9 spot improvement
Current team: Austin Copperheads
I love Glims, when he's around he's really fun to talk with in the game chat. That being said, he hasn't always been able to be active. This has led to him having the lowest TPE by far, at least so far in this draft retrospective. He along with one other S25 player that we'll cover later was able to get a 1st round pick back from Austin when Baltimore traded them a couple seasons ago. Without that, I might rate this closer to 3/5 stars, even with Glims being the GM for the Coyotes for a time, but Archstone was earning really well and managed to get high picks back on the trade market. That brings him right up to 5 stars.
Round 1, Pick 7: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Guy Fields, LB, Dallas Birddogs. User: r0tzbua
TPE at time of draft: 235
TPE at time of writing: 1149, 9th in the class, 2nd among LBs
Stats in S29: 114 Tackles, 5 TFLs, 11 Sacks, 4 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 14, 7 spot improvement
Fields has been a consistent high earner and has been all around the forum since his inception. A large portion of his drafting came from his large bank account if I remember correctly, and he's more than backed that up. At this point I believe he is a war room member in Honolulu, and he's been quite a pick for the Hahalua. Granted, maybe not their best pick, but that's only due to GM draft rules; Fields was more than worthy of a 1st round pick.
Round 1, Pick 8: The Arizona Outlaws select...Tayshawn Crunk, S (has since swapped to CB), London Royals. User: Crunk
TPE at time of draft: 235
TPE at time of writing: 1170, T-3rd in the class, 2nd among CBs
Stats in S29: 22 Pass Deflections, 4 INTs, 2 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 13, 5 spot improvement
I can speak a bit more in depth about Crunk, who has since become one of Arizona's GMs. He has been a stalwart part of the locker room, has helped craft one of the strongest teams in the league, and has managed to do that while also being one of the highest earners in the entire draft. While that hasn't always gone into effect on the field, I wouldn't change either of my GMs if I had the opportunity. This might end up being the best pick of the entire first round.
Round 1, Pick 9: The Chicago Butchers select...James Gath, CB (has since swapped to OL), Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Beefstu409
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 388, 65th in the class, 10th among OLs
Stats in S29: 49 pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 2, 7 spot fall
Honestly, the numbers speak for themselves here. 160 TPE since the draft. Went inactive for a long time until asked to come back and position switch to a position where 388 TPE isn't a total waste. James Gath managed to be the biggest bust in both the DSFL and ISFL draft, and it's not particularly close; everyone in the first round of either draft has double Gath's TPE, if not triple in a couple cases. This was the first big hole in the class, and it's a massive one: there's only 7 Season 25 players who haven't retired with less TPE.
Round 1, Pick 10: The New Orleans Second Line select...Medicinal Toblerone, OL (has since swapped to DE), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: JuOsu
TPE at time of draft: 254
TPE at time of writing: 1174, 2nd in the class, 1st among DEs
Stats in S29: 3 TFLs, 6 Sacks, 1 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 75, 65 spot improvement
From my hazy memory, this was the most obvious pick of the entire 1st round. JuOsu loves the Second Line and wanted to go back there; they also were more than worthy of a first round spot. My guess of why they got picked so late in the DSFL draft was due to the fact that everyone knew they were heading up to New Orleans as soon as possible, although I can't be sure of that. New Orleans got a gem here near the end of the first round of the draft, even if the stats don't look like it this season.
Round 1, Pick 11: The Orange County Otters select...Goat Tank, DT (has since swapped to RB), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Eldorian
TPE at time of draft: 269
TPE at time of writing: 1168, 5th in the class, 1st among RBs
Stats in S29: 1234 rushing yards, 4.4 ypc, 13 total TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 3, 8 spot fall
I seem to remember most people had Goat Tank, one of the biggest memes of the entire of the entire class due to his twitter account, going much higher than this. Eldorian is a very well known user, and already had connections to Orange County I believe? One thing's for sure, he more than made up for the investment, being a very prolific Defensive Tackle until position swapping, leading the S25 TPE charts for a long time until recently, and even now still being in the top 5, and 1st at his position no matter which one you count him as. Most of this first round has been filled with clear hits, and Goat Tank is no different
Round 1, Pick 12: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Peter Patterson, CB, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Slate
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1160, 8th in the class, 4th among CBs
Stats in S29: 12 Pass Deflections, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 7, 5 spot fall
As much as those S29 stats seem laughable, Slate as a pick has been a massive home run. He not only has been one of the GMs of the Royals for quite some time, he's been earning extremely well the entire time, has taken his draft position, and flat out run with it. It is kind of funny to see his draft card show up and for him to have better stats on that in the DSFL than he did last season as a premier Cornerback, but that's how the sim works sometimes.
Round 1, Pick 13: The New York Silverbacks select...Hank Winchester, LB, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Timeconsumer
TPE at time of draft: 248
TPE at time of writing: 987, 35th in the class, 6th and worst among LBs
Stats in S29: 5 TFLs, 7 Sacks, 4 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 19, 6 spot improvement
It's weird to see this user going this low in the first round, with that many awards next to their comments, and think that this is kind of a miss. Sure, not a Beefstu level of miss, but Timeconsumer took a step back from the league recently, hasn't updated for a couple months now, and still hasn't reached 1000 TPE. He's not a bad player, not even close, but for a first rounder, especially one in this deep of a draft class, I think you'd want someone a bit better. Although, if Timeconsumer brings a veteran locker room presence that might be worth the comparatively low TPE compared to most of the rest of this first round.
Round 1, Pick 14: The San Jose Sabercats select...Rich Triplet, CB, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Kotasa
TPE at time of draft: 236
TPE at time of writing: 1181, 1st in the class, 1st among CBs
Stats in S29: 28 Pass Deflections, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 12, 2 spot fall
Current Team: Arizona Outlaws
Speaking of weird not as big of a hit as it should have been picks at the end of the 1st, it feels extremely weird to say that the San Jose Sabercats were probably looking for more than the highest TPE player in the entire draft class. Kotasa and Triplet have been near the top of the S25 TPE charts for a long time, and have led that chart for pretty much a full season at this point. Kotasa is a GM for the Tijuana Luchadores, there doesn't seem to be any user problems. And yet, when you learn that Triplet left in Free Agency to go to the Arizona Outlaws, it's impossible to say that the Sabercats shouldn't have gotten more. Much worse players than Triplet got high returns; hell, we're going to find a couple of those on the way down the list. To get nothing for Triplet has got to be a disappointment for San Jose.
Round 2, Pick 15: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Djibutee McJimmerson (Now Suleiman Kazi), TE (has since swapped to CB), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: UberBJ
TPE at time of draft: 233
TPE at time of writing: 1072, 26th in the class, 12th among CBs
Stats in S29: 12 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 51, 36 spot improvement
The now renamed Kazi was, if I remember correctly, sometimes picked to go near the end of the first round. This pick wasn't a big surprise. How did the pick itself fare? Well, it's a perfectly respectable pick. Not exactly a standout, but nearing 1100 TPE at the close of this season is pretty good. I do seem to remember disliking UberBJ's fantasy teams whenever I take a look at them, but if they get him TPE who am I to judge?
Round 2, Pick 16: The Arizona Outlaws select...Chuck Roth, OL (has since swapped to DT), Portland Pythons. User: Zeagle1
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1127, 15th in the class, 1st among DTs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 7 Sacks
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 41, 25 spot improvement
Zeagle, who has since become the GM of the Portland Pythons, has been quite a pleasure to be around in both the Portland and Arizona locker rooms. That being said, his pessimism both gets on my nerves and can be contagious. As far as a pick goes, Roth has been a consistent high earner and has done some testing work alongside that. This is definitely a hit, and not the last one for the Outlaws.
Round 2, Pick 17: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Killian Chambers, WR, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Charlit
TPE at time of draft: 232
TPE at time of writing: 989, 34th in the class, 4th among WRs
Stats in S29: 1269 yards, 7 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 18, 1 spot improvement
Chambers falls into a similar category to Winchester for me, minus the massive pedigree of Timeconsumer, which makes sense considering he's only one spot better than him in terms of TPE. Even if you restrict it to just people who already were wide receivers going into the draft, there still is one wide receiver with a decent chunk of TPE more than Chambers. This isn't a miss, but I can't exactly call it a hit either. I'd give it 3.5 stars.
Round 2, Pick 18: The Baltimore Hawks select...Tony Yeboah (Now Annie May), S, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Frazzle14
TPE at time of draft: 207
TPE at time of writing: 1068, 27th in the class, 2nd among S
Stats in S29: 6 Pass Deflections, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 39, 21 spot improvement
Current Team: Austin Copperheads
Frazzle was the other player along with Glims who got traded for a haul to Austin. Unlike Glims, Frazzle has continued to earn decently well while on Austin, cresting over 1050 TPE as this season comes to a close. While safeties in the new sim appear to not be all that important unless your name is Zayn, Yeboah/May is definitely the other top safety earner of the class. Definitely a decent pick up at this spot.
Round 2, Pick 19: The New Orleans Second Line select...Adam Mellott, OL, Tijuana Luchadores. User: GuitarMaster115
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1082, T-23rd in the class, 1st among OLs
Stats in S29: 100 Pancakes, 0 Sacks allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 62, 43 spot improvement
Yeah, this is a clear hit. Mellott is the highest earning OL of the class, by quite a decent margin too. He's nearing 1100 TPE, and while that might have not been a clear hit a round ago, now that definitely is. I remember Mellott, Archstone, Roth, and another player to be named later were the big OLine prospects of the class, and besides Roth, who switched, Mellott is definitely the highlight of that class.
Round 2, Pick 20: The Orange County Otters select...Richard Leaking, LB (has since swapped to CB), Dallas Birddogs. User: ReverendOReily
TPE at time of draft: 224
TPE at time of writing: 1085, T-21st in the class, T-10th among CBs
Stats in S29: 10 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 46, 26 spot improvement
The Otters get another hit with one of the many top CBs of the S25 class. Leaking specifically has always been a reasonable person when I've interacted with him, and as a player is right on track to hit a high level of TPE once he's finished up with his career. Quite a reasonable pickup here. Those aren't the best pass deflection numbers, but he does have 3 turnovers and a touchdown to go along with it, so I can't hate too much.
Round 2, Pick 21: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Davriel Lavigne, S (has since swapped to CB), Portland Pythons. User: Raven
TPE at time of draft: 245
TPE at time of writing: 1146, T-10th in the class, T-5th among CBs
Stats in S29: 26 Pass Deflections, 1 INT, 2 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 1, 20 spot fall
The fall between the DSFL draft and ISFL draft was entirely due to being one of a few GM picks. Lavigne was immediately slated for the first pick the Hahalua had in the 2nd round or later, and while I can't speak to their performance as a GM, as a player they managed to get a steal contractually obligated to fall to them. Top 10 in the draft with over 1100 TPE, picking halfway through the 2nd, that's quite a nice pickup. I haven't managed to interact with Raven all that often, but I remember them being nice to talk to in the Pythons locker room close to a year ago.
Round 2, Pick 22: The Arizona Outlaws select...Vance Slattery (Now Doy Fieri), DT (has since swapped to CB), Tijuana Luchadores. User: Punter715
TPE at time of draft: 225
TPE at time of writing: 1096, 18th in the class, 9th among CBs
Stats in S29: 23 Pass Deflections, 1 INT, 3 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 44, 22 spot improvement
Current Team: Philadelphia Liberty
Owner of what is, in my opinion, the most disturbing signature in the entire league, Punter is a pleasure to be around so long as I can keep Lip Chap's face off of my screen. He very quickly became the GM of the Philadelphia Liberty, and thus was traded along with another player that will come up later to the Liberty for a good player in return. While I feel that the Liberty got the better end of the trade, I don't think that changes the fact that this is still a hit of a pick, and I'm excited to see how the Liberty turn out in a couple seasons time when all their players hit their peak.
Round 2, Pick 23: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Rusty Rucker, LB, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Lancedjack
TPE at time of draft: 224
TPE at time of writing: 1090, 20th in the class, 4th among LBs
Stats in S29: 18 Pass Deflections, 2 TFLs, 12 Sacks, 2 INTs, 3 FF/3 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 8, 15 spot fall
Current Team: Colorado Yeti
I remember LancedJack really helping me out with my player's wiki page back when I was first starting out. Hard to believe he actually was a new create at the time. As one of the 4 Horsemen, he might have been the most well known heading into the draft. That being said, while he has since been passed up by Crowder, as a player he's still great. I'd still call this a miss of a pick, however, as Rucker left the Hahalua in free agency and as such a player on his way to over 1000 TPE left them for nothing.
Round 2, Pick 24: The New York Silverbacks select...Dukburg Quakstak, CB, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Bwestfield
TPE at time of draft: 255
TPE at time of writing: 1162, 7th in the class, 3rd among CBs
Stats in S29: 23 Pass Deflections, 4 INTs, 4 FF/3 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 16, 8 spot fall
From what I remember, Bwestfield was one of the original GMs of the New York Silverbacks, and as such this was one of I believe 4 forced GM picks that took place during the S25 draft. I'd say that Quakstak was the most successful of those, although he doesn't beat out Raven by that much. An easy top 10 in the class, and a GM that helped to craft a team that has been a perennial playoff contender since its second season in the league. He's also been not half bad as a player this last season.
Round 2, Pick 25: The Austin Copperheads select...Jackie Daytona, QB, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Mooty99
TPE at time of draft: 210
TPE at time of writing: 1112, 17th in the class, only QB of the class
Stats in S29: 4333 yards, 26 TDs, 12 INTs, 90.7 Passer Rating
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 27, 2 spot improvement
I believe Mooty was also a GM pick at the time? Either that or he became GM very shortly afterwards, I can't remember which. That being said, this simultaneous QB of the future for Austin and GM has worked out as a more than respectable earner for both the position of QB and the position of GM pick. I find it kind of interesting that there's only 1 QB who survived past the DSFL in the S25 class, when there's 4 QBs who managed the same feat in the decently smaller S24 class, but that's the way positions line up.
Round 2, Pick 26: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Clay Stallworth, OL, Kansas City Coyotes. User: GravTX
TPE at time of draft: 218
TPE at time of writing: 333, 68th in the class, 11th and worst among OLs
Stats in S29: The bot couldn't find stats
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 55, 29 spot improvement
Throughout the second round, we haven't had a bust up until this point. We've had picks that could have been taken more advantage of, we've had trades that could have gotten more, but we haven't had a bust. Until now. Stallworth gained 115 TPE between his draft and him going IA back on Halloween of last year. It looks like he didn't even record a pancake this season. Considering what his pedigree was heading into the draft, he flopped quite hard.
Round 2, Pick 27: The Colorado Yeti select...Dave Batista, TE, Portland Pythons. User: Frick_Nasty
TPE at time of draft: 253
TPE at time of writing: 664, would be 56th in the class, 2nd among TEs
Stats in S29: Retired
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 25, 2 spot fall
The 4th and final GM pick of the S25 draft, Frick's player leaves me conflicted a bit on how to rank him. On one hand, Batista was a pretty good earner throughout his career. On the other hand, his career was cut basically in half, as he, in a comparatively short amount of time, left his GM position at Colorado, got traded to Philadelphia for a 5th in a non reddit draft, which is basically worthless, and retired like 3 seasons ago. Frick's still around, already GMing again, this time with Baltimore, but as is I have to say that I feel Batista was basically a bust.
Round 2, Pick 28: The San Jose Sabercats select...Xmus Flaxon Jaxon Waxon, S (has since swapped to DE), Norfolk Seawolves. User: Connorm123
TPE at time of draft: 214
TPE at time of writing: 1050, 29th in the class, 4th among DEs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 5 Sacks, 1 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 40, 12 pick improvement
Current Team: Colorado Yeti
This is the 2nd well earning Sabercats pick that would be decent on its face, if not for them losing the player for nothing in free agency. I haven't interacted with Connor basically at all, but it is interesting if nothing else to see a Key and Peele player with over 1000 TPE, from my meagre experience that doesn't happen often. As is, he's right in line with his draft position so as a player I feel he's doing alright.
Round 3, Pick 29: The Colorado Yeti select...Nationalsimulation Footballleague, S (has since swapped to CB), Tijuana Luchadores. User: SDCore
TPE at time of draft: 218
TPE at time of writing: 1027, 32nd in the class, 13th among CBs
Stats in S29: 26 Pass Deflections, 3 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 4, 25 pick fall
SDCore has been a member of the Head office, as a matter of fact I believe he currently is, and as such, user wise is a steal at this point. Unless you hate HO in which case you shout REACH. As far as a name goes, SDCore having this little TPE comparatively is a bit of a shock, but considering the Yeti got him right at the start of the 3rd round, they're probably not complaining. Especially considering they picked up a couple other S25 guys in free agency.
Round 3, Pick 30: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Jameson Vermillion, RB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Vainknight13
TPE at time of draft: 231
TPE at time of writing: 598, 57th in the class, 5th among RBs
Stats in S29: 1188 Receiving Yards, 9 Total TDs, 3.6 YPC
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 10, 20 pick fall
Current Team: San Jose Sabercats
Vermillion looked to be near or at the top of the S25 TPE board through about a season and a half. Then he suddenly went inactive, and hasn't been updated since the sim swap. Yellowknife finally traded him for a one year rental of Cardrissian going into last season's playoffs, which is a bit of a return, but there's a number of better running backs that the Wraiths could have picked up here instead. He at least has produced a lot as a receiving back the past couple of seasons.
Round 3, Pick 31: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Jimi DeSoto, LB, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Jimi64
TPE at time of draft: 227
TPE at time of writing: 1082, T-23rd in the class, 5th among LBs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 24, 7 pick fall
While I don't see Jimi around too often, he's the highest performing pick in quite a while in this section of the draft, at least in terms of TPE. DeSoto's part of the strong post S25 core that the Liberty have, and it will be interesting to see how they shape up in the very near future. This is an obvious hit getting into the 3rd round.
Round 3, Pick 32: The Chicago Butchers select...Damian Blackfyre, S, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Thundertitan82
TPE at time of draft: 192
TPE at time of writing: 850, 43rd in the class, 4th among S
Stats in S29: 13 Pass Deflections, 3 Sacks, 1 INT, 4 FF/3 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Undrafted, Waiver pickup
While I see that ThunderTitan is getting more back into the league right about now, I still feel like this is a bit of a missed pick. While 31 players are off the board, there are a large number of better players still left there right now, including multiple Safeties, and I believe Titan did go inactive for about a month there. This leads to him still being below 1000 TPE at the end of the season, and by a significant chunk too. Not a Stallworth or Gath level bust, but still a 2/5 pick in its own right.
Round 3, Pick 33: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Donald McBobby, LB (has since swapped to OL), Portland Pythons. User: BJBren17
TPE at time of draft: 248
TPE at time of writing: 457, T-62nd in the class, 10th among OLs
Stats in S29: 63 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 47, 14 pick improvement
Current Team: Arizona Outlaws
And we're back to a 1/5 pick. McBobby was a powerhouse, both in the locker room and on the field, when the S25 class first entered the DSFL. That being said, soon afterwards, he went inactive, apparently not playing a snap for the Yellowknife Wraiths even as he got onto the championship banner. Arizona was able to snap him up and change him to an OL, so as a pick he didn't even do anything for the Wraiths. Hard to say whether this or Vermillion was a bigger bust, Vermillion did something but came about a third of the round sooner, and was the first RB off the board. Either way, this is a round of the draft that Yellowknife would rather forget.
Round 3, Pick 34: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Honky Tonk Haywood, DT, Portland Pythons. User: Jzajeenius36
TPE at time of draft: 227
TPE at time of writing: 1024, 33rd in the class, 2nd among DTs
Stats in S29: 11 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 2 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 57, 23 pick improvement
This was quite a get for the Liberty nearing the halfway point of the 3rd round. I see him around from time to time, usually on Ultimus Week assignments. While Haywood is the last member of the over 1000 club for S25, he is over 1000 and as such it's hard to complain about this pick. Although I do see him complain about his performance on the field almost as much as I do!
Round 3, Pick 35: The Chicago Butchers select...Wasrabi Gleel, LB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Crodyman
TPE at time of draft: 206
TPE at time of writing: 1048, 30th in the class, 5th among LBs
Stats in S29: 3 Pass Deflections, 4 TFLs, 7 Sacks, 2 INTs, 1 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 58, 23 pick improvement
While Haywood and Gleel are pretty similar picks in terms of numbers, I find that Gleel is a slightly more impressive pick. He came into the draft just over 200 TPE, and has since managed to get into the top 30 of a very large class. While Gleel and Haywood are both hits, I'd give Gleel and extra half a star. I don't know Crodyman that well, but he's been noticeable in a number of places around the league during my time. Lastly, I'd like to point out how lucky he was this season with interceptions. 3 Pass deflections and 2 INTs? I'm guessing there's not a single better ratio than that in the entire league.
Round 3, Pick 36: The Arizona Outlaws select...L'Gazzy Burfict, LB, London Royals. User: Y2Bobman
TPE at time of draft: 229
TPE at time of writing: 1165, 6th in the class, 1st among LBs
Stats in S29: 16 Pass Deflections, 7 TFLs, 11 Sacks, 3 INTs, 6 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 77, 41 pick improvement
That being said, the entire round so far pales in comparison to picking up a guy in the top 10 of the class with a pick to begin the back half of the 3rd round. Gazzy doesn't often hang out in the discord, he just quietly earns. And earns, and earns. To put it in perspective, literally every single S25 player with more TPE than him right now is a 1st rounder. This is flat out one of the biggest hits of the entire draft, and the Outlaws wouldn't be anywhere near as good this season without Gazzy's many impact plays this season.
Round 3, Pick 37: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Ananda Adyan, OL, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Tmosura
TPE at time of draft: 202
TPE at time of writing: 806, 46th in the class, 5th among OLs
Stats in S29: 61 Pancakes, 2 Sacks allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 32, 5 spot fall
I seem to remember Ananda Adyan going inactive for a month soon after the draft, and has not updated for a month since now. With that being said, I can't give this full marks with barely over 800 TPE. I don't think I ever interacted with Tmosura while he was active, so I can't comment on him as a user. That being said, at least Adyan got a decent chunk of TPE before leaving.
Round 3, Pick 38: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Lionel Rumper, S, Dallas Birddogs. User: Oneski
TPE at time of draft: 222
TPE at time of writing: 315, would be 69th in the class, would be 6th and worst among S
Stats in S29: Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 17, 21 spot fall
Lionel Rumper is the 3rd of the Four Horsemen, and is in my opinion the worst draft pick of the 4. He never played for the Hahalua, never unbanked his TPE past the DSFL's 250 cap, last added TPE back in November not counting a single activity check, and, even as we get later into the draft, still counts as a bust in my eyes. He even came back for the sim switch, but hasn't done anything since. He didn't even show up on the TPE tracker, I had to get his page from the forum, despite him not having formally retired.
Round 3, Pick 39: The Orange County Otters select...Owen Holloway, WR, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Speculadora
TPE at time of draft: 221
TPE at time of writing: 824, 44th in the class, 6th and last among WRs
Stats in S29: 1269 yards, 13.6 yards per catch, 13 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 84, 45 spot improvement
Speculadora was once a legendary Orange County GM, so him going to them was almost always in the cards. A lot of people at the time thought this would be a massive steal, getting him near the end of the 3rd round. It turned out to not really be the case. Due to him not earning anywhere near as well as people thought, he ends up earning right alongside his position, maybe a little under. On one hand, there are multiple players who were wide receivers at the time, who are still on the board, and ended up earning more. On the other hand, this was Spec, and expecting him to be a mid earner was probably not what Orange County was expecting. Despite that, he's been one of, if not the single best Wide Receiver of the class, with a particularly great season in S28.
Round 3, Pick 40: The Orange County Otters select...Bronko Mills, RB, Tijuana Luchadores. User: PaytonM34
TPE at time of draft: 163
TPE at time of writing: 311, 69th in the class, 9th among RBs
Stats in S29: 32 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 20, 20 spot fall
Bronko Mills was a slow earner when active, went inactive in November, came back for the Sim switch and one update, and then went inactive again. He is about as big of a bust you could possibly have at the end of the 3rd round in terms of TPE. Despite that, he managed to be an extremely successful RB2 before the Sim switch destroyed the low TPE Power Back archetype.
Round 3, Pick 41: The New York Silverbacks select...Bob Roberts, S, Dallas Birddogs. User: Zaynzk
TPE at time of draft: 201
TPE at time of writing: 1079, 25th in the class, 1st among S
Stats in S29: 11 Pass Deflections, 5 Sacks, 4 INTs, 2 FF/0 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 54, 13 spot improvement
Zayn went from a pick at the end of the 3rd round with barely over 200 TPE, to being a perennial Safety of the Year award candidate, a winner for S28, and a GM for the team that drafted him. While Gazzy might be the best pick of the 3rd round by TPE, Zayn gives him a run for his money in overall value. The puns are a bit of an acquired taste, but his GMing has helped the team get to multiple playoff appearances and their first playoff win ever. Three players before him, a different safety was picked that never left the DSFL.
Round 3, Pick 42: The San Jose Sabercats select...Zach Crossley, WR, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: CJTigger
TPE at time of draft: 222
TPE at time of writing: 974, 36th in the class, 5th among WRs
Stats in S29: 991 yards, 10.1 yards per catch, 5 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 67, 25 spot improvement
I don't know CJTigger at all, as a matter of fact when I went looking around the league I was somewhat surprised to find he was still active and earning as a number of other players went to the wayside. That being said, he's in the segment of players who I'd classify as Good-to-Great but not Elite; he'll almost certainly crest 1000 at this point, might tickle 1200 by the time he regresses, but he's not going to stay above 1000 after 2nd regression even if he gets above it after his first. That being said, while a merely good player is a bit of a disappointment for a first rounder, it's perfectly fine with the last pick of the 3rd round.
Round 4, Pick 43: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Mark Walker, WR, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Deadlunatic
TPE at time of draft: 211
TPE at time of writing: 1029, 31st in the class, 3rd among WRs
Stats in S29: 1471 yards, 16.2 yards per catch, 12 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 78, 35 spot improvement
As we start the 4th round, we get a second straight Wide Receiver, and the 3rd in the last 4. They actually go in reverse order in terms of TPE, and Walker has the most of these 3 by a not insignificant amount. Walker's consistently earned, has written a decent chunk of media that has kept his bank account up, and has managed to put together a masterful year in S29, made all the more impressive in that he wasn't the Wraith's top receiver on the depth chart during the year.
Round 4, Pick 44: The Arizona Outlaws select...Darren Pama, RB (has since swapped to WR), Portland Pythons. User: Ztarwarz
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1136, 13th in the class, 1st among WRs
Stats in S29: 1158 yards, 13.8 yards per catch, 8 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 22, 22 spot fall
Hey, look, it's me! I don't feel like I'm being biased by calling myself a hit; while my player hasn't performed like it thus far, I do have more TPE in the class than anyone outside the first two rounds other than Gazzy, I've been consistently earning, and I have written enough to not need my team to pay me for anything for the next 3 players. I do like how the wide receivers in this section of the draft go from meh, to good, to great by TPE, and like a lot less how they seem to go from great, to good, to meh by performance.
Round 4, Pick 45: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Sam Roes, DE, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Roezam
TPE at time of draft: 220
TPE at time of writing: 390, 64th in the class, 7th and worst among DEs
Stats in S29: 3 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 0 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 56, 11 spot improvement
At this point, the vast majority of the rest of the draft is going to be busts, so maybe I'm being a bit harsher on this one than I should be, but this is quite a shock to see after the last number of picks was mostly made up of hits. I never knew Roezam, but they last updated in November and I was very surprised to see them still on the Liberty. I feel like a true blue rookie could come in and take the starting job away from him if Philadelphia feels the need to. Either way, that doesn't change the fact that Roes is a bottom 10 S25 player as listed on the TPE tracker, as well as one of only 2 (that isn't an OLineman) who takes a significant number of snaps for the team.
Round 4, Pick 46: The Baltimore Hawks select...Gary Goodman, LB, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Shnarlydude
TPE at time of draft: 226
TPE at time of writing: 1126, 16th in the class, 3rd among LBs
Stats in S29: 14 Pass Deflections, 5 TFLs, 9 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF/1 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 31, 15 spot fall
Current Team: Philadelphia Liberty
Gary Goodman and Shnarlydude is a guy I see all over the place nowadays, him and his angry animated face for a profile pic. This would have been by far the best pickup the Baltimore Hawks got this draft, getting a top 20 player and the one with their highest TPE in the 4th round. However, I'm pretty sure he went over to the Liberty as a free agent, not in a trade, so the Hawks were unable to retain their best player from this draft. As a player in a vacuum, though, this is one of the best steals of the entire draft. The guys on either side of him have barely over half the TPE combined.
Round 4, Pick 47: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Sheed Thebaw, DT, Dallas Birddogs. User: Nutbarspadge
TPE at time of draft: 210
TPE at time of writing: 272, would be 70th in the class, 5th and last among DTs
Stats in S29: Retired
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 34, 13 spot fall
The 4th and last of the Four Horsemen, Thebaw ends up as the last in pretty much all ways. He was the last drafted, both in the DSFL and the ISFL. He was the lowest TPE. Although he was first in one way: I think he was the first guy to officially retire after the draft. It went live on the 25th of September, he retired on the 14th of October less than a month later.
Round 4, Pick 48: The Austin Copperheads select...Ben Alexander-Arnold, CB (has since swapped to RB), Tijuana Luchadores. User: Ben
TPE at time of draft: 195
TPE at time of writing: 577, 58th in the class, 6th among RBs
Stats in S29: 34 Pancakes, 0 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Undrafted, Waiver Pickup
I was extremely surprised to find out that Ben was both active, still in the league, and connected enough to comment on a certain media thread turned gong show, but he's been steadily plugging away there. At this point in the draft, getting a decent strength contributer like Arnold is more than good enough for a pick.
Round 4, Pick 49: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Alex Reed, WR, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: NylarThePhoenix
TPE at time of draft: 223
TPE at time of writing: 291, would be 70th in the class, 7th and worst among WRs
Stats in S29: Retired
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 35, 14 spot fall
Of all the Wide Receivers to bust in this class, I feel like Reed might have been one of the least picked. Maybe Spec or someone who's going to show up later, but Nylar, as Apollo Reed, was coming off of a hall of fame career as a running back, was once a GM for the Seawolves, and had the early TPE advantage of being a recreate. Instead he gained less than 100 TPE from the draft, last updating on October 3rd, and officially retiring and recreating in May after his corpse had aged out of the DSFL.
Round 4, Pick 50: The Arizona Outlaws select...James Hoffman, CB, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Kingsleigher
TPE at time of draft: 216
TPE at time of writing: 567, 60th in the class, 15th among CBs
Stats in S29: 10 Pass Deflections, 1 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 11, 39 spot fall
Current Team: Philadelphia Liberty
Hoffman is actually a bit more interesting than a guy who has slowly earned over the course of his career: He was the other piece in the Punter trade that sent a high TPE player to Arizona, and gave Philly their new GM. As Hoffman got a decent return on investment, it's hard to say he didn't hit, even if he is a bit below the target line for his position in the draft. Again, at this point if you get anything you've got at least a decent hit.
Round 4, Pick 51: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Cleg Manclaw, TE, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Cynoblaze
TPE at time of draft: 161
TPE at time of writing: 334, 67th in the class, 2nd and worst among TEs
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 50, 1 spot fall
This is not a return on investment, not even for a pick in the middle of the 4th round. Normally this wouldn't be that big, but the Sailfish traded quite a decent player in Blago Kokot in order to get this pick. Manclaw was a cap casualty last season if I remember correctly, never earned, and wouldn't be as big of a deal in my mind if Sarasota hadn't given Yellowknife their starting kicker for a longer period of time than Manclaw spent on the team. Busts that end up costing more than their original pick are even worse than usual.
Round 4, Pick 52: The New Orleans Second Line select...Mike Rotchburns, RB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: SchoolboyShue
TPE at time of draft: 232
TPE at time of writing: 729, 50th in the class, 2nd among RBs
Stats in S29: 1045 rushing yards, 3.9 YPC, 12 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 30, 22 spot fall
I don't think Rotchburns will ever match up to the performance he did as a rookie, where he ran for an insane 5.3 yards per carry en route to absolutely nothing but a pro bowl because Marcella Toriki poached all of his touchdowns. That being said, he's steadily earned over his career, and has ended up outlasting a number of running backs and other players picked before him in this draft. For what it's worth, Rotchburns is about where I draw the line for a great 4th round pick.
Round 4, Pick 53: The New York Silverbacks select...Harley Fank, WR (has since swapped to OL), Norfolk Seawolves. User: Beebob
TPE at time of draft: 244
TPE at time of writing: 670, 53rd in the class, 7th among OLs
Stats in S29: 83 Pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 64, 11 spot improvement
Harley Fank to compare is what I'd describe as satisfactory. He's an Olineman now, and hasn't done anything truly special over the years. He's earned...satisfactorily, he's performed...satisfactorily, and I'd say that makes for a satisfactory 4th round pick. That being said, it's worth mentioning he last gained more TPE in February, he position changed and was clearly saving for a trait in May, and still hasn't gained any more TPE, so he's actually functioning as a 610 TPE Olineman, which would drop him 3 spots in the rankings.
Round 4, Pick 54: The Chicago Butchers select...Timmy Dimbi, DT, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Nylar
TPE at time of draft: 148
TPE at time of writing: 732, 49th in the class, 3rd among DTs
Stats in S29: 2 TFLs, 4 Sacks, 1 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Undrafted, Waiver Pickup
There's a lot more good in the 4th round than I remembered! While Dimbi did almost nothing this season in terms of stats, he did last update in May which is better than some of the other people in this area. He also started out from quite a poor position in terms of TPE as a waiver pickup. All in all, more than a successful pickup. Unless it's revealed that this guy was a Nylarthephoenix alt the entire time...nah, still probably successful as a late 4th round pick.
Round 4, Pick 55: The Colorado Yeti select...Angelo Cerilli, DT, Portland Pythons. User: AngeloC
TPE at time of draft: 209
TPE at time of writing: 233, would be 71st in the class, 5th and worst among DTs
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 48, 7 spot fall
OK, as we reach the very very end of the 4th round, there are very few worthwhile players left in the entire draft. So picking someone who last posted, updated, and visited the forum in October last year isn't truly that big of a deal. Although it looks a lot worse when you consider who got picked right before, and when you find out who got picked right after.
Round 4, Pick 56: The New York Silverbacks select...Brick Van Sanzo, DE, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Snazzlepuss22
TPE at time of draft: 189
TPE at time of writing: 908, 39th in the class, 5th among DEs
Stats in S29: 7 TFLs, 11 Sacks, 4 FF/3 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 42, 14 spot fall
The Silverbacks's worst pick in my estimation so far this draft was their first rounder. While Sanzo does have less TPE, he comes 3 rounds later. Sanzo's continued to update frequently, which makes him only the 3rd player in this round to do so. I haven't seen Snazzlepuss around, but unlike a lot of these other guys, I probably could if I went and looked. He also had quite a nice S29 to boot. All in all, far and away the best player in the 2nd half of the round.
Round 5, Pick 57: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Jeeroy Lenkins, CB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: LewisMelville
TPE at time of draft: 181
TPE at time of writing: 1085, T-21st in the class, T-10th among CBs
Stats in S29: 20 Pass Deflections, 1 INT, 2 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 74, 17 spot improvement
This guy went up 17 spots from his DSFL draft and might still be the steal of the entire draft. There's one other guy who might also fit the bill, but the reason he fell was character concerns, not his inability to earn. Lenkins? He dropped like a stone all the way to the start of the 5th, and has more TPE than all but 2 of Round 4, and all but 1 of Round 3. The Fire Salamanders would have had a great second half of the draft if they only took Lenkins and no one else.
Round 5, Pick 58: The New York Silverbacks select...Mark Hamel, OL, Portland Pythons. User: Lespoils
TPE at time of draft: 159
TPE at time of writing: 697, 52nd in the class, 6th among OLs
Stats in S29: 108 Pancakes, 8 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 65, 7 spot improvement
Hamel has been a decently consistent earner, which is all you really need at the Oline position. Those 8 sacks allowed last season, much less so. That being said, this is about all one should really expect from a 5th round pick. The fact that Hamel is still active and updating isn't bad either. That being said, this isn't the best late round OL pickup for the Silverbacks; that comes later
Round 5, Pick 59: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Jake Fencik, K/P, London Royals. User: XenostheLegend
TPE at time of draft: 220
TPE at time of writing: 882, 41st in the class, 1st among K/Ps
Stats in S29: 85.4 FG%, 44.9 yards per punt
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 45, 14 spot fall
If you can get a kicker who has consistently earned, who has been around the forum and the discords enough for me to notice them, that's a great pickup here in the 5th round. So far, the 5th round has actually been decently strong; you can't argue with close to 900 TPE, even if it does come in the form of a kicker. That being said, it's noticeable that he hasn't updated since the start of the month. Not that big of a deal, he's still around the forum, and even if he never updated again this is still a worthwhile 5th rounder, but it's important to note.
Round 5, Pick 60: The Austin Copperheads select...Connor Quigley, OL, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Whatamus
TPE at time of draft: 144
TPE at time of writing: 815, 45th in the class, 4th among OLs
Stats in S29: 68 Pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 87, 27 spot improvement
Let's start with the (few) downsides to Quigley in general: I haven't seen Whatamus around very much, if at all, neither on the forum nor the discord. He also hasn't updated for a month, although he has still been visiting the forum. Those two facts are vastly outweighed by giving the Copperheads a great value OLine at pick 60 of the draft. This is, in my opinion, the 4th straight hit to start the 5th round.
Round 5, Pick 61: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Milk Mann, S, Dallas Birddogs. User: BKFootball
TPE at time of draft: 201
TPE at time of writing: 267, would be 70th in the class, 6th and last among S
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 52, 9 spot fall
And we're back to a nobody pick. Milk Mann was around the forums a decent amount back when he was active, but started earning extremely slowly after the draft, last updated in November, and never left the DSFL. It is interesting how it took until the 5th pick of the round to reach a bust in the 5th round. In both rounds 3 and 4, there were multiple busts in the first 5 picks.
Round 5, Pick 62: The Arizona Outlaws select...Mason Gillion, CB, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Emperor
TPE at time of draft: 163
TPE at time of writing: 571, 59th in the class, 14th among CBs
Stats in S29: Did not show up in the bot
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 92, 30 spot improvement
Gillion hasn't updated since January, has not visited the forum since March, and yet the Outlaws were still able to get some use out of him: He made for a worthwhile CB3 for a couple seasons before the Outlaws got Triplet, and as such I'd call this a worthwhile 5th round pick. At the very least he did better than Milk Mann.
Round 5, Pick 63: The New Orleans Second Line select...Adam Spencer, WR (has since swapped to TE), London Royals. User: Adam S
TPE at time of draft: 198
TPE at time of writing: 881, 42nd in the class, 1st among TEs
Stats in S29: 730 Yards, 9.2 yards per catch, 3 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 69, 6 spot improvement
Whenever I come to Spencer, I always compare him to Holloway. They both had a number of contract stipulations that they put in an article beforehand, they're both well traveled users who had a long history, and they both didn't earn anywhere near as much as I or other people expected around the time of the draft. Of course, there are 2 major differences between the two: While Spec's connections to OCO meant the Otters were always likely to be the team to pick him, one of Adam's contract stipulations directly stated that he didn't want to be picked by OCO. And while a 3rd rounder earning in the 800s in this draft class is a bit of a disappointment, a 5th rounder in the 800s is more than worthy of a pick. Maybe not as much of a steal as the Second Line hoped for, but still a decent pickup.
Round 5, Pick 64: The Arizona Outlaws select...Terry Yaki, RB, London Royals. User: Doomraider
TPE at time of draft: 160
TPE at time of writing: 557, 61st in the class, 6th among RBs
Stats in S29: 274 rushing yards, 3.9 ypc, 3 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 85, 21 spot improvement
Current Team: Berlin Fire Salamanders
Now, while I'd normally say this was a decent pickup for Arizona, getting a guy over 500 TPE this late in the draft, I can't say that. Yaki was earning very little on Arizona and was probably about to go inactive, and to get something out of him Arizona traded him to Berlin for a 4th rounder in a non reddit draft. Meanwhile, for Berlin, Yaki has picked up the earning, and has acted as a pretty decent RB2 for them over the past couple seasons. While the TPE numbers are good for the spot, Arizona basically got nothing out of the pick.
Round 5, Pick 65: The Chicago Butchers select...Mark Callous, WR, Dallas Birddogs. User: Mccransky
TPE at time of draft: 218
TPE at time of writing: 297, would be 70th in the class, 7th and worst among WRs
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 38, 27 spot fall
Going into the DSFL draft, Mark Callous and McCransky were one of the biggest figures of the class in terms of talking in the London Royals discord, the general default discord for the S25 rookie class. That being said, he quickly quieted down, fell off the earning, and last updated on Halloween. I very much miss him, but he did not pan out as a pick, not really in either class.
Round 5, Pick 66: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Dexter Jackson, LB (has since swapped to RB), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Killascrilla
TPE at time of draft: 135
TPE at time of writing: 457, T-62nd, 7th among RBs
Stats in S29: 12 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 43, 23 spot fall
Current Team: Baltimore Hawks
While this is an OK level of TPE for this spot in the draft, I don't think the Sailfish got anything for Jackson before he moved to the Hawks as a Fullback. That being said, this is still a mid 5th round pick, getting towards late, and at this point getting basically jack out of a pick is just an "eh", as opposed to a disaster.
Round 5, Pick 67: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Teddy Utterstruzen, S, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Teddyoojo
TPE at time of draft: 174
TPE at time of writing: 703, 51st in the class, 5th and worst among S
Stats in S29: 11 Pass Deflections, 7 Sacks, 4 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 99, 32 spot improvement
The second straight pick for the Sailfish was much better than the first. While Utterstruzen has now put forward his resignation, he has been more than a worthwhile pick for the Sailfish. I believe he was a starting Safety for the Sailfish for a while, which is more than what you could ask for as a late 5th round pick. Now, the Sailfish did have 3 picks in a row during this stretch, so who did they pick with their 3rd one?
Round 5, Pick 68: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Steven Wadham, S, London Royals. User: Arvot
TPE at time of draft: 177
TPE at time of writing: 935, 37th in the class, 3rd among S
Stats in S29: 8 Pass Deflections, 3 Sacks, 1 INT
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 101, 33 spot improvement
Current Team: New Orleans Second Line
Turns out, Teddy Utterstruzen wasn't the best safety the Sailfish picked in this 3 player stretch. Which was a bit of a shame for them, considering they traded Steven Wadham for a 3rd round pick in S27 back in November. While I haven't been around Arvot at all, he's still active, he might get over 1000 TPE, if not more, and that's extremely impressive for a guy picked here, at the end of the 5th round. This would be such a steal for the Sailfish if they hadn't let him get away for extremely little. Then again, this might be a situation similar to Yaki earlier, where he had no chance to play and probably would have gone inactive if not traded away.
Round 5, Pick 69: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Cmon Skiuuup, TE (has since swapped to WR), Dallas Birddogs. User: Aircrou
TPE at time of draft: 202
TPE at time of writing: 1091, 19th in the class, 2nd among WRs
Stats in S29: 1517 yards, 15.8 yards per catch, 15 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 94, 25 spot improvement
There's only one thing that prevents me from calling Cmon Skiuuup the best value pick of the entire draft; the fact that the entire reason he fell was due to...let's call them character concerns. As is, getting a top 20 player in terms of TPE at the meme number is extremely impressive; the last guy to be drafted in there before you was drafted 23 picks ago. He also had one of the best seasons that WR had the entire season during S29. All in all, Aircrou aside, there's absolutely nothing preventing me from calling this the biggest steal of the draft.
Round 5, Pick 70: The Chicago Butchers select...Etrigan T. Slayer, DE, Portland Pythons. User: Thiath
TPE at time of draft: 201
TPE at time of writing: 752, 48th in the class, 6th among DEs
Stats in S29: 3 TFLs, 12 Sacks, 2 FF/1 FR, 2 Safeties
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 33, 37 spot fall
Current Team: Baltimore Hawks
Thiath, who has retired, might actually instead be the biggest steal of the entire draft if you stretch the definition of steal. Slayer was a decent earner throughout his career, and made the Defensive Line of the Hawks much better than it had been. That being said, unlike everyone else in this round who is on a different team than the one that drafted them, the Butchers more than got bang for their buck when they traded Slayer to the Hawks: They got a 1st round pick for Thiath. It's one of the bigger overpays involving the S25 draft, if not the biggest one. Even at his best, Thiath wasn't worth a 1st round pick. So who did that 1st round pick turn into? It actually turned into Hordle, also known as Alexander Franklin. That being said, as the last pick of the 5th round, Thiath more than made up for his pick position with his TPE gain before he retired. He even won a DE of the year award once in the same year he won DRotY.
(The 6th round and onwards is continued in the reply due to character limitations)
Coming up on a year since the DSFL draft, and 5 seasons since the ISFL draft, I thought it was a perfect time to do a retrospective. Who hit? Who missed? Who were the biggest busts, and who were the biggest steals? Let's see.
Round 1, Pick 1: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Swantavious Jones, CB, London Royals. User: Swanty
TPE at time of draft: 224
TPE at time of writing: 1133, 14th in the class, 8th among CBs
Stats in S29: 40 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 29, 28 spot improvement
Swantavious Jones, also commonly referred to by his username, was a common pick for number 1 in the draft by projections. I believe it had something to do with sim testing, but the details are lost to me. As is, he's only 8th among CBs because over half of the top 20 from S25 is made up of Cornerbacks. He also is a member of the Head Office. There's no way this can be considered a bust, even if his TPE isn't the tip top of the class.
Round 1, Pick 2: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Dan Foster, CB, Portland Pythons. User: Arkz
TPE at time of draft: 236
TPE at time of writing: 1142, 12th in the class, 7th among CBs
Stats in S29: 28 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 4 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 9, 7 spot improvement
I love Arkz a ton, and he was a ton of fun in the Portland Pythons locker room when we were still on the team. I believe he also got drafted highly due to sim work, and while he hasn't always performed well in the regular season, he has performed extremely well in the playoffs; I believe he is currently tied for most Pick Sixes by a single player in the playoffs, and got 2 of them in an Ultimus that Yellowknife won. He has still been extremely pleasant to be around when I've talked with him, has still continued to earn, and thus I cannot call this anything but a hit.
Round 1, Pick 3: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Tex Wrecks, DE, Tijuana Luchadores. User: 209Tacos
TPE at time of draft: 275
TPE at time of writing: 1063, 28th in the class, 3rd among DEs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 3 Sacks, 2 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 28, 25 spot improvement
From my memory, at the time of the draft Wrecks had more TPE than anyone else. That did not last all that long, and at this point he's been passed up by a decent chunk of the class. He's over 1000 with 2 full seasons of TPE to gain before regression, so I can't call this a miss, but at the same time if I remember correctly a good chunk of his draft position came from the fact that he had the most TPE and right now he's out of that spot by over 100. I'd give this 4 stars instead of the 5 the other two got.
Round 1, Pick 4: The San Jose Sabercats select...Raylan Crowder, DE, Dallas Birddogs. User: AskedMadden
TPE at time of draft: 239
TPE at time of writing: 1170, T-3rd in the class, 2nd among DEs
Stats in S29: 6TFLs, 7 Sacks, 3 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 6, 2 spot improvement
The Sabercats, fresh off of an Ultimus, got to pick 4th, and got a gem. Crowder was one of a friend group of 4 called the 4 horsemen heading into the draft, and while another one of that bunch has also had quite the successful career in the league, there's no question who the highest TPE member of that group is. Funnily enough, the 4th pick is technically in 4th position in the S25 TPE rankings.
Round 1, Pick 5: The Colorado Yeti select...Albert Ruschmann, DE (has since position swapped to CB), London Royals. User: Katarn22
TPE at time of draft: 232
TPE at time of writing: 1146, T-10th in the class, T-5th among CBs
Stats in S29: 36 Pass Deflections, 3 INTs, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 5, same spot
I somewhat miss Ruschmann being at his old position, as that was maybe the only pass rusher pun that was any good in a sea of really dumb, really blatant ones. That being said, he appears to have adapted to his new position quite well and could be nominated for CBotY. As for performance, I don't think anything over 1100 could really be a bad pickup as a first rounder. I do hope he gets his shiny Roggenrola on the PokeBot some day...speaking of bots on the Royals discord server, he's also been a really effective GM for London at the same time as he has played for the Yeti.
Round 1, Pick 6: The Baltimore Hawks select...Felix Archstone, OL, Kansas City Coyotes. User: GlimsTC
TPE at time of draft: 231
TPE at time of writing: 901, 40th in the class, 3rd among OLs
Stats in S29: 84 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 15, 9 spot improvement
Current team: Austin Copperheads
I love Glims, when he's around he's really fun to talk with in the game chat. That being said, he hasn't always been able to be active. This has led to him having the lowest TPE by far, at least so far in this draft retrospective. He along with one other S25 player that we'll cover later was able to get a 1st round pick back from Austin when Baltimore traded them a couple seasons ago. Without that, I might rate this closer to 3/5 stars, even with Glims being the GM for the Coyotes for a time, but Archstone was earning really well and managed to get high picks back on the trade market. That brings him right up to 5 stars.
Round 1, Pick 7: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Guy Fields, LB, Dallas Birddogs. User: r0tzbua
TPE at time of draft: 235
TPE at time of writing: 1149, 9th in the class, 2nd among LBs
Stats in S29: 114 Tackles, 5 TFLs, 11 Sacks, 4 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 14, 7 spot improvement
Fields has been a consistent high earner and has been all around the forum since his inception. A large portion of his drafting came from his large bank account if I remember correctly, and he's more than backed that up. At this point I believe he is a war room member in Honolulu, and he's been quite a pick for the Hahalua. Granted, maybe not their best pick, but that's only due to GM draft rules; Fields was more than worthy of a 1st round pick.
Round 1, Pick 8: The Arizona Outlaws select...Tayshawn Crunk, S (has since swapped to CB), London Royals. User: Crunk
TPE at time of draft: 235
TPE at time of writing: 1170, T-3rd in the class, 2nd among CBs
Stats in S29: 22 Pass Deflections, 4 INTs, 2 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 13, 5 spot improvement
I can speak a bit more in depth about Crunk, who has since become one of Arizona's GMs. He has been a stalwart part of the locker room, has helped craft one of the strongest teams in the league, and has managed to do that while also being one of the highest earners in the entire draft. While that hasn't always gone into effect on the field, I wouldn't change either of my GMs if I had the opportunity. This might end up being the best pick of the entire first round.
Round 1, Pick 9: The Chicago Butchers select...James Gath, CB (has since swapped to OL), Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Beefstu409
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 388, 65th in the class, 10th among OLs
Stats in S29: 49 pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 2, 7 spot fall
Honestly, the numbers speak for themselves here. 160 TPE since the draft. Went inactive for a long time until asked to come back and position switch to a position where 388 TPE isn't a total waste. James Gath managed to be the biggest bust in both the DSFL and ISFL draft, and it's not particularly close; everyone in the first round of either draft has double Gath's TPE, if not triple in a couple cases. This was the first big hole in the class, and it's a massive one: there's only 7 Season 25 players who haven't retired with less TPE.
Round 1, Pick 10: The New Orleans Second Line select...Medicinal Toblerone, OL (has since swapped to DE), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: JuOsu
TPE at time of draft: 254
TPE at time of writing: 1174, 2nd in the class, 1st among DEs
Stats in S29: 3 TFLs, 6 Sacks, 1 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 75, 65 spot improvement
From my hazy memory, this was the most obvious pick of the entire 1st round. JuOsu loves the Second Line and wanted to go back there; they also were more than worthy of a first round spot. My guess of why they got picked so late in the DSFL draft was due to the fact that everyone knew they were heading up to New Orleans as soon as possible, although I can't be sure of that. New Orleans got a gem here near the end of the first round of the draft, even if the stats don't look like it this season.
Round 1, Pick 11: The Orange County Otters select...Goat Tank, DT (has since swapped to RB), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Eldorian
TPE at time of draft: 269
TPE at time of writing: 1168, 5th in the class, 1st among RBs
Stats in S29: 1234 rushing yards, 4.4 ypc, 13 total TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 3, 8 spot fall
I seem to remember most people had Goat Tank, one of the biggest memes of the entire of the entire class due to his twitter account, going much higher than this. Eldorian is a very well known user, and already had connections to Orange County I believe? One thing's for sure, he more than made up for the investment, being a very prolific Defensive Tackle until position swapping, leading the S25 TPE charts for a long time until recently, and even now still being in the top 5, and 1st at his position no matter which one you count him as. Most of this first round has been filled with clear hits, and Goat Tank is no different
Round 1, Pick 12: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Peter Patterson, CB, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Slate
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1160, 8th in the class, 4th among CBs
Stats in S29: 12 Pass Deflections, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 7, 5 spot fall
As much as those S29 stats seem laughable, Slate as a pick has been a massive home run. He not only has been one of the GMs of the Royals for quite some time, he's been earning extremely well the entire time, has taken his draft position, and flat out run with it. It is kind of funny to see his draft card show up and for him to have better stats on that in the DSFL than he did last season as a premier Cornerback, but that's how the sim works sometimes.
Round 1, Pick 13: The New York Silverbacks select...Hank Winchester, LB, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Timeconsumer
TPE at time of draft: 248
TPE at time of writing: 987, 35th in the class, 6th and worst among LBs
Stats in S29: 5 TFLs, 7 Sacks, 4 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 19, 6 spot improvement
It's weird to see this user going this low in the first round, with that many awards next to their comments, and think that this is kind of a miss. Sure, not a Beefstu level of miss, but Timeconsumer took a step back from the league recently, hasn't updated for a couple months now, and still hasn't reached 1000 TPE. He's not a bad player, not even close, but for a first rounder, especially one in this deep of a draft class, I think you'd want someone a bit better. Although, if Timeconsumer brings a veteran locker room presence that might be worth the comparatively low TPE compared to most of the rest of this first round.
Round 1, Pick 14: The San Jose Sabercats select...Rich Triplet, CB, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Kotasa
TPE at time of draft: 236
TPE at time of writing: 1181, 1st in the class, 1st among CBs
Stats in S29: 28 Pass Deflections, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 12, 2 spot fall
Current Team: Arizona Outlaws
Speaking of weird not as big of a hit as it should have been picks at the end of the 1st, it feels extremely weird to say that the San Jose Sabercats were probably looking for more than the highest TPE player in the entire draft class. Kotasa and Triplet have been near the top of the S25 TPE charts for a long time, and have led that chart for pretty much a full season at this point. Kotasa is a GM for the Tijuana Luchadores, there doesn't seem to be any user problems. And yet, when you learn that Triplet left in Free Agency to go to the Arizona Outlaws, it's impossible to say that the Sabercats shouldn't have gotten more. Much worse players than Triplet got high returns; hell, we're going to find a couple of those on the way down the list. To get nothing for Triplet has got to be a disappointment for San Jose.
Round 2, Pick 15: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Djibutee McJimmerson (Now Suleiman Kazi), TE (has since swapped to CB), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: UberBJ
TPE at time of draft: 233
TPE at time of writing: 1072, 26th in the class, 12th among CBs
Stats in S29: 12 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 51, 36 spot improvement
The now renamed Kazi was, if I remember correctly, sometimes picked to go near the end of the first round. This pick wasn't a big surprise. How did the pick itself fare? Well, it's a perfectly respectable pick. Not exactly a standout, but nearing 1100 TPE at the close of this season is pretty good. I do seem to remember disliking UberBJ's fantasy teams whenever I take a look at them, but if they get him TPE who am I to judge?
Round 2, Pick 16: The Arizona Outlaws select...Chuck Roth, OL (has since swapped to DT), Portland Pythons. User: Zeagle1
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1127, 15th in the class, 1st among DTs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 7 Sacks
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 41, 25 spot improvement
Zeagle, who has since become the GM of the Portland Pythons, has been quite a pleasure to be around in both the Portland and Arizona locker rooms. That being said, his pessimism both gets on my nerves and can be contagious. As far as a pick goes, Roth has been a consistent high earner and has done some testing work alongside that. This is definitely a hit, and not the last one for the Outlaws.
Round 2, Pick 17: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Killian Chambers, WR, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Charlit
TPE at time of draft: 232
TPE at time of writing: 989, 34th in the class, 4th among WRs
Stats in S29: 1269 yards, 7 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 18, 1 spot improvement
Chambers falls into a similar category to Winchester for me, minus the massive pedigree of Timeconsumer, which makes sense considering he's only one spot better than him in terms of TPE. Even if you restrict it to just people who already were wide receivers going into the draft, there still is one wide receiver with a decent chunk of TPE more than Chambers. This isn't a miss, but I can't exactly call it a hit either. I'd give it 3.5 stars.
Round 2, Pick 18: The Baltimore Hawks select...Tony Yeboah (Now Annie May), S, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Frazzle14
TPE at time of draft: 207
TPE at time of writing: 1068, 27th in the class, 2nd among S
Stats in S29: 6 Pass Deflections, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 39, 21 spot improvement
Current Team: Austin Copperheads
Frazzle was the other player along with Glims who got traded for a haul to Austin. Unlike Glims, Frazzle has continued to earn decently well while on Austin, cresting over 1050 TPE as this season comes to a close. While safeties in the new sim appear to not be all that important unless your name is Zayn, Yeboah/May is definitely the other top safety earner of the class. Definitely a decent pick up at this spot.
Round 2, Pick 19: The New Orleans Second Line select...Adam Mellott, OL, Tijuana Luchadores. User: GuitarMaster115
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1082, T-23rd in the class, 1st among OLs
Stats in S29: 100 Pancakes, 0 Sacks allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 62, 43 spot improvement
Yeah, this is a clear hit. Mellott is the highest earning OL of the class, by quite a decent margin too. He's nearing 1100 TPE, and while that might have not been a clear hit a round ago, now that definitely is. I remember Mellott, Archstone, Roth, and another player to be named later were the big OLine prospects of the class, and besides Roth, who switched, Mellott is definitely the highlight of that class.
Round 2, Pick 20: The Orange County Otters select...Richard Leaking, LB (has since swapped to CB), Dallas Birddogs. User: ReverendOReily
TPE at time of draft: 224
TPE at time of writing: 1085, T-21st in the class, T-10th among CBs
Stats in S29: 10 Pass Deflections, 2 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 46, 26 spot improvement
The Otters get another hit with one of the many top CBs of the S25 class. Leaking specifically has always been a reasonable person when I've interacted with him, and as a player is right on track to hit a high level of TPE once he's finished up with his career. Quite a reasonable pickup here. Those aren't the best pass deflection numbers, but he does have 3 turnovers and a touchdown to go along with it, so I can't hate too much.
Round 2, Pick 21: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Davriel Lavigne, S (has since swapped to CB), Portland Pythons. User: Raven
TPE at time of draft: 245
TPE at time of writing: 1146, T-10th in the class, T-5th among CBs
Stats in S29: 26 Pass Deflections, 1 INT, 2 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 1, 20 spot fall
The fall between the DSFL draft and ISFL draft was entirely due to being one of a few GM picks. Lavigne was immediately slated for the first pick the Hahalua had in the 2nd round or later, and while I can't speak to their performance as a GM, as a player they managed to get a steal contractually obligated to fall to them. Top 10 in the draft with over 1100 TPE, picking halfway through the 2nd, that's quite a nice pickup. I haven't managed to interact with Raven all that often, but I remember them being nice to talk to in the Pythons locker room close to a year ago.
Round 2, Pick 22: The Arizona Outlaws select...Vance Slattery (Now Doy Fieri), DT (has since swapped to CB), Tijuana Luchadores. User: Punter715
TPE at time of draft: 225
TPE at time of writing: 1096, 18th in the class, 9th among CBs
Stats in S29: 23 Pass Deflections, 1 INT, 3 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 44, 22 spot improvement
Current Team: Philadelphia Liberty
Owner of what is, in my opinion, the most disturbing signature in the entire league, Punter is a pleasure to be around so long as I can keep Lip Chap's face off of my screen. He very quickly became the GM of the Philadelphia Liberty, and thus was traded along with another player that will come up later to the Liberty for a good player in return. While I feel that the Liberty got the better end of the trade, I don't think that changes the fact that this is still a hit of a pick, and I'm excited to see how the Liberty turn out in a couple seasons time when all their players hit their peak.
Round 2, Pick 23: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Rusty Rucker, LB, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Lancedjack
TPE at time of draft: 224
TPE at time of writing: 1090, 20th in the class, 4th among LBs
Stats in S29: 18 Pass Deflections, 2 TFLs, 12 Sacks, 2 INTs, 3 FF/3 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 8, 15 spot fall
Current Team: Colorado Yeti
I remember LancedJack really helping me out with my player's wiki page back when I was first starting out. Hard to believe he actually was a new create at the time. As one of the 4 Horsemen, he might have been the most well known heading into the draft. That being said, while he has since been passed up by Crowder, as a player he's still great. I'd still call this a miss of a pick, however, as Rucker left the Hahalua in free agency and as such a player on his way to over 1000 TPE left them for nothing.
Round 2, Pick 24: The New York Silverbacks select...Dukburg Quakstak, CB, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Bwestfield
TPE at time of draft: 255
TPE at time of writing: 1162, 7th in the class, 3rd among CBs
Stats in S29: 23 Pass Deflections, 4 INTs, 4 FF/3 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 16, 8 spot fall
From what I remember, Bwestfield was one of the original GMs of the New York Silverbacks, and as such this was one of I believe 4 forced GM picks that took place during the S25 draft. I'd say that Quakstak was the most successful of those, although he doesn't beat out Raven by that much. An easy top 10 in the class, and a GM that helped to craft a team that has been a perennial playoff contender since its second season in the league. He's also been not half bad as a player this last season.
Round 2, Pick 25: The Austin Copperheads select...Jackie Daytona, QB, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Mooty99
TPE at time of draft: 210
TPE at time of writing: 1112, 17th in the class, only QB of the class
Stats in S29: 4333 yards, 26 TDs, 12 INTs, 90.7 Passer Rating
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 27, 2 spot improvement
I believe Mooty was also a GM pick at the time? Either that or he became GM very shortly afterwards, I can't remember which. That being said, this simultaneous QB of the future for Austin and GM has worked out as a more than respectable earner for both the position of QB and the position of GM pick. I find it kind of interesting that there's only 1 QB who survived past the DSFL in the S25 class, when there's 4 QBs who managed the same feat in the decently smaller S24 class, but that's the way positions line up.
Round 2, Pick 26: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Clay Stallworth, OL, Kansas City Coyotes. User: GravTX
TPE at time of draft: 218
TPE at time of writing: 333, 68th in the class, 11th and worst among OLs
Stats in S29: The bot couldn't find stats
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 55, 29 spot improvement
Throughout the second round, we haven't had a bust up until this point. We've had picks that could have been taken more advantage of, we've had trades that could have gotten more, but we haven't had a bust. Until now. Stallworth gained 115 TPE between his draft and him going IA back on Halloween of last year. It looks like he didn't even record a pancake this season. Considering what his pedigree was heading into the draft, he flopped quite hard.
Round 2, Pick 27: The Colorado Yeti select...Dave Batista, TE, Portland Pythons. User: Frick_Nasty
TPE at time of draft: 253
TPE at time of writing: 664, would be 56th in the class, 2nd among TEs
Stats in S29: Retired
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 25, 2 spot fall
The 4th and final GM pick of the S25 draft, Frick's player leaves me conflicted a bit on how to rank him. On one hand, Batista was a pretty good earner throughout his career. On the other hand, his career was cut basically in half, as he, in a comparatively short amount of time, left his GM position at Colorado, got traded to Philadelphia for a 5th in a non reddit draft, which is basically worthless, and retired like 3 seasons ago. Frick's still around, already GMing again, this time with Baltimore, but as is I have to say that I feel Batista was basically a bust.
Round 2, Pick 28: The San Jose Sabercats select...Xmus Flaxon Jaxon Waxon, S (has since swapped to DE), Norfolk Seawolves. User: Connorm123
TPE at time of draft: 214
TPE at time of writing: 1050, 29th in the class, 4th among DEs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 5 Sacks, 1 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 40, 12 pick improvement
Current Team: Colorado Yeti
This is the 2nd well earning Sabercats pick that would be decent on its face, if not for them losing the player for nothing in free agency. I haven't interacted with Connor basically at all, but it is interesting if nothing else to see a Key and Peele player with over 1000 TPE, from my meagre experience that doesn't happen often. As is, he's right in line with his draft position so as a player I feel he's doing alright.
Round 3, Pick 29: The Colorado Yeti select...Nationalsimulation Footballleague, S (has since swapped to CB), Tijuana Luchadores. User: SDCore
TPE at time of draft: 218
TPE at time of writing: 1027, 32nd in the class, 13th among CBs
Stats in S29: 26 Pass Deflections, 3 INTs, 1 FF/1 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 4, 25 pick fall
SDCore has been a member of the Head office, as a matter of fact I believe he currently is, and as such, user wise is a steal at this point. Unless you hate HO in which case you shout REACH. As far as a name goes, SDCore having this little TPE comparatively is a bit of a shock, but considering the Yeti got him right at the start of the 3rd round, they're probably not complaining. Especially considering they picked up a couple other S25 guys in free agency.
Round 3, Pick 30: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Jameson Vermillion, RB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Vainknight13
TPE at time of draft: 231
TPE at time of writing: 598, 57th in the class, 5th among RBs
Stats in S29: 1188 Receiving Yards, 9 Total TDs, 3.6 YPC
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 10, 20 pick fall
Current Team: San Jose Sabercats
Vermillion looked to be near or at the top of the S25 TPE board through about a season and a half. Then he suddenly went inactive, and hasn't been updated since the sim swap. Yellowknife finally traded him for a one year rental of Cardrissian going into last season's playoffs, which is a bit of a return, but there's a number of better running backs that the Wraiths could have picked up here instead. He at least has produced a lot as a receiving back the past couple of seasons.
Round 3, Pick 31: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Jimi DeSoto, LB, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Jimi64
TPE at time of draft: 227
TPE at time of writing: 1082, T-23rd in the class, 5th among LBs
Stats in S29: 4 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 24, 7 pick fall
While I don't see Jimi around too often, he's the highest performing pick in quite a while in this section of the draft, at least in terms of TPE. DeSoto's part of the strong post S25 core that the Liberty have, and it will be interesting to see how they shape up in the very near future. This is an obvious hit getting into the 3rd round.
Round 3, Pick 32: The Chicago Butchers select...Damian Blackfyre, S, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Thundertitan82
TPE at time of draft: 192
TPE at time of writing: 850, 43rd in the class, 4th among S
Stats in S29: 13 Pass Deflections, 3 Sacks, 1 INT, 4 FF/3 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Undrafted, Waiver pickup
While I see that ThunderTitan is getting more back into the league right about now, I still feel like this is a bit of a missed pick. While 31 players are off the board, there are a large number of better players still left there right now, including multiple Safeties, and I believe Titan did go inactive for about a month there. This leads to him still being below 1000 TPE at the end of the season, and by a significant chunk too. Not a Stallworth or Gath level bust, but still a 2/5 pick in its own right.
Round 3, Pick 33: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Donald McBobby, LB (has since swapped to OL), Portland Pythons. User: BJBren17
TPE at time of draft: 248
TPE at time of writing: 457, T-62nd in the class, 10th among OLs
Stats in S29: 63 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 47, 14 pick improvement
Current Team: Arizona Outlaws
And we're back to a 1/5 pick. McBobby was a powerhouse, both in the locker room and on the field, when the S25 class first entered the DSFL. That being said, soon afterwards, he went inactive, apparently not playing a snap for the Yellowknife Wraiths even as he got onto the championship banner. Arizona was able to snap him up and change him to an OL, so as a pick he didn't even do anything for the Wraiths. Hard to say whether this or Vermillion was a bigger bust, Vermillion did something but came about a third of the round sooner, and was the first RB off the board. Either way, this is a round of the draft that Yellowknife would rather forget.
Round 3, Pick 34: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Honky Tonk Haywood, DT, Portland Pythons. User: Jzajeenius36
TPE at time of draft: 227
TPE at time of writing: 1024, 33rd in the class, 2nd among DTs
Stats in S29: 11 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 2 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 57, 23 pick improvement
This was quite a get for the Liberty nearing the halfway point of the 3rd round. I see him around from time to time, usually on Ultimus Week assignments. While Haywood is the last member of the over 1000 club for S25, he is over 1000 and as such it's hard to complain about this pick. Although I do see him complain about his performance on the field almost as much as I do!
Round 3, Pick 35: The Chicago Butchers select...Wasrabi Gleel, LB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Crodyman
TPE at time of draft: 206
TPE at time of writing: 1048, 30th in the class, 5th among LBs
Stats in S29: 3 Pass Deflections, 4 TFLs, 7 Sacks, 2 INTs, 1 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 58, 23 pick improvement
While Haywood and Gleel are pretty similar picks in terms of numbers, I find that Gleel is a slightly more impressive pick. He came into the draft just over 200 TPE, and has since managed to get into the top 30 of a very large class. While Gleel and Haywood are both hits, I'd give Gleel and extra half a star. I don't know Crodyman that well, but he's been noticeable in a number of places around the league during my time. Lastly, I'd like to point out how lucky he was this season with interceptions. 3 Pass deflections and 2 INTs? I'm guessing there's not a single better ratio than that in the entire league.
Round 3, Pick 36: The Arizona Outlaws select...L'Gazzy Burfict, LB, London Royals. User: Y2Bobman
TPE at time of draft: 229
TPE at time of writing: 1165, 6th in the class, 1st among LBs
Stats in S29: 16 Pass Deflections, 7 TFLs, 11 Sacks, 3 INTs, 6 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 77, 41 pick improvement
That being said, the entire round so far pales in comparison to picking up a guy in the top 10 of the class with a pick to begin the back half of the 3rd round. Gazzy doesn't often hang out in the discord, he just quietly earns. And earns, and earns. To put it in perspective, literally every single S25 player with more TPE than him right now is a 1st rounder. This is flat out one of the biggest hits of the entire draft, and the Outlaws wouldn't be anywhere near as good this season without Gazzy's many impact plays this season.
Round 3, Pick 37: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Ananda Adyan, OL, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Tmosura
TPE at time of draft: 202
TPE at time of writing: 806, 46th in the class, 5th among OLs
Stats in S29: 61 Pancakes, 2 Sacks allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 32, 5 spot fall
I seem to remember Ananda Adyan going inactive for a month soon after the draft, and has not updated for a month since now. With that being said, I can't give this full marks with barely over 800 TPE. I don't think I ever interacted with Tmosura while he was active, so I can't comment on him as a user. That being said, at least Adyan got a decent chunk of TPE before leaving.
Round 3, Pick 38: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Lionel Rumper, S, Dallas Birddogs. User: Oneski
TPE at time of draft: 222
TPE at time of writing: 315, would be 69th in the class, would be 6th and worst among S
Stats in S29: Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 17, 21 spot fall
Lionel Rumper is the 3rd of the Four Horsemen, and is in my opinion the worst draft pick of the 4. He never played for the Hahalua, never unbanked his TPE past the DSFL's 250 cap, last added TPE back in November not counting a single activity check, and, even as we get later into the draft, still counts as a bust in my eyes. He even came back for the sim switch, but hasn't done anything since. He didn't even show up on the TPE tracker, I had to get his page from the forum, despite him not having formally retired.
Round 3, Pick 39: The Orange County Otters select...Owen Holloway, WR, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Speculadora
TPE at time of draft: 221
TPE at time of writing: 824, 44th in the class, 6th and last among WRs
Stats in S29: 1269 yards, 13.6 yards per catch, 13 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 84, 45 spot improvement
Speculadora was once a legendary Orange County GM, so him going to them was almost always in the cards. A lot of people at the time thought this would be a massive steal, getting him near the end of the 3rd round. It turned out to not really be the case. Due to him not earning anywhere near as well as people thought, he ends up earning right alongside his position, maybe a little under. On one hand, there are multiple players who were wide receivers at the time, who are still on the board, and ended up earning more. On the other hand, this was Spec, and expecting him to be a mid earner was probably not what Orange County was expecting. Despite that, he's been one of, if not the single best Wide Receiver of the class, with a particularly great season in S28.
Round 3, Pick 40: The Orange County Otters select...Bronko Mills, RB, Tijuana Luchadores. User: PaytonM34
TPE at time of draft: 163
TPE at time of writing: 311, 69th in the class, 9th among RBs
Stats in S29: 32 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 20, 20 spot fall
Bronko Mills was a slow earner when active, went inactive in November, came back for the Sim switch and one update, and then went inactive again. He is about as big of a bust you could possibly have at the end of the 3rd round in terms of TPE. Despite that, he managed to be an extremely successful RB2 before the Sim switch destroyed the low TPE Power Back archetype.
Round 3, Pick 41: The New York Silverbacks select...Bob Roberts, S, Dallas Birddogs. User: Zaynzk
TPE at time of draft: 201
TPE at time of writing: 1079, 25th in the class, 1st among S
Stats in S29: 11 Pass Deflections, 5 Sacks, 4 INTs, 2 FF/0 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 54, 13 spot improvement
Zayn went from a pick at the end of the 3rd round with barely over 200 TPE, to being a perennial Safety of the Year award candidate, a winner for S28, and a GM for the team that drafted him. While Gazzy might be the best pick of the 3rd round by TPE, Zayn gives him a run for his money in overall value. The puns are a bit of an acquired taste, but his GMing has helped the team get to multiple playoff appearances and their first playoff win ever. Three players before him, a different safety was picked that never left the DSFL.
Round 3, Pick 42: The San Jose Sabercats select...Zach Crossley, WR, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: CJTigger
TPE at time of draft: 222
TPE at time of writing: 974, 36th in the class, 5th among WRs
Stats in S29: 991 yards, 10.1 yards per catch, 5 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 67, 25 spot improvement
I don't know CJTigger at all, as a matter of fact when I went looking around the league I was somewhat surprised to find he was still active and earning as a number of other players went to the wayside. That being said, he's in the segment of players who I'd classify as Good-to-Great but not Elite; he'll almost certainly crest 1000 at this point, might tickle 1200 by the time he regresses, but he's not going to stay above 1000 after 2nd regression even if he gets above it after his first. That being said, while a merely good player is a bit of a disappointment for a first rounder, it's perfectly fine with the last pick of the 3rd round.
Round 4, Pick 43: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Mark Walker, WR, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Deadlunatic
TPE at time of draft: 211
TPE at time of writing: 1029, 31st in the class, 3rd among WRs
Stats in S29: 1471 yards, 16.2 yards per catch, 12 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 78, 35 spot improvement
As we start the 4th round, we get a second straight Wide Receiver, and the 3rd in the last 4. They actually go in reverse order in terms of TPE, and Walker has the most of these 3 by a not insignificant amount. Walker's consistently earned, has written a decent chunk of media that has kept his bank account up, and has managed to put together a masterful year in S29, made all the more impressive in that he wasn't the Wraith's top receiver on the depth chart during the year.
Round 4, Pick 44: The Arizona Outlaws select...Darren Pama, RB (has since swapped to WR), Portland Pythons. User: Ztarwarz
TPE at time of draft: 228
TPE at time of writing: 1136, 13th in the class, 1st among WRs
Stats in S29: 1158 yards, 13.8 yards per catch, 8 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 22, 22 spot fall
Hey, look, it's me! I don't feel like I'm being biased by calling myself a hit; while my player hasn't performed like it thus far, I do have more TPE in the class than anyone outside the first two rounds other than Gazzy, I've been consistently earning, and I have written enough to not need my team to pay me for anything for the next 3 players. I do like how the wide receivers in this section of the draft go from meh, to good, to great by TPE, and like a lot less how they seem to go from great, to good, to meh by performance.
Round 4, Pick 45: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Sam Roes, DE, Norfolk Seawolves. User: Roezam
TPE at time of draft: 220
TPE at time of writing: 390, 64th in the class, 7th and worst among DEs
Stats in S29: 3 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 0 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 56, 11 spot improvement
At this point, the vast majority of the rest of the draft is going to be busts, so maybe I'm being a bit harsher on this one than I should be, but this is quite a shock to see after the last number of picks was mostly made up of hits. I never knew Roezam, but they last updated in November and I was very surprised to see them still on the Liberty. I feel like a true blue rookie could come in and take the starting job away from him if Philadelphia feels the need to. Either way, that doesn't change the fact that Roes is a bottom 10 S25 player as listed on the TPE tracker, as well as one of only 2 (that isn't an OLineman) who takes a significant number of snaps for the team.
Round 4, Pick 46: The Baltimore Hawks select...Gary Goodman, LB, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Shnarlydude
TPE at time of draft: 226
TPE at time of writing: 1126, 16th in the class, 3rd among LBs
Stats in S29: 14 Pass Deflections, 5 TFLs, 9 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF/1 FR, 1 TD
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 31, 15 spot fall
Current Team: Philadelphia Liberty
Gary Goodman and Shnarlydude is a guy I see all over the place nowadays, him and his angry animated face for a profile pic. This would have been by far the best pickup the Baltimore Hawks got this draft, getting a top 20 player and the one with their highest TPE in the 4th round. However, I'm pretty sure he went over to the Liberty as a free agent, not in a trade, so the Hawks were unable to retain their best player from this draft. As a player in a vacuum, though, this is one of the best steals of the entire draft. The guys on either side of him have barely over half the TPE combined.
Round 4, Pick 47: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Sheed Thebaw, DT, Dallas Birddogs. User: Nutbarspadge
TPE at time of draft: 210
TPE at time of writing: 272, would be 70th in the class, 5th and last among DTs
Stats in S29: Retired
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 34, 13 spot fall
The 4th and last of the Four Horsemen, Thebaw ends up as the last in pretty much all ways. He was the last drafted, both in the DSFL and the ISFL. He was the lowest TPE. Although he was first in one way: I think he was the first guy to officially retire after the draft. It went live on the 25th of September, he retired on the 14th of October less than a month later.
Round 4, Pick 48: The Austin Copperheads select...Ben Alexander-Arnold, CB (has since swapped to RB), Tijuana Luchadores. User: Ben
TPE at time of draft: 195
TPE at time of writing: 577, 58th in the class, 6th among RBs
Stats in S29: 34 Pancakes, 0 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Undrafted, Waiver Pickup
I was extremely surprised to find out that Ben was both active, still in the league, and connected enough to comment on a certain media thread turned gong show, but he's been steadily plugging away there. At this point in the draft, getting a decent strength contributer like Arnold is more than good enough for a pick.
Round 4, Pick 49: The Honolulu Hahalua select...Alex Reed, WR, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: NylarThePhoenix
TPE at time of draft: 223
TPE at time of writing: 291, would be 70th in the class, 7th and worst among WRs
Stats in S29: Retired
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 35, 14 spot fall
Of all the Wide Receivers to bust in this class, I feel like Reed might have been one of the least picked. Maybe Spec or someone who's going to show up later, but Nylar, as Apollo Reed, was coming off of a hall of fame career as a running back, was once a GM for the Seawolves, and had the early TPE advantage of being a recreate. Instead he gained less than 100 TPE from the draft, last updating on October 3rd, and officially retiring and recreating in May after his corpse had aged out of the DSFL.
Round 4, Pick 50: The Arizona Outlaws select...James Hoffman, CB, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Kingsleigher
TPE at time of draft: 216
TPE at time of writing: 567, 60th in the class, 15th among CBs
Stats in S29: 10 Pass Deflections, 1 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 11, 39 spot fall
Current Team: Philadelphia Liberty
Hoffman is actually a bit more interesting than a guy who has slowly earned over the course of his career: He was the other piece in the Punter trade that sent a high TPE player to Arizona, and gave Philly their new GM. As Hoffman got a decent return on investment, it's hard to say he didn't hit, even if he is a bit below the target line for his position in the draft. Again, at this point if you get anything you've got at least a decent hit.
Round 4, Pick 51: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Cleg Manclaw, TE, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Cynoblaze
TPE at time of draft: 161
TPE at time of writing: 334, 67th in the class, 2nd and worst among TEs
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 50, 1 spot fall
This is not a return on investment, not even for a pick in the middle of the 4th round. Normally this wouldn't be that big, but the Sailfish traded quite a decent player in Blago Kokot in order to get this pick. Manclaw was a cap casualty last season if I remember correctly, never earned, and wouldn't be as big of a deal in my mind if Sarasota hadn't given Yellowknife their starting kicker for a longer period of time than Manclaw spent on the team. Busts that end up costing more than their original pick are even worse than usual.
Round 4, Pick 52: The New Orleans Second Line select...Mike Rotchburns, RB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: SchoolboyShue
TPE at time of draft: 232
TPE at time of writing: 729, 50th in the class, 2nd among RBs
Stats in S29: 1045 rushing yards, 3.9 YPC, 12 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 30, 22 spot fall
I don't think Rotchburns will ever match up to the performance he did as a rookie, where he ran for an insane 5.3 yards per carry en route to absolutely nothing but a pro bowl because Marcella Toriki poached all of his touchdowns. That being said, he's steadily earned over his career, and has ended up outlasting a number of running backs and other players picked before him in this draft. For what it's worth, Rotchburns is about where I draw the line for a great 4th round pick.
Round 4, Pick 53: The New York Silverbacks select...Harley Fank, WR (has since swapped to OL), Norfolk Seawolves. User: Beebob
TPE at time of draft: 244
TPE at time of writing: 670, 53rd in the class, 7th among OLs
Stats in S29: 83 Pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 64, 11 spot improvement
Harley Fank to compare is what I'd describe as satisfactory. He's an Olineman now, and hasn't done anything truly special over the years. He's earned...satisfactorily, he's performed...satisfactorily, and I'd say that makes for a satisfactory 4th round pick. That being said, it's worth mentioning he last gained more TPE in February, he position changed and was clearly saving for a trait in May, and still hasn't gained any more TPE, so he's actually functioning as a 610 TPE Olineman, which would drop him 3 spots in the rankings.
Round 4, Pick 54: The Chicago Butchers select...Timmy Dimbi, DT, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Nylar
TPE at time of draft: 148
TPE at time of writing: 732, 49th in the class, 3rd among DTs
Stats in S29: 2 TFLs, 4 Sacks, 1 FF/0 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Undrafted, Waiver Pickup
There's a lot more good in the 4th round than I remembered! While Dimbi did almost nothing this season in terms of stats, he did last update in May which is better than some of the other people in this area. He also started out from quite a poor position in terms of TPE as a waiver pickup. All in all, more than a successful pickup. Unless it's revealed that this guy was a Nylarthephoenix alt the entire time...nah, still probably successful as a late 4th round pick.
Round 4, Pick 55: The Colorado Yeti select...Angelo Cerilli, DT, Portland Pythons. User: AngeloC
TPE at time of draft: 209
TPE at time of writing: 233, would be 71st in the class, 5th and worst among DTs
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 48, 7 spot fall
OK, as we reach the very very end of the 4th round, there are very few worthwhile players left in the entire draft. So picking someone who last posted, updated, and visited the forum in October last year isn't truly that big of a deal. Although it looks a lot worse when you consider who got picked right before, and when you find out who got picked right after.
Round 4, Pick 56: The New York Silverbacks select...Brick Van Sanzo, DE, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: Snazzlepuss22
TPE at time of draft: 189
TPE at time of writing: 908, 39th in the class, 5th among DEs
Stats in S29: 7 TFLs, 11 Sacks, 4 FF/3 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 42, 14 spot fall
The Silverbacks's worst pick in my estimation so far this draft was their first rounder. While Sanzo does have less TPE, he comes 3 rounds later. Sanzo's continued to update frequently, which makes him only the 3rd player in this round to do so. I haven't seen Snazzlepuss around, but unlike a lot of these other guys, I probably could if I went and looked. He also had quite a nice S29 to boot. All in all, far and away the best player in the 2nd half of the round.
Round 5, Pick 57: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Jeeroy Lenkins, CB, Minnesota Grey Ducks. User: LewisMelville
TPE at time of draft: 181
TPE at time of writing: 1085, T-21st in the class, T-10th among CBs
Stats in S29: 20 Pass Deflections, 1 INT, 2 FF/1 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 74, 17 spot improvement
This guy went up 17 spots from his DSFL draft and might still be the steal of the entire draft. There's one other guy who might also fit the bill, but the reason he fell was character concerns, not his inability to earn. Lenkins? He dropped like a stone all the way to the start of the 5th, and has more TPE than all but 2 of Round 4, and all but 1 of Round 3. The Fire Salamanders would have had a great second half of the draft if they only took Lenkins and no one else.
Round 5, Pick 58: The New York Silverbacks select...Mark Hamel, OL, Portland Pythons. User: Lespoils
TPE at time of draft: 159
TPE at time of writing: 697, 52nd in the class, 6th among OLs
Stats in S29: 108 Pancakes, 8 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 65, 7 spot improvement
Hamel has been a decently consistent earner, which is all you really need at the Oline position. Those 8 sacks allowed last season, much less so. That being said, this is about all one should really expect from a 5th round pick. The fact that Hamel is still active and updating isn't bad either. That being said, this isn't the best late round OL pickup for the Silverbacks; that comes later
Round 5, Pick 59: The Philadelphia Liberty select...Jake Fencik, K/P, London Royals. User: XenostheLegend
TPE at time of draft: 220
TPE at time of writing: 882, 41st in the class, 1st among K/Ps
Stats in S29: 85.4 FG%, 44.9 yards per punt
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 45, 14 spot fall
If you can get a kicker who has consistently earned, who has been around the forum and the discords enough for me to notice them, that's a great pickup here in the 5th round. So far, the 5th round has actually been decently strong; you can't argue with close to 900 TPE, even if it does come in the form of a kicker. That being said, it's noticeable that he hasn't updated since the start of the month. Not that big of a deal, he's still around the forum, and even if he never updated again this is still a worthwhile 5th rounder, but it's important to note.
Round 5, Pick 60: The Austin Copperheads select...Connor Quigley, OL, Kansas City Coyotes. User: Whatamus
TPE at time of draft: 144
TPE at time of writing: 815, 45th in the class, 4th among OLs
Stats in S29: 68 Pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 87, 27 spot improvement
Let's start with the (few) downsides to Quigley in general: I haven't seen Whatamus around very much, if at all, neither on the forum nor the discord. He also hasn't updated for a month, although he has still been visiting the forum. Those two facts are vastly outweighed by giving the Copperheads a great value OLine at pick 60 of the draft. This is, in my opinion, the 4th straight hit to start the 5th round.
Round 5, Pick 61: The Yellowknife Wraiths select...Milk Mann, S, Dallas Birddogs. User: BKFootball
TPE at time of draft: 201
TPE at time of writing: 267, would be 70th in the class, 6th and last among S
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 52, 9 spot fall
And we're back to a nobody pick. Milk Mann was around the forums a decent amount back when he was active, but started earning extremely slowly after the draft, last updated in November, and never left the DSFL. It is interesting how it took until the 5th pick of the round to reach a bust in the 5th round. In both rounds 3 and 4, there were multiple busts in the first 5 picks.
Round 5, Pick 62: The Arizona Outlaws select...Mason Gillion, CB, Tijuana Luchadores. User: Emperor
TPE at time of draft: 163
TPE at time of writing: 571, 59th in the class, 14th among CBs
Stats in S29: Did not show up in the bot
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 92, 30 spot improvement
Gillion hasn't updated since January, has not visited the forum since March, and yet the Outlaws were still able to get some use out of him: He made for a worthwhile CB3 for a couple seasons before the Outlaws got Triplet, and as such I'd call this a worthwhile 5th round pick. At the very least he did better than Milk Mann.
Round 5, Pick 63: The New Orleans Second Line select...Adam Spencer, WR (has since swapped to TE), London Royals. User: Adam S
TPE at time of draft: 198
TPE at time of writing: 881, 42nd in the class, 1st among TEs
Stats in S29: 730 Yards, 9.2 yards per catch, 3 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 69, 6 spot improvement
Whenever I come to Spencer, I always compare him to Holloway. They both had a number of contract stipulations that they put in an article beforehand, they're both well traveled users who had a long history, and they both didn't earn anywhere near as much as I or other people expected around the time of the draft. Of course, there are 2 major differences between the two: While Spec's connections to OCO meant the Otters were always likely to be the team to pick him, one of Adam's contract stipulations directly stated that he didn't want to be picked by OCO. And while a 3rd rounder earning in the 800s in this draft class is a bit of a disappointment, a 5th rounder in the 800s is more than worthy of a pick. Maybe not as much of a steal as the Second Line hoped for, but still a decent pickup.
Round 5, Pick 64: The Arizona Outlaws select...Terry Yaki, RB, London Royals. User: Doomraider
TPE at time of draft: 160
TPE at time of writing: 557, 61st in the class, 6th among RBs
Stats in S29: 274 rushing yards, 3.9 ypc, 3 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 85, 21 spot improvement
Current Team: Berlin Fire Salamanders
Now, while I'd normally say this was a decent pickup for Arizona, getting a guy over 500 TPE this late in the draft, I can't say that. Yaki was earning very little on Arizona and was probably about to go inactive, and to get something out of him Arizona traded him to Berlin for a 4th rounder in a non reddit draft. Meanwhile, for Berlin, Yaki has picked up the earning, and has acted as a pretty decent RB2 for them over the past couple seasons. While the TPE numbers are good for the spot, Arizona basically got nothing out of the pick.
Round 5, Pick 65: The Chicago Butchers select...Mark Callous, WR, Dallas Birddogs. User: Mccransky
TPE at time of draft: 218
TPE at time of writing: 297, would be 70th in the class, 7th and worst among WRs
Stats in S29: None, currently a Free Agent
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 38, 27 spot fall
Going into the DSFL draft, Mark Callous and McCransky were one of the biggest figures of the class in terms of talking in the London Royals discord, the general default discord for the S25 rookie class. That being said, he quickly quieted down, fell off the earning, and last updated on Halloween. I very much miss him, but he did not pan out as a pick, not really in either class.
Round 5, Pick 66: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Dexter Jackson, LB (has since swapped to RB), Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Killascrilla
TPE at time of draft: 135
TPE at time of writing: 457, T-62nd, 7th among RBs
Stats in S29: 12 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 43, 23 spot fall
Current Team: Baltimore Hawks
While this is an OK level of TPE for this spot in the draft, I don't think the Sailfish got anything for Jackson before he moved to the Hawks as a Fullback. That being said, this is still a mid 5th round pick, getting towards late, and at this point getting basically jack out of a pick is just an "eh", as opposed to a disaster.
Round 5, Pick 67: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Teddy Utterstruzen, S, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. User: Teddyoojo
TPE at time of draft: 174
TPE at time of writing: 703, 51st in the class, 5th and worst among S
Stats in S29: 11 Pass Deflections, 7 Sacks, 4 FF/2 FR
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 99, 32 spot improvement
The second straight pick for the Sailfish was much better than the first. While Utterstruzen has now put forward his resignation, he has been more than a worthwhile pick for the Sailfish. I believe he was a starting Safety for the Sailfish for a while, which is more than what you could ask for as a late 5th round pick. Now, the Sailfish did have 3 picks in a row during this stretch, so who did they pick with their 3rd one?
Round 5, Pick 68: The Sarasota Sailfish select...Steven Wadham, S, London Royals. User: Arvot
TPE at time of draft: 177
TPE at time of writing: 935, 37th in the class, 3rd among S
Stats in S29: 8 Pass Deflections, 3 Sacks, 1 INT
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 101, 33 spot improvement
Current Team: New Orleans Second Line
Turns out, Teddy Utterstruzen wasn't the best safety the Sailfish picked in this 3 player stretch. Which was a bit of a shame for them, considering they traded Steven Wadham for a 3rd round pick in S27 back in November. While I haven't been around Arvot at all, he's still active, he might get over 1000 TPE, if not more, and that's extremely impressive for a guy picked here, at the end of the 5th round. This would be such a steal for the Sailfish if they hadn't let him get away for extremely little. Then again, this might be a situation similar to Yaki earlier, where he had no chance to play and probably would have gone inactive if not traded away.
Round 5, Pick 69: The Berlin Fire Salamanders select...Cmon Skiuuup, TE (has since swapped to WR), Dallas Birddogs. User: Aircrou
TPE at time of draft: 202
TPE at time of writing: 1091, 19th in the class, 2nd among WRs
Stats in S29: 1517 yards, 15.8 yards per catch, 15 TDs
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 94, 25 spot improvement
There's only one thing that prevents me from calling Cmon Skiuuup the best value pick of the entire draft; the fact that the entire reason he fell was due to...let's call them character concerns. As is, getting a top 20 player in terms of TPE at the meme number is extremely impressive; the last guy to be drafted in there before you was drafted 23 picks ago. He also had one of the best seasons that WR had the entire season during S29. All in all, Aircrou aside, there's absolutely nothing preventing me from calling this the biggest steal of the draft.
Round 5, Pick 70: The Chicago Butchers select...Etrigan T. Slayer, DE, Portland Pythons. User: Thiath
TPE at time of draft: 201
TPE at time of writing: 752, 48th in the class, 6th among DEs
Stats in S29: 3 TFLs, 12 Sacks, 2 FF/1 FR, 2 Safeties
DSFL Draft Position: Pick 33, 37 spot fall
Current Team: Baltimore Hawks
Thiath, who has retired, might actually instead be the biggest steal of the entire draft if you stretch the definition of steal. Slayer was a decent earner throughout his career, and made the Defensive Line of the Hawks much better than it had been. That being said, unlike everyone else in this round who is on a different team than the one that drafted them, the Butchers more than got bang for their buck when they traded Slayer to the Hawks: They got a 1st round pick for Thiath. It's one of the bigger overpays involving the S25 draft, if not the biggest one. Even at his best, Thiath wasn't worth a 1st round pick. So who did that 1st round pick turn into? It actually turned into Hordle, also known as Alexander Franklin. That being said, as the last pick of the 5th round, Thiath more than made up for his pick position with his TPE gain before he retired. He even won a DE of the year award once in the same year he won DRotY.
(The 6th round and onwards is continued in the reply due to character limitations)