Draft Report

Round 1 Deals

1-10 – OLB Joseph Holiday – Boise
- Holiday projects as a 67/77 player who is ready to contribute from day 1.

1-18 – C Mike Greer – Texas
- Centers are never highly sought as first round picks but Greer is another player who can step into a starting lineup from day 1 with huge potential (59/87).

1-22 -QB Timothy Kiser – Denver
- Kiser is very raw but compares very well to the two quarterbacks selected in the top 10.



Round 1 Duds (???)

1-20 – RB Harvey Engelke – Atlantic City
- This pick has already been scrutinized but is easily the biggest WTF moment of round 1. Early projection of 25/29 sounds like a 5th round pick.

1-23 – CB Luther Watkins – Santa Cruz
- Watkins is probably going to be a very good player for many years but with a first round pick you hope for more than 29/49.

1-29 – WR Randall Lyle – Baltimore
- 25/33 is not a great set of numbers for a first round pick, even late in the round. Lyle has a chance to be a big play receiver but should he have been a first rounder? A weak WR draft played into this pick.





Free Agent Scorecard (Where did the top free agents sign?)

1- T Jon Gaylor – Boise – Boise
- Gaylor, a young 72/72 T was franchised by Boise. He wasn’t going anywhere this offseason.

2- C Daryl Fagelman – Anchorage – Omaha
- Omaha will be paying around $21 million a year for this veteran center. Who can argue with 99 run block, 97 pass block and 99 block strength?

3- T Donald Hickman – San Antonio – Seattle
- 10 year veteran signed with Seattle for 3 yrs and $42+ million. Cash is king in the CFL.

4- DE Mickey Holmes – Cleveland – Fargo
- The best defensive player in free agency got PAID in Fargo. Consider this: In 2029, Holmes signed a 3 yrs - $7.36 deal. This year, he signed for 5 yrs - $98.96.

5- G Corey Crawford – Boise – Albany
- Signed to reshape the line, Crawford may be a bargain at 2 yrs - $22.63.

6- C Frank Johnstone – Albany – Albany
- Johnstone was told to test free agency but give Albany a chance to beat any deal. They did that to the tune of 3 yrs - $29.63.

7- QB Tito Glover – Boise – Fargo
- This signing is the biggest gamble of the off-season. Glover (58/58) signed a 3 yr - $37.99 contract with Fargo. Sounds ok for a 7 year vet with skins on the wall but Glover hasn’t started a game since 2029.

8- DT Julio Stargell – Seattle – Denver
- Stargell was the only free agent to sign a $100 deal. A three time first team defensive tackle and the 2029 defensive MVP, Stargell needs to return to his double digit sack totals of 2029 if this signing is going to work out.

9- QB Rondell Whiting – Albany – Albany
- The second overall pick in 2027 was franchised by Albany.

10- RB Vincent Milne – Anchorage – Boston
- The top running back on the market has the longest move ahead of him. This may be the best signing of the year. Yes, it was expensive (5 yrs - $93.21) but Milne is young (5th year) and has four consecutive seasons with 1,000+ yards rushing. Boston has not had a 1,000 yard rusher since 2021. Yes, you read that right.

11- DT Brendon Brennan – Baltimore – Boise
- A 10 year vet, Brennan has been an all-league 1st or 2nd team performer the past two years.

12- OLB Bernie Harvey – Baltimore – San Antonio
- Like Brennan, Harvey is a key departure for Baltimore. However, after 12 years and only missing 4 starts since 2023 you have to wonder how much gas he has left in the tank.

13- DT Neil Farr – Cleveland – Atlantic City
- Production has not been there for Farr but at a little over $5 a year for a 56/56 DT, this could be a good signing.

14- QB Wes Harden – Unattached – Seattle
- Seattle is really rolling the dice on this pickup as Harden has been in the CFL for 15 years. Does he have anything left to give?

15- CB Dave Pettine – San Antonio – Texas
- 2 yrs - $19.53 for a first team all-league CB? Even at 11 years’ experience this looks like a good signing to us.




TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK (or SAW:


1- If you are a believer in the Green Page, then you have to love the Boston Bees draft. Boston has five players listed among the top 20 young talents in the league.

2- LDE Richard Riley is still on the Anchorages roster but it is highly unlikely that he will ever play competitive football again. Riley, who suffered an extremely serious head injury in week 2 of the 2031 exhibition season is still suffering from Repetitive Concussion Syndrome. He listed as 94 weeks until full strength.

3- Other notable injury rehabs include:
a. Fargo RDE Ricardo McCormick – ACL Knee Surgery – 23 weeks
b. New Orleans RCB Bucky Danner – ACL Knee Surgery – 6 weeks
c. Albany SLB Mark Koopmans – Back Surgery – 4 weeks

4- Eight first round pick have signed their rookie contracts, with OLB Maurice Slater (#12) the highest pick to sign so far.

5- T Kyle Franz, who was a first round pick in 2031 but refused to sign a contract, has come to an agreement with Brooklyn.

6- Mr. Irrelevant, FB Graham Ballard signed with Shreveport.

7- A bidding war is under way for undrafted rookie Kicker Brett Riddle. Six teams have made initial contract offers, and they range from $830,000 to $4.1.

8- A few of the other top unsigned, undrafted rookies include:
a. RB Ernie Rasmussen
b. P Steven Glover
c. TE Gene Gaines
d. FB Frankie Burdge

9- The biggest undrafted rookie signings include:
a. RB Leland Hawkins – New Orleans
b. RB Terry Perales – Memphis
c. FL Edwin Lyons – Detroit
d. SE Jamal Yount – Detroit
e. RCB Terry McGee – New Orleans
f. SE Mitchell Woodson – Detroit

10- And finally, our name of the week: rookie FL Bankroll Rasmussen.

SMQ out!

_________________

Nice write up Rick!! Notice if you will how very under the radar the Militia are right now..... Just where we want to be.......

_________________

Deep South Division Champions
2030, 2033, 2036, 2037, 2048, 2049, 2050, 2057
Eastern Conference Champions
2048, 2049
CFL Champions
2048, 2049
Home of Bart Godfrey - All-Time Rushing King
Proud captains of the Shreveport Kittens haters club

I was and am very high on Lyle. I suspect he is going to be about a 30/40 player after camp. I planned on taking him early in the second round. It was his selection that prompted me to trade up to 1.32 to grab the last player on my list.

_________________
Hartford Attack

These 2 have an impact on each other. I would guess that at least two of these talents won't be on the list to start the season once all the 1st rounders get signed.

Excellent. Glad to see people are reading these.

Hopefully I can do a season kickoff edition with more information.

_________________

These writeup's are great Rick, thanks for doing them..

_________________
omaha arrowheads

JJ Smitty's Record
Atlantic Division Champions - 2007, 2008, 2010, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2028, 2035, 2037, 2039, 2044, 2046, 2047
Eastern Conference Champions - 2008, 2039, 2047
CFL Champions - 2008, 2039, 2047

Love these.

_________________
ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067, 2070-2072
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062

Outstanding

Well done on the projection. How did you determine it?