1958 NAAF Draft
The hours leading up the first pick of the draft were tense. Every bit of news was questions upon questions about who might pry the #1 pick away from Louisville. GM Calvin Carpenter was having conversations with several other GMs. GM George Hanson of the Independents and GM Jason Harrell of the Victors were consistently going back and forth with Carpenter. Most people had narrowed it down to those two teams, however, GM Jack McKinnon was making a late pitch to the Thunder GM. With the late development, and time running out before the draft would officially begin, people were starting to think a deal would not happen. No news came as the clock started. But with 3 minutes left on the clock for the Thunder, Ryan Jameson officially announced a trade had been made.
TRADE ALERT
“Good evening everyone. Tonight is going to be quite a night I am sure. An exciting night for a large group of young players, but before we get into any selections, I have a trade to announce. The Louisville Thunder have traded the 1st Overall Pick and the 31st Overall Pick to the Boston Independents in exchange for the 5th Overall Pick, the 20th Overall Pick, Boston’s 1959 1st Rounder and LB Phillip Murphy.”
Boston and Indiana were the teams that truly made a push for the pick. Indiana’s best offer ended up being the 4th pick, their 3rd rounder, and next year’s 1st. The Victors unfortunately didn’t have the picks to really make a push and had been very reluctant to throw in the first from ‘59 until they figured out what Boston was offering. Of course, Boston would put in everything as they desperately wanted a QB even throwing in Murphy, a former 3rd round pick, to push it over the edge.
GM George Hanson was smiling as he came to the stage to make the first overall pick. Without too much hesitation, he would announce Nathaniel Baddock as the first overall pick.
1 - Boston Independents (via Louisville Thunder) - QB Nathaniel Braddock - Pittsburgh, PA
We already know his story, Braddock is a legendary name, but it is Nathaniel who is looking to create his own legacy. Boston might be the biggest place to do it since the team has its respect in the football world for consistent success over the many years across several competitions. While Larry Larson is another legend, there is certainly some separation between the two QBs where Braddock can build his own legacy.
The Gains Report
Braddock lives up to the hype. He is super accurate and smart. He rarely makes massive mistakes, and even has abilities to improvise. His only downside is average arm strength, but Braddock is easily one of the best football players I have ever seen.
Once Boston was done with the pick eyes turned onto Montreal. GM Anthony Vigneault was also being flooded with trade offers for the 2nd overall pick. Of course, Gene Bishop is still up there at the top, but also the two running backs and Montreal feels good with QB Stanislav Ovechkin and RB Scott Mallard-White. So it didn’t take long for another trade to be made.
TRADE ALERT
The Rouge would send the 2nd Overall Pick and DL Angus McTavish to the Long Island Raiders in exchange for the 7th Overall Pick, the 27th Overall Pick and DL Xander Devereaux.
It’s a solid trade for Montreal who, with the addition of Devereaux, starts solidifying a future on the defensive line. They also should still be able to grab a strong defensive player at the 7th pick and get an additional pick. As for Long Island, they were excited to get the guy they wanted.
2 - Long Island Raiders (via Montreal Rouge) - RB Dareion Fields - Baltimore, MD
The Raiders hope that they finally got a top tier running back. In the past, they have tried with RB Pierre LeStrange and even RB Johnnie Stafford, which both have not worked for the franchise, but this is the first attempt since their move to Long Island.
Wally Flowers’ Scouting Report
Fields is an elusive back with an ability to get out of any bad situation. The comparisons to Alexei Volkov are there, and rightfully so. Fields’ only drawback might be a lack of power, but if you can get him into open space, he is a dangerous runner.
Following the 2 big trades for teams to move up, there was still talk and chatter about whether the 3rd pick, belonging to London, would be moved as well. After all, Gene Bishop was still up there. As the Tigers clock was going down, once again Ryans Jameson came up to announce yet another trade had been made.
TRADE ALERT
The London Tigers would trade the 3rd Overall Pick, WR Marqués Gardner, and OL Billy Simon, to the Worcester Athletics for the 6th Overall Pick, and….well….QB Riley Kiernan.
The third of the trades had suddenly become the biggest with Kiernan heading to London. New GM Jack McKinnon didn’t comment much, but the speculation is that the team didn’t like his ups and downs. Last season was his worst and he ended the season with an injury. With Gene Bishop available, they decided to move on from the QB that they would be paying $32,000 this season. They get WR Gardner to help boost their depth in the receiving core and Simon for more depth on the OL.
The Tigers make a huge play here. Despite a bad year, on a team that ran the ball more and also had a very injured receiving core, Kiernan is still a franchise QB. With the weapons the Tigers have, he will be in a much better position. Although GM Joseph Johnson has said that the starting QB is not a guarantee right now and Christian Stewart will still be given a shot at the starting job throughout training camp.
Worcester grabs their next QB with the pick they received from their last. Overall, it’s a big risk considering the team’s needs in other positions outside of QB. However, Bishop is a strong player with loads of potential and certainly has the upside to warrant the trade up to get him.
Johnny Singleton’s Scouting Report
Another big arm QB that can bring out the big plays in an offensive attack. The strength is there and he is quite mobile in the backfield, however, his one concern might be the accuracy as he throws it further down the field. While in short passes he is totally fine, but for every yard, he throws the accuracy starts to fall off. Bishop has garnered a lot of comparisons to Lee Rogers, who is known as the biggest bust in league history so far. The good news is Bishop has developed his accuracy over the past few years and his decision making is better. If he continues to work can become a great all-around QB with mobility.
4 - Indiana Victors - RB Rodney Clark - Pittsburgh, PA
Indiana was the first team NOT to trade their pick in the draft. They ultimately had to settle with the leftover from the top 4 talents. Indiana wanted to grab Bishop and honestly didn’t think anyone would jump them by the time the Tigers were up to pick. However, Clark is not simply a leftover as he is still a top tier talent and will be a great fit as the future of the backfield for the team.
Dewey Thomas’ Scouting Report
Clark is a mix of speed and power that will make it tough for defences to stop him. While not as powerful as his now teammate RB Laurent Brazeau, he makes up for it in speed. Clark has a style quite similar to Brazeau which will make him a good fit for the team. Clark might have a downside in a lack of lateral abilities and relying on an ability to run people over, but he is still a great piece to have for the foundation of the team.
5 - Louisville Thunder (via Boston Independents) - DB Jayden Mills - New Haven, CT
Louisville would take the first defensive player off the board with Jayden Mills. With the lack of young pieces Louisville has, they were likely targeting the most talented player when they drafted and Mills is exactly that.
Johnny Singleton’s Scouting Report
Mills is a great corner. While he is shorter than the average DB, he makes up for it in his jumping ability and his great hands which will make him an interception machine. He’ll make for a great lockdown DB in tight situations. However, he also isn’t exactly a speedy player as his speed is about average and faster wideouts will get the better of him.
6 - London Tigers (via Worcester Athletics) - DL Richard Blunt - London, ON
The Tigers decide to solidify their already strong D-line by drafting a hometown prospect in Blunt. With the young core they have on the defence, the Tigers are looking even scarier with this acquisition.
Roger Roy’s Scouting Report
This man lives up to the name. He is blunt; lacks emotion, very direct with what he says. He even spills his personality into the game. Straight to the point, of course, the point being the running back. He has a great ability to stuff the ball carrier the moment he touches the ball. Blunt also has a death grip as he will latch onto a player and won’t let go until they are on the ground. However, he can get beat if you can outrun him. He’s certainly not the most agile and can be beaten via a solid juke move or just pure speed.
7 - Montreal Rouge (via Long Island Raiders) - DL Dexter Barbarcos - Gary, IN
The Rouge ultimately get their guy at the 7th spot. They really like Barbarcos and wanted to get him, but there was a risk in trading back. Fortunately, they still grab him with the pick and with the addition of Xander Devereaux on the D-line, the Rouge have a very bright future in the front 4.
The Gains Report
Barbarcos is a fierce, punishing lineman. He eats up space and closes up running lanes quickly. His aggressive style and personality can come off the wrong way with some players, but those on his team appreciate his abilities and work in the game. Barbarcos fits right in with the defence-first mentality in Montreal and will be a star on the defence.
8 - Providence Gold Stars - WR Cedric Peterson - Ottawa, ON
The Gold Stars look to continue giving QB Connor O’Rourke more weapons by bringing in Cedric Peterson. With WR Peter Brooks getting older, Peterson is a great pick to team up with breakout WR Sammy Moss.
Wally Flowers’ Scouting Report
Peterson is a star in the making. Idolizing WR Allen Atkins, he has drawn man comparisons, and rightfully so. While he isn’t as tall as Atkins, he makes up for it in speed and great hands. His route running is very strong as well. Obviously, his height might be a detractor, and he isn’t the strongest overall, but he can make a play.
9 - Ottawa Royals - LB Douglas MacDougall - Saint John, NB
The Royals look to rebuild their front 7 with a young LB in MacDougall. With LB Leo Davenport getting older and the depth really lacking in the front 7, MacDougall is a great addition.
The Gains Report
MacDougall is a fierce competitor and works his butt off to be the best he can be. He has an ability to be all over the field and will rack up tackles like Scotty Williams and Aengus Lynch. His downside comes in the form of discipline as he gets into a lot of penalty trouble. Whether it is a facemask or even being a bit too aggressive in coverage. Overall, with some development, MacDougall can be a strong defensive centrepiece for the Royals.
10 - Buffalo Blue Wings - LB Sam Wynn - Pawtucket, RI
With the Blue Wings only having one pick until the 4th round they reach into the early 2nd round and grab LB Sam Wynn. With their LB core getting older, they wanted to look into rebuilding it for the future with Wynn as the first piece.
Dewey Thomas’ Scouting Report
Wynn is a pretty solid LB with good tackling abilities and good field awareness. He has a lot of solid tools but really isn’t a master in any way, which makes for a good all-around player. His weaknesses will be evident in coverage situations, especially man-to-man, but he still has good awareness to get into the right place. The opening round was shocking with the 3 trades, making for a very long writeup with still more to come.
1958 NAAF Draft
Round 2
The second round was much less crazy than the first, but it still had another traded early on. After the Thunder selected OL Bernhard Altermann, the Royals and Rouge made a surprising swap.
Ottawa would trade up from the 19th pick to the 12th by sending WR Toni Radovanovic to the Rouge. Radovanovic had injury issues this season, but he still helps to add depth to a WR position that Montreal is still building.
The Royals would go on to select S Randall Green with the pick to help replace Lester Greer who went to Louisville last season. London would add on the OL next with the pick of Stanley Witt, then it was Indiana who grabbed TE Emmanuel Hines. Hines was a 1st round projected player, but teams feel they got guys they like in the TE position, so he fell into the second round.
Boston would look to get Braddock some more weapons with WR Paul Franklin at 15th overall. Worcester looked to add depth in the secondary behind Alexander Bradley with DB Elvin Waters at 16.
Long Island would add to their young DL with Martin Garfield, who might be a sneaky pick in the round with great vertical ability on the line. Providence would look to expand O’Rourke’s protection with OL Nicholas Waller, and then Montreal would get the hometown LB in Sebastian Andrews with the 19th pick via Ottawa. Louisville would close out the round with WR Tony Albano to add to their younger group of receivers.
Round 2 Summary
11 - LOU - OL Bernhard Altermann - Staten Island, NY - ZO82
12 - OTT (via MTL) - S Randall Green - Toledo, OH - Captain Mort 3D
13 - LDN - OL Stanley Witt - Boston, MA - Captain Mort 3D
14 - IND - TE Emmanuel Hines - Saginaw, MI - DireBear
15 - BOS - WR Paul Franklin - Warwick, RI - Captain Mort 3D
16 - WOR - DB Elvin Waters - Goshen, IN - Rugrat
17 - LI - DL Martin Garfield - Kitchener, ON - DireBear
18 - PRO - OL Nicholas Waller - Dover, DE - Dan O’Mac
19 - MTL (via OTT) - LB Sebastian Andrews - Montreal, QC - Sevsdast
20 - LOU (via BUF) - WR Tony Albano - Brooklyn, NY - Rugrat
Round 3
The third round was where things started to fall off a bit. The most notable pick was Indiana grabbing QB Stanley Troyer to hopefully grow behind Duane Logan. Montreal would also grab RB Tobias Graves with the 27th pick via the earlier Long Island trade. Graves seems to have a mean streak about him that had other teams avoiding him.
As the round was coming to a close, there was a fifth trade where the Raiders grabbed the 28th pick from the Tigers in exchange for RB Timothy Weeks. Weeks comes full circle, returning to the team he started his career with the Tigers. The Raiders would take WR Wilson Queensgate with the pick that was originally a Gold Stars pick.
Round 3 Summary
21 - LOU - DL Theo Conte - Oyster Bay, NY - Darknes
22 - MTL - OL Ivan Zamora - Worcester, MA - ZO82
23 - LDN - LB Harvey Phillips - Waterloo, ON - Rugrat
24 - IND - QB Stanley Troyer - Benton Harbor, MI - TigersFan93
25 - BOS - DL Vic Harper - Hartford, CT - Dan O’Mac
26 - WOR - WR Trig Jegman - Columbus, OH - ZO82
27 - MTL (via LI) - RB Tobias Graves - Shirley, MA - Darknes
28 - LI (via PRO) - WR Wilson Queensgate - Queens, NY - Darknes
29 - OTT - OL Jack Workman - Brooklyn, NY - ZO82
30 - LOU - OL Byron Foster - Lexington, KY - Rugrat
4th Round
The Tigers would get another TE in the 4th round with Tanner Tint dropping back to 33rd from a projected 22nd overall. Buffalo would also take the 4th QB of the draft in Sammy Townsend to compete with Randy Sellers for the future of the club. Then, the Blue Wings would finish off the draft by taking another LB in James MacPhail.
Round 4 Summary
31 - BOS (via LOU) - S Clancy Scott - Oceanside, NY - Rugrat
32 - MTL - OL Quinton Hanberg - Montreal, QC - Wallflower
33 - LDN - TE Tanner Tint - Fort Wayne, IN - Thehealthiestscratch
34 - IND - DB Mario Ge - Lexington, KY - Sevsdast
35 - BUF (via BOS) - QB Sammy Townsend - Cleveland, OH - Rugrat
36 - WOR - OL Steven Michaels - Peterborough, ON - Wallflower
37 - LI - LB Deon Wiggins - Hempstead, NY - Captain Mort 3D
38 - PRO - DL Perry Karl - Springfield, MA - Rugrat
39 - OTT - DL Howard Grant - London, ON - Rugrat
40 - BUF - LB James MacPhail - Huntington, NY - Rugrat
Undrafted Prospects
OL Benny Germain - Cincinnati, OH - Rugrat
TE Bob Friesen - Uniondale, NY - Rugrat
DB Howard Janney - Springfield, MA - Rugrat
RB David Bass - Chicago, IL - Rugrat
WR Bill Phillips - London, ON - Rugrat
K Ross Poindexter - Fort Wayne, IN - TigersFan93
Round 2
The second round was much less crazy than the first, but it still had another traded early on. After the Thunder selected OL Bernhard Altermann, the Royals and Rouge made a surprising swap.
Ottawa would trade up from the 19th pick to the 12th by sending WR Toni Radovanovic to the Rouge. Radovanovic had injury issues this season, but he still helps to add depth to a WR position that Montreal is still building.
Boston would look to get Braddock some more weapons with WR Paul Franklin at 15th overall. Worcester looked to add depth in the secondary behind Alexander Bradley with DB Elvin Waters at 16.
Long Island would add to their young DL with Martin Garfield, who might be a sneaky pick in the round with great vertical ability on the line. Providence would look to expand O’Rourke’s protection with OL Nicholas Waller, and then Montreal would get the hometown LB in Sebastian Andrews with the 19th pick via Ottawa. Louisville would close out the round with WR Tony Albano to add to their younger group of receivers.
Round 2 Summary
11 - LOU - OL Bernhard Altermann - Staten Island, NY - ZO82
12 - OTT (via MTL) - S Randall Green - Toledo, OH - Captain Mort 3D
13 - LDN - OL Stanley Witt - Boston, MA - Captain Mort 3D
14 - IND - TE Emmanuel Hines - Saginaw, MI - DireBear
15 - BOS - WR Paul Franklin - Warwick, RI - Captain Mort 3D
16 - WOR - DB Elvin Waters - Goshen, IN - Rugrat
17 - LI - DL Martin Garfield - Kitchener, ON - DireBear
18 - PRO - OL Nicholas Waller - Dover, DE - Dan O’Mac
19 - MTL (via OTT) - LB Sebastian Andrews - Montreal, QC - Sevsdast
20 - LOU (via BUF) - WR Tony Albano - Brooklyn, NY - Rugrat
The third round was where things started to fall off a bit. The most notable pick was Indiana grabbing QB Stanley Troyer to hopefully grow behind Duane Logan. Montreal would also grab RB Tobias Graves with the 27th pick via the earlier Long Island trade. Graves seems to have a mean streak about him that had other teams avoiding him.
As the round was coming to a close, there was a fifth trade where the Raiders grabbed the 28th pick from the Tigers in exchange for RB Timothy Weeks. Weeks comes full circle, returning to the team he started his career with the Tigers. The Raiders would take WR Wilson Queensgate with the pick that was originally a Gold Stars pick.
Round 3 Summary
21 - LOU - DL Theo Conte - Oyster Bay, NY - Darknes
22 - MTL - OL Ivan Zamora - Worcester, MA - ZO82
23 - LDN - LB Harvey Phillips - Waterloo, ON - Rugrat
24 - IND - QB Stanley Troyer - Benton Harbor, MI - TigersFan93
25 - BOS - DL Vic Harper - Hartford, CT - Dan O’Mac
26 - WOR - WR Trig Jegman - Columbus, OH - ZO82
27 - MTL (via LI) - RB Tobias Graves - Shirley, MA - Darknes
28 - LI (via PRO) - WR Wilson Queensgate - Queens, NY - Darknes
29 - OTT - OL Jack Workman - Brooklyn, NY - ZO82
30 - LOU - OL Byron Foster - Lexington, KY - Rugrat
4th Round
The Tigers would get another TE in the 4th round with Tanner Tint dropping back to 33rd from a projected 22nd overall. Buffalo would also take the 4th QB of the draft in Sammy Townsend to compete with Randy Sellers for the future of the club. Then, the Blue Wings would finish off the draft by taking another LB in James MacPhail.
Round 4 Summary
31 - BOS (via LOU) - S Clancy Scott - Oceanside, NY - Rugrat
32 - MTL - OL Quinton Hanberg - Montreal, QC - Wallflower
33 - LDN - TE Tanner Tint - Fort Wayne, IN - Thehealthiestscratch
34 - IND - DB Mario Ge - Lexington, KY - Sevsdast
35 - BUF (via BOS) - QB Sammy Townsend - Cleveland, OH - Rugrat
36 - WOR - OL Steven Michaels - Peterborough, ON - Wallflower
37 - LI - LB Deon Wiggins - Hempstead, NY - Captain Mort 3D
38 - PRO - DL Perry Karl - Springfield, MA - Rugrat
39 - OTT - DL Howard Grant - London, ON - Rugrat
40 - BUF - LB James MacPhail - Huntington, NY - Rugrat
OL Benny Germain - Cincinnati, OH - Rugrat
TE Bob Friesen - Uniondale, NY - Rugrat
DB Howard Janney - Springfield, MA - Rugrat
RB David Bass - Chicago, IL - Rugrat
WR Bill Phillips - London, ON - Rugrat
K Ross Poindexter - Fort Wayne, IN - TigersFan93
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