THE MILLER REPORT: SEASON 21 DRAFT RECAP

MILLER REPORT: SEASON 21 DRAFT RECAP

What's going on SFL World! This is your favorite beat writer Jason Miller here. I am coming back at you with another Miller Report. This time we are talking about the SFL Draft. Now I don't know how you are feeling about it, but I thought that was the most exciting draft I have ever seen in the SFL. I was going to break down each team but decided to just break down the points that really stood out to me. We have a lot of topics to get into so let's do it. 

THE REVOLUTION HAS STARTED

Did anyone in the SFL have on their bingo card that Louisiana would have 2 picks inside the top 12? I didn't think so. A few weeks back the Revs traded up to 5 and we all knew they were going to select a RB of the future. I had picked Logan Lee. Others picked Chris Grant Jr. They went with Duane Sammons from Ottawa. Duane is Randy Squarebush 2.0 with his strength and break tackle ability. He makes total sense with the way they run the ball. But then they make a HUGE SPLASH and trade back into the 12th pick and get Chris Grant Jr!!! I noticed the whole panel was shocked about that pick and so was I. The Revs are geared up and ready for this upcoming season. One thing I will say though about these picks. I do love them. Don't get me wrong, but they better hope the cap raises by quite a bit because these  two players alone could be close to 8 Million in CAP next season.

ARIZONA SCORPIONS

I couldn't come up with a clever title for this one. So sue me if you must, but this was an interesting topic. My long time friendenemy Chad Roland was on the panel and did not like this pick at all. I mean I get what he is trying to say but I disagree with him. Especially after the fact that he wanted them to draft WR Ryan Arloviski and they ended up getting him at #26 anyway! LeClaire is an all around TE that will be able to put pressure on the defense to not only cover that great WR core but also provide help in the run blocking department. I mean if LA didn't go for the reach they did and get Arlovski instead then I would say getting LeClaire was a bad pick there. But with Atlanta right there needing a TE badly before their 26th pick I can only say that this was the right move. 

SHOULD HAVE BEEN ARLOVSKI

This was a perfect segway into this topic. I can't always just be positive in these articles. Let's talk about the Lycans here. They had 2 first round picks. A great chance to really make their mark and improve in that Pacific division. The first pick was a good one. They needed run blocking and Janae Nicole should be able to provide that. Then we get to 19. I want to clarify something before I go on here. At this point in the draft there are no WRs off the board. NONE. So when LA came up on the clock, it made sense to go WR here. You had WRs like Arlovski, Lunar, Giffis and Spyder all right there for the taking. But you go Daricus Iniguez. No I'm not kidding. He was #15 on my Miller Big Board and a ton of value was left off the board. LA has always gone for guys that are character picks. But sometimes you have to go with talent over character to win ball games and win divisions and I just think here LA took a huge reach on a guy that they could have traded back and possibly got in the late second round. They got the guy they want and that is fine. I just hope for their sake that Arlovski doesn't ball out and make them regret not taking him at 19. 

GOOSE WOULD BE PROUD

If Goose was still alive he would say “I'm excited about Maverick Football”. I think the Mavericks did a great job this offseason. Not only did they spread their cap around to get people paid but they also made the move to get one of the top QBs in the league in Jonny Pichler. Then they follow up in the draft with some great picks. I think McWaffle at 2 might have been a “reach” but with 4 RBs taken in the first round, the Mavs had to get their guy. So I can understand that. But the rest were all home run picks. Danny Carmichael will help improve the back end of that defense, Al Farouq Aminu was a first round grade LB that was drafted in the 3rd round and King Bradshaw is a guy that has great speed and can tackle really well. Every one of their picks except McWaffle, I had higher so kudos to them for getting these guys where they got them. And I won't blame them for going after McWaffle as I stated before. Great draft here for the Mavs and the SFL needs to take notice now that SD is going to be a threat.

LEGION OF DOOM

Another team in my mind that had a great draft was Vancouver. I love the DJ Woods pick as I had him higher on my board. Pairing Logan Lee with Robert Redford is going to be a disgusting combo that will put fear in the heart of defensive coordinators throughout the SFL. They come back day 2 and get WR Zoro Lunar who should be a nice addition to that WR core and getting backup QB Austin Blanco was a steal in my mind. He is a guy that I can see as a fringe starter going into year 1 for him so if Christian Brown isn't on top of his game this season we could see a QB battle up in Canada this season. 

BEST DRAFT EVER

Let's be real on this one. The new changes from switching over to the new version of the SFL has benefited the draft the most. Gone are the days of watching QBs and RBs go extremely late in the draft because it wasn't a priority to draft them. Now with expanded rosters and having “free rookies”, the draft has become way more exciting to watch. For someone like me that eats and breathes SFL draft, I was quite happy with the product that was put out for 2 days. It was neat to see teams draft based on what they are going to try and run compared to just grabbing the best available. Some of these guys in the old system would have never been drafted due to size or just not having a maxed out build. Watching this draft was just a taste of what true benefits this switch is going to bring and I am on board with it all!

This has been Jason Miller reporting from the SFL draft. Look for the Manifesto coming out in the next couple of weeks!