1965 NAAF Draft

1965 NAAF Draft

Round 1

1 - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths - OL Erik Nelson - New York City, NY - Creator: Kingsfan11
With their first pick in franchise history, the Blacksmiths decided to go with the top prospect on the board. Nelson has got the potential to be a generational OL, which easily made him the top prospect. While it was tempting to take a defensive player, Nelson was miles ahead of the next player and should be an immediate help for Pittsburgh. Some compare Nelson to an actual wall since he never let anyone beat him in college. He will face stronger competition in the NAAF, but nonetheless, he is still going to be an impactful piece for Pittsburgh.

2 - Indiana Victors - LB Marshall Langenbrunner - Toronto, ON - Creator: Scratch
With the second pick in the draft, the Victors would look to strengthen their defence. Langenbrunner has a lot of pure talent at the LB position. Great instincts and ability to hunt down ball carriers. He does have an emotional side, and a bit of a rough past which can take him out of focus, but if he has the right people around, he could easily become one of the best LBs in the NAAF. 

3 - Halifax Mariners - DB Aquilio Ruiz - Lawrence, MA - Creator: idm
The Mariners would be the first to pick out of order, taking DB Aquillio Ruiz. Halifax has been meaning to find a secondary DB to support DB Joe Robinson and Ruiz looks to fit the bill. Ruiz has extraordinary speed which allows him to cover a lot of ground and often gets him in position for an interception. However, he does have a tendency to overshoot and get caught out of position trying to make a play or being caught off guard by short easy routes. 

4 - Ottawa Royals - LB Sam Wheeler - Carleton Place, ON - Creator: Wallflower
Ottawa was quietly hoping that Erik Nelson would slip to them, however, they were not so lucky. On the bright side, they may have their next top LB in Sam Wheeler. With lots of potential as a leader and a great ability to rack up tackles, a lot of scouts are comparing him to LB Scotty Williams. It is high praise, however, the concerns arise from his slightly smaller frame. He could find himself outmatched against stronger players in the NAAF, however, he is a workhorse and could easily get over that. 

5 - Providence Gold Stars - OL Joseph Samberg - Washington Court House, OH - Creator: Jayhawk
There were some rumblings that the Gold Stars were thinking about taking a gamble on QB Ulysses Lawyer, however, they decided to go with a position of need on the OL. Samberg is an athletic OL, who had played more TE in high school, however, he was a good blocker and not great at catching, so he was shifted to OL in college. It panned out as he should be a strong piece for the Gold Stars line that is looking pretty weak at the moment.

TRADE ALERT
It took a bit of time, but by the 6th overall pick, the 1965 draft had its first trade. The Tigers were considering taking WR Lloyd Lane with the pick, but they were not sold. The Thunder, who really need a WR, were also interested in the WR. GM Joseph Johnson of the Tigers decided to dangle the threat of taking the top WR and used that to make a deal with their division rival. In the end, the Thunder would get the 6th overall pick, and LB Damien Savoie, who the Tigers had only recently signed a few weeks before, in exchange for the 9th overall pick, the 33rd overall pick and LB George Yokoi. 

Yokoi ends up being the big piece in this trade. The 28-year-old had been talked about as a piece that could be on the move for the last few seasons. He finally gets traded here to a spot that may see a little more value in him. The Tigers have a young pair of LBs in Dallas Dillard and Gideon Jura that should be a great fit for Yokoi to slide in beside. His leadership and overall football IQ will be his biggest assets in the defence for the Tigers. 

6 - Louisville Thunder (from London) - WR Lloyd Lane - Bridgeport, CT - Creator: QCS
Following the trade, the Thunder would take the top WR in Lloyd Lane. The team has needed a top-end WR for a long time, they won’t have one immediately with Lane here, but he should be able to develop into that type of target in his first few seasons. He’s got strong hands and is good at route running. He does lack some speed, but he is working hard all the time to get better.

7 - Toronto Steelheads - S Charles Clerk - Augusta, ME - Creator: DireBear
The Steelheads would end up getting lucky with their 3rd ranked prospect slipping to them at 7. With S Daniel Perry getting up there in age, the drafting of Clerk makes a lot of sense for the Steelheads. Clerk is a strong tackler, you could say a yards-after-catch manager as he does tend to prevent WR from taking many more steps after catching the ball. His coverage is not as strong which is why he ends up making more tackles than interceptions. 

8 - Boston Independents - RB Tresean Jones - Albany, NY - Creator: Stickman
Boston would end up grabbing a RB in the first round for the first time since RB Kendall Morgan was taken 3rd overall in 1957. Morgan is hitting his 30s now, so a new younger back is a smart move for the Independents. Jones is a power back that will likely carry defenders for 10 yards rather than get there on pure speed. Not to say that Jones doesn’t have the ability to break free, as he can knock someone over and then take it 30 yards down the field. 

9 - London Tigers (from Louisville) - DB Rob Risker - Hamilton, ON - Creator: Sevsdast
With the pick the Tigers got from the Thunder, they would grab DB Rob Risker. With the team not having a DB under 30 on the main roster, they are looking towards the future with the selection of the Canadian. Risker is great as a man-to-man defender, being able to stick of WR and even knock them out of focus with his ego and talk. He can be quite cocky at times, especially if he is playing well, but he does focus and shut up in key moments.

10 - Montreal Rouge - TE Hunter Ziegelbauer - Moon Township, PA - Creator: Dan O’Mac
The Rouge are facing the fact that TE Eli Grant is coming to the end of his career, so they would go out and grab a new TE in Ziegelbauer. “Big Z” is certainly much different than Grant as he is a blocking-focused tight end. He should be a good addition regardless as an extra protector for QB Gene Bishop and a player that can open up the field for RB Scott Mallard-White. 

TRADE ALERT
The Raiders were getting quite close to running out of time before the team made a late move trading the 11th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Blacksmiths in exchange for OL Forrest Green. Green was the last of the tagged players that the Blacksmiths wanted to move. He should be a great addition to a competitive Raiders squad who were looking a little shaky on the O-line.

11 - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths (from Long Island) - DB Corey Ross - Wilmington, DE - Creator: JamHeronArk
The Blacksmiths would take the 3rd DB of the draft with the 11th pick. Ross is a hard-working player who really loves getting on the field whether it is game day or practice. He is always trying to get better which makes him a strong piece in the long run. He also has a lot of natural speed which makes him a dangerous player if he makes a strong adjustment to the game at the next level.

TRADE ALERT
Over the entire offseason, DL William Sanderson has been a topic of conversation around the league. The 30-year-old has spent his entire career in Indiana but was thinking of moving on whether that would come with a trade or free agency after this season. With the news, Indiana was put into a position that pretty much guaranteed they would try to move him before next offseason. Several teams were talking with the team. Buffalo, Halifax, Long Island, and Montreal were the closest to make the deals. Going into the draft it was down to Buffalo and Long Island. However, it seemed that Buffalo won out as Long Island made the move for Forrest Green. 

In the end, the Blue Wings would get the winning deal for DL William Sanderson, who will join one of the scariest D-lines in the league. DL Lonnie Vincent and DL Tournel Guay are both already strong pieces, with a veteran Mickey Daly and now Sanderson, it will be very difficult for teams to run the ball against the Blue Wings. However, before the Blue Wings get too excited about the pick-up they would have to face what they gave up. They would send DB Lou Lake, DB Ike Vander Waal, the 12th and 36th overall picks, Buffalo’s 1966 1st rounder and a conditional 5th rounder from 1967. Lake should immediately make an impact for the Victors while Vander Waal should be a future piece showing a lot of improvement in his first season. 

*Conditional pick: 1 - Becomes a 4th Round Pick if Buffalo Wins the McCallister Cup with Sanderson.
                          2 - Returns to Buffalo if Sanderson does not re-sign for 1966.
                          3 - If Buffalo re-signs Sanderson, the pick remains a 5th Round Pick.

12 - Indiana Victors (from Buffalo) - DL Brandon Hall - Pittsburgh, PA - Creator: Kingsfan11
With the selection, the Victors would reach back a little to draft a replacement DL in Brandon Hall. Hall is a good tackling DL who doesn’t allow for RBs to get very far past the line and can even breakthrough to get to QBs however, he does lack some speed which does mean faster players can easily escape. Hall will need to work a little more than some players, but he should be an impactful player in the long run.

1965 NAAF Draft

Round 2
To kick off the second round, the Blacksmiths would continue to add to the defence, grabbing LB Patrick Hamilton. Following up would be the Victors taking OL Taylor Alexander to help fill out their O-line depth. Taylor’s older brother David had also been drafted by the Victors 31st overall in 1960. Halifax would jump on Canadian LB Conrad Kurst with the next pick as a future replacement for LB Marco Price. The Royals would finally add to the O-line with Amos Sewell at 16 before the Victors took another DL in Tyrone Powers. Indiana does end up getting both of the top DL in the group to help replace Sanderson. 

Finally, after the rumours that Ulysses Lawyer would go at #5, he would slip all the way down to 18th overall where the Tigers would finally take the QB. With Kiernan getting older (35), Lawyer might be the right fit to develop and eventually take over the job. Toronto would get a much-needed young LB in Quinn Masters as their only starting LBs are 33 and 34-years-old. Boston would add local prospect DL Moses Abraham to look to flush out the line, however, he may be much more of a project than some players going around him. The Thunder would take an OL in Jordan Bryson to hopefully replace the lost OL Forrest Green (after losing him to Pittsburgh in the expansion draft). 

Just before the 22nd overall pick, we had another trade. The Rouge would send the pick over to Halifax in exchange for DL Harrison Fink and the 39th overall pick. Fink is coming in to replace DL Dexter Barbarcos, who Montreal lost to Pittsburgh. Halifax would draft a much-needed RB in Adam Zingaro as they look to find the right piece to have behind RB Ronald O’Sullivan. 

Ottawa would grab another OL in Paul O’Doherty before Buffalo would make their first pick of the draft taking WR Jimmy Jack to give QB Charles Lemieux another weapon. 

Round 2 Picks
13 - PIT - LB Patrick Hamilton - Philadelphia, PA - DireBear
14 - IND - OL Taylor Alexander - Wells, ME - idm
15 - HFX - LB Conrad Kurst - Windsor, ON - Darknes
16 - OTT - OL Amos Sewell - Providence, RI - Darknes
17 - IND (from PRO) - DL Tyrone Powers - Rochester, NY - DireBear
18 - LDN - QB Ulysses Lawyer - Toronto, ON - Darknes
19 - TOR - LB Quinn Masters - Pittsburgh, PA - Darknes
20 - BOS - DL Moses Abraham - Boston, MA - Stickman
21 - LOU - OL Jordan Bryson - Indianapolis, IN - NoE38
22 - HFX (from MTL) - RB Adam Zingaro - Burlington, VT - idm
23 - OTT (from LI) - OL Paul O’Doherty - Cambridge, MA - Darknes
24 - BUF - WR Jimmy Jack - Meadville, PA - Dan O’Mac

Round 3
The 3rd started to see teams debate between taking some of the higher-end talent at positions of less need or reaching for defensive positions of need. Pittsburgh ended up going with the best available with a couple of their picks with WR Justin Dubuque and RB Ed Finley. They would grab LB Dylan Hill as well to also take a shot on defence. London continued to stick to Canadian prospects taking a pair of WRs in Perry Francoise and, London native, WR Lannor Doris. 

Providence also jumped on the hometown train taking OL Ted Cole, however, they also decided to trade back later with the Steelheads. They would move back into the 4th round and got another 4th rounder from next year. Toronto would end take OL Evan Kilgore as they don’t have much for youth at the position.

Long Island also finally made a selection at pick 35. They would reach a bit as well taking DL Guy Hicks who was ranked 50th overall by The Gains Report.

Round 3 Picks
25 - PIT - WR Justin Dubuque - Andover, MA - idm
26 - IND - DB Darby Keller - Ronkonkoma, NY - Dan O’Mac
27 - HFX - TE Dylan Chowder - Springfield, MA - Scratch
28 - PIT (from OTT) - LB Dylan Hill - Buffalo, NY - Jayhawk
29 - PRO - OL Ted Cole - Providence, RI - H-Town1141
30 - LDN - WR Perry Francoise - Quebec City, QC - JamHeronArk
31 - PIT (from TOR) - RB Ed Finley - Concord, NH - Rugrat
32 - TOR (from BOS via PRO) - OL Evan Kilgore - Pittsburg, NH - Dan O’Mac
33 - LDN (from LOU) - WR Lannor Doris - London, ON - idm
34 - IND (from MTL) - RB Gary Andrews - New York City, NY - Kingsfan11
35 - LI - DL Guy Hicks - Baltimore, MD - DireBear
36 - IND (from BUF) - DB Tim McGovern - Middlebury, VT - Dan O’Mac

Round 4
The fourth round kicked off with a QB finally being taken. QB Travis Jackson would head over to Pittsburgh as a bit more of a project QB but has some potential to be a future starter. More WRs and RBs would be taken throughout the next few picks. However, for Providence, it was not fun to see the Rouge use the 39th pick they got from Halifax to take DL Porter Hines. Hines was the player they were targeting when moving back from the 32nd overall pick. They would have to settle with their 3rd OL of the draft in Bret Atkins. 

Round 4 Picks
37 - PIT - QB Travis Jackson - Worcester, MA - ZO82
38 - LOU (from IND) - RB Lando Blake - Traverse City, MI - Dan O’Mac
39 - MTL (from HFX) - DL Porter Hines - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Jayhawk
40 - OTT - WR Luc St. Cyr - Longueuil, QC - idm
41 - PRO - WR Leonard Green - New York City, NY - Kingsfan11
42 - LDN - RB Earl König - Fredericton, NB - JamHeronArk
43 - PRO (from TOR) - OL Bret Atkins - Buttzville, NJ
44 - BOS - DB Al Croaker - Brockton, MA - Stickman
45 - LOU - DB Micah Neil - Bethlehem, PA - idm
46 - LI (from MTL) - WR James Simons - Trenton, NJ - Rugrat
47 - LI - OL Chet Atkins - Buttzville, NJ - idm
48 - BUF - OL Garth Brooklyn - Frankfort, KY - Stickman

Round 5
The final round continued the trends from before, but finally, 3 QBs would be taken in the last 6 picks of the draft. Toronto would grab Corey Heckanast, Montreal would go for Quebec native, Louis LaPierre, and finally, Buffalo would go with the hometown QB Ray Trace with the final pick of the draft. 

Round 5 Picks
49 - PIT - S Graham Kensington - Hull, MA - Dan O’Mac
50 - MTL (from IND) - S Charles Tremblay - Saguenay, QC - Kingsfan11
51 - HFX - DL Joe Carter - Louisville, KY - Kingsfan11
52 - OTT - DB Billy Bass - Thompson, CT - Dan O’Mac
53 - IND (from PRO) - TE Sylvian Leblanc - Montreal, QC - Kingfan11
54 - LDN - DL Teddy Piper - Rough and Ready, PA - Dan O’Mac
55 - TOR - QB Corey Heckanast - Frankfort, IL - Edgeworth
56 - LI (from BOS) - OL Donald Sky - Staten Island, NY - idm
57 - LOU - S Gordon Jeffries - Speedway, IN - idm
58 - MTL - QB Louis LaPierre - Shawinigan, QC - Rugrat
59 - LI - LB Greg Manson - Toronto, ON - Wallflower
60 - BUF - QB Ray Trace - Buffalo, NY - QCS