Ahead of the draft beginning, Louisville GM, Robbie Wilson appeared to be on the phone with multiple teams that were thinking about trying to move up to the #1 pick to potentially get their hands on a star QB in Red King. Wilson listened to the offers right up until Commissioner, Ryan Jameson announced that the Thunder were on the clock. Once on the clock, Wilson finished up one last phone call. When he hung up the phone, he pointed to one of his assistants who got up and handed the draft slip to the commissioner. Jameson got to the podium and announced:
“Louisville has made their selection. With the 1st Pick in the 1970 NAAF Draft, the Louisville Thunder select, Ricky Wildgoose, Linebacker, Western New York.”
1 - Louisville Thunder | LB Ricky Wildgoose | Western New York - Oil City, PA - Creator: Jayhawk
While trading out of the first pick was tempting, the Thunder knew that they had a stellar talent on their hands with Wildgoose. While the team has made some picks at LB with their first selection in recent years, they haven’t really landed on a true defensive anchor. So with the opportunity to take a guy who could fit that role, they had to take him. With Wildgoose, they are getting a hard-hitting and powerful defensive centrepiece that pretty much carried his team’s defence at Western New York this season. He does have a sporadic style, which is very aggressive in going for the ball. Hopefully, that can take some of the pressure off of Le’Darius Wynn down the middle of the field.
2 - Providence Gold Stars | QB Red King | Central Ohio* - Lexington, KY - Creator: QCS
The Gold Stars’ table held their breath right up until Louisville made their selection. Once, the pick was announced, the table was excited and they quickly made their selection. The Gold Stars had picked RISU QB Edwin Hunt, 15th overall last season, but after a miserable first start and a massive change in the front office, the team no longer had a lot of faith in the hometown hero. Now, they have their guy in Red King. King is easily the QB with the best base to work with. He’s got a solid arm that is accurate. Some would say he’s got the “it” factor that separates him from the rest, with an ability to make key plays when it counts, with great decision-making and poise. King has the highest ceiling for sure, and Providence certainly feels confident they got their guy.
3 - Toronto Steelheads | WR Cameron Kane | Toronto - Brampton, ON - Creator: idm
The media seemed convinced that the Steelheads should be looking at QB for the future with the 3rd overall selection, as their star QB Todd Baker is now 38 years old. However, they would still elect to pass on a QB, taking Cameron Kane out of Toronto University. Clearly, the Steelheads were hoping they could replace WR Al Allmendinger who fled to Boston earlier in the offseason. Kane brings a physical touch to the Steelheads’ WR core. He’s been known as a tough guy to bring down. He’s got some solid hands to make some great catches, but he still tends to drop passes that he should catch. Overall, Kane is still a stellar talent and can make some waves in the NAAF.
TRADE ALERT
Following the Steelheads’ pick, Ryan Jameson would announce the first trade of the day. The London Tigers elected to move down from their 4th overall spot. They would send the pick to the Thunder along with pick 46, in exchange for picks 7 and 14 along with a former 5th-round pick in LB Jethro Gibson.
4 - Louisville Thunder (from London) | OL Robert Pelletier | Majeure Montreal - Laval, QC - Creator: Kingsfan11
With the newly acquired pick the Thunder aimed to bolster their O-line by taking Robert Pelletier. Pelletier’s specialty is in the passing game, being a prolific pass blocker. He’s got a strong stance with good positioning making it tough to get around. Pelletier isn’t very agile, however, so if a guy does get past him, there’s a good chance the QB is in danger. Overall, the move reinforces the Thunder’s desire to be a pass-first offence.
5 - Long Island Raiders | OL Alan Mitchell | New England - Greenwich, CT - Creator: ZO82
The Raiders would follow suit with the Thunder, taking a much-needed O-lineman with their first pick of the draft. OL Alan Mitchell was looked at as the best OL in the draft but slipped to the Raiders at 5th. Long Island’s typically run-heavy offence is getting a big boost from Mitchell who is a towering and powerful run-blocking lineman. Mitchell plays right to the whistle and sometimes a little after it, something that the Raiders absolutely love in a prospect: fight.
6 - Montreal Rouge | QB Nathan Houle | Majeure Montreal - Montreal, QC - Creator: Kingsfan11
Montreal’s plan heading into the draft was shaken up by the Tigers’ decision to move down. The Rouge had their eye on the local QB Nathan Houle but had thought the Tigers or even the Steelheads would have taken the QB at 4 and with King off the board. They were ready to pick Jean-Christophe Bain with the pick, but Houle was still on the board, so they gambled on taking the QB. Houle has been on the Rouge’s radar over the last several seasons and they feel that his talent can make him into a solid QB. He’s got a great base with a solid arm and accuracy, but he’s also got some legs under him that allow him to become mobile in the pocket. Unlike Red King, Houle doesn’t have the “it” factor, but he’s got a lot of the building blocks to grow and develop and potentially get to a point like that. Of course, the big side effect of the pick is on Montreal’s current starting QB Gene Bishop. Bishop has been struggling the last couple of seasons which may have led to the decision, as well as he is now 34 and not getting any younger. Montreal’s hope is Houle can develop under Bishop over the final two years of Bishop’s contract and be ready to go by the end of it.
7 - London Tigers (from Halifax via Louisville) | WR Leon Hudson | Central Ohio* - Columbus, OH - Creator: DireBear
Despite the 2nd best QB going off the board, the Tigers didn’t miss a beat in making their selection. Clearly, they had their eyes on someone else, that being WR Leon Hudson. The Tigers have been in need of another top-receiving threat to pair up with Cole Fletcher. Hudson is a great athlete. He’s quick and agile, even known for jumping tackles. Hudson does have some potential injury trouble due to having a fairly slim build, but if he can bulk up a little and work on conditioning, the Tigers may have a terrific weapon for their offence.
8 - Minnesota Serpents | DB Austin Sherebernikoff | Haynes - Binghamton, NY - Creator: Timothy_1947
The Serpents would be the first team to really reach for a player, taking DB Austin Sherebernikoff. While Byron Knight out of New England was looked at as a better player at the position, the Serpents seem to like the more man-to-man style that Sherebernikoff brings to the table. Sherebernikoff was a lockdown corner at Haynes, and Minnesota is hoping he can develop into that at the next level.
TRADE ALERT
The second trade of the draft would happen as the Serpents were making their selection. The Montreal Rouge, still hoping to get the guy they wanted in LB Jean-Christophe Bain, would move up to pick 9 in a trade with the Indiana Victors. The Victors would get pick 13 and veteran OL Xavier Villeneuve to boost their O-line depth as compensation.
9 - Montreal Rouge (from Indiana) | LB Jean-Christophe Bain | Majeure Montreal - Montreal, QC - Creator: Wallflower
Montreal was happy to pick their second Majeure Montreal alum of the draft. Bain is a solid Linebacker that should bring a sense of leadership down the middle. Bain has gotten some comparisons to Hall of Fame LB Aengus Lynch, who was exceptionally smart at the position. Bain didn’t wow people until his junior year, but his final two years at college were strong and he has shown a stellar ability to hunt down and contain players in open field. He does have to work on his strength a bit with some stronger RBs and TEs being able to break away from Bain. Montreal does add Bain to their defence with last year’s 4th overall pick LB Willie Stetson to start to form a solid LB core.
10 - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths | WR Edward Washington | Rockefeller* - Fargo, ND - Creator: NoE38
The Blacksmiths came up to pick at 10 with a bit of a decision to make. They had a local player in LB Dallas Rush that was very tempting, but the team instead selected a WR in Edward Washington. Washington doesn’t jump off the page in terms of his performance on the field, but his physical attributes are what made him a top prospect. He’s tall and much larger than the average WR. He’s strong, making him a great target that can fight for a catch. He’s got solid route running and fundamentals, but he does lack breakaway speed, so Pittsburgh will hope they can continue to build on an otherwise physically gifted player.
11 - Boston Independents | LB Dallas Rush | Allegheny - Bethlehem, PA - Creator: QCS
With the Blacksmiths passing on Dallas Rush, the Independents were able to jump on Rush and pick up a depth piece in their LB core. Rush seems like a great fit for Boston, who has a pair of already solid and young LBs. Rush is a hard-working player that can be a great support player with good tackling ability and solid IQ. He doesn’t have the raw talent that some of the other players in the class do, but his effort is next to none which makes him a great player for any team to add depth.
12 - Ottawa Royals | OL Dane Hodgeson | Rhode Island State - Block Island, RI - Creator: JamHeronArk
With OL Amos Sewell heading to Minnesota, the Royals looked to fill in the missing spot with a new O-lineman. Hodgeson is a strong pass blocker that aligns with Ottawa looking to protect their young star in QB Drake Young. He’s got pretty much all the fundamentals down, he just may need to work on some adjustments in run blocking, but Ottawa has a solid base to work with.
13 - Indiana Victors (from Buffalo via Montreal) | DB Byron Knight | New England - Boston, MA - Creator: QCS
To close out the opening round of the draft, the Indiana Victors would elect to pick DB Byron Knight out of New England. Knight, who was apparently passed on by the Minnesota Serpents, is a physical corner who can be a disrupter in the secondary. Knight’s style is often about jamming WRs at the line or using his body to get in the way. His style does tend to lead to some penalties, but he certainly gets into the head of his opponents and takes advantage.
2nd Round
The Tigers would start the second round by taking a chance on DL Matt Brown. Brown certainly has the making of a top D-lineman, but his play in the last couple of years at college hasn’t shown that potential. If the Tigers can unlock the underlying skill that Brown has, they have a great player on their hands.
Providence would look to add to their defence by grabbing LB Nathaniel Lovelady. A bit of a work in progress with sometimes being lost on plays, but if he can be pointed in the right direction Lovelady is a great addition to the Gold Stars’ defence.
Toronto would follow London’s plan and take a DL as well in Haakon Leichenberg. Leichenberg is looked at as the safer choice, with a great ability to hunt down the ball behind the line, however, Toronto will hope to round out the rest of his game to make him a more complete player.
The Tigers’ second pick of the 2nd round would be the top tight end in the draft, Pete Mayfield. With the team having a top receiving TE in Tranquille Rousseau, Mayfield is a great addition to having a stronger blocking force for the run game.
The Raiders would pick up some defensive help with LB Tyrone Dye. The hard-hitting LB will certainly bring the physicality that Owner/GM Wayne Tillman loves from his teams.
Montreal would end up grabbing their 3rd Majeure Montreal prospect of the draft, taking RB Alain Ducharme to hopefully have a new option out of the backfield. Ducharme has a lot of speed under his feet which makes him a threat, but he will need a good O-line to reach his full potential.
Halifax finally got to pick and they would take TE Brandon McPhail. The team was desperate to add a TE this off-season after TE Dylan Chowder left for Providence. McPhail might need to develop a bit before he is anything special, but his overall balance between blocking and catching skills does set him up for success.
Minnesota would once again go for a bit of a reach, however, this time it was a significantly larger jump. They would grab OL Daniel Chou who was projected as a late 3rd rounder. The Serpents appear to like his overall set of skills and abilities. He did struggle against picking up shifting blocking assignments throughout college which scared some scouts away, but he appears to be someone the Serpents like.
Indiana would continue to add to their secondary, grabbing S Derrick Fayden out of RISU. With S Geno Aranda being the only safety the Victors have at the moment, the pickup of Fayden makes sense to add depth at the position. Fayden was ranked as the best option at safety in the class with great athletic abilities and overall football IQ.
Louisville would take a WR with their 3rd selection of the draft with the aim of adding depth at the position behind WR Casey Coleman and WR Lloyd Lane. Graham is a pure speed WR, who can get away from anyone with speed, but if he has to challenge for the ball he can struggle.
Boston would continue to pick up the O-line from New England with Terry Pennington to add some youth to the aging core. Pennington is very agile and versatile but does miss some assignments sometimes.
Ottawa would make a move similar to Boston and Indiana in adding some future pieces at aging positions, taking WR Charles Toothacre. Toothacre wowed scouts with a great ability to get open and know where on the field he needed to be. However, they were scared away by his memory issues due to his ADHD. He has a hard time remembering the plays, but he’s still got a really good sense of the field. In fact, at West Mass State, Toothacre didn’t use the plays just did what he thought was best in the situation and it worked very well as he still understood where he needed to go and the coaches trusted him. Clearly, Ottawa sees some potential there.
With the last pick of the 2nd round, the Blue Wings would get their first player of the draft and take DL JR Stevens to help shore up their defensive depth. He’s got a lot of great fundamentals and technical skills that make him a great fit for the Blue Wings who can develop him into a great piece on the line.
2nd Round Picks
14 - LDN (from LOU) | DL Matt Brown | Toronto - Guelph, ON - Dan O’Mac
15 - PRO | LB Nathaniel Lovelady | Toronto - Brampton, ON - idm
16 - TOR | DL Haakon Liechenberg | UHamilton - Hamilton, ON - Darknes
17 - LDN | TE Pete Mayfield | North Indiana* - Madison, IN - Slapshot Kirby
18 - LI | LB Tyrone Dye | Major Ohio* - Detroit, MI - Stickman
19 - MTL | RB Alain Ducharme | Majeure Montreal - Drummondville, QC - DireBear
20 - HFX | TE Brandon McPhail | Indiana Tech - Upland, IN - Jayhawk
21 - MIN | OL Daniel Chou | Haynes - Schenectady, NY - RaysUp
22 - IND | S Derrick Fayden | Rhode Island State - Syracuse, NY - Darknes
23 - LOU (from PIT) | WR Ben Graham | Western New York - Youngstown, OH - TigersFan93
24 - BOS | OL Terry Pennington | New England - Hartford, CT - Edgeworth
25 - OTT | WR Charles Toothacre | West Mass State - Worcester, MA - Scratch
26 - BUF | DL JR Stevens | Toronto - Brockville, ON - RaysUp
3rd Round
As the 3rd round kicked off the Thunder would add a TE in Knobby Silverton, while Providence finally grabbed a piece for their biggest need on the O-line. However, Toronto’s selection of RB Tank Ferguson was a little bit of a head-scratcher at first with RB Max Tracy leading the way, but it seems that the team would like to add a power back to help take some of the pressure off of Tracy. The Tigers would add a safety with the next pick taking Frank Thorpe. Before Minnesota added a TE themselves with Gabrielius Wiggins.
Before Montreal would make another pick, they would make another trade, swapping the 32nd pick with picks 39 and 52 from Buffalo. The Blue Wings would jump on the last big LB in Eric Strohecker, who did fall from his projected mid-2nd round spot, which could mean a mega steal from the Blue Wings.
Halifax would start looking for an Aquilio Ruiz replacement in taking Jack Treadaway out of UHamilton. Then, Minnesota would go local and take RB Allen Navarro out of Minneapolis. A pair of DLs would go next with Indiana taking Terrence Strickland and Pittsburgh grabbing Jeff Lamonte.
While those picks were happening the Tigers got busy. They would make a trade with the Raiders acquiring pick 44 in exchange for picks 54 and 56, as well as a 4th-rounder next season. Then, shortly after they would make another swap with Boston acquiring the 37th pick by flipping pick 44 along with pick 47. With the selection, the Tigers would grab Victor Vratislav to continue to build their secondary.
While those picks were happening the Tigers got busy. They would make a trade with the Raiders acquiring pick 44 in exchange for picks 54 and 56, as well as a 4th-rounder next season. Then, shortly after they would make another swap with Boston acquiring the 37th pick by flipping pick 44 along with pick 47. With the selection, the Tigers would grab Victor Vratislav to continue to build their secondary.
Ottawa would reach a bit for DB Yves Lafrance after Vratislav went off the board, and then Montreal would settle with WR Nathan Hackman after their target in Jeff Lamonte went two picks before.
3rd Round Picks
27 - LOU | TE Knobby Silverton | Allegheny* - Pittsburgh, PA - Stickman
28 - PRO | OL Louie DeBois | Nova Scotia - Halifax, NS - Sevsdast
29 - TOR | RB Tank Ferguson | Maine State - Bangor, ME - Darknes
30 - LDN | S Frank Thorpe | Haynes - New Haven, CT - DireBear
31 - MIN (from LI) | TE Gabrielius Wiggins | Rideau - Ottawa, ON - QCS
32 - BUF (from MTL) | LB Eric Strohecker | Rhode Island State - Hagerstown, MD - RaysUp
33 - HFX | DB Jack Treadaway | UHamilton - Windsor, ON - ZO82
34 - MIN | RB Allen Navarro | Minneapolis* - Eden Prairie, MN - TigersFan93
35 - IND | DL Terrence Strickland | UHamilton - Oakville, ON - Wallflower
36 - PIT | DL Jeff Lamonte | Majeure Montreal - Plattsburgh, NY - Darknes
37 - LDN (from BOS) | DB Victor Vratislav | North Indiana* - Muncie, IN - Jayhawk
38 - OTT | DB Yves Lafrance | St-Laurent - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - idm
39 - MTL (from BUF) | WR Nathan Hackman | Major Ohio - Cleveland, OH - Sevsdast
4th Round
The 4th round kicked off with the final trade of the draft that saw the Thunder acquire veteran RB Rashed Smith from the Mariners in exchange for the 40th overall pick. The move for the Mariners relieves them of an expensive contract while adding another pick to a draft where they only had 3 picks going in. As for Louisville, they are hoping Smith can help solidify their backfield next to the younger core of Niel Bradley and Mario Leclair. With the 40th pick, the Mariners would grab RB Wesley Wu who was a bit of a wildcard having not been the starter at King’s but showed flashes of skill in his limited action.
Several O-linemen would go off the board next to Providence, Toronto, and London. Boston would grab S Mason Paquette with the first pick they acquired from the Tigers, then they would get DL Joseph Kerr a couple of picks later.
The Thunder would take the 3rd QB of the draft in Al Washington as a replacement for backup QB David Simmons who is still out there as a free agent. A few more O-linemen and D-lineman would round out the 3rd round before Providence would grab a WR in Mariano Marino and Montreal got S Gabriel Allerton.
4th Round Picks
40 - HFX (from LOU) | RB Wesley Wu | King’s* - New York City, NY - TheEnigmaticOne
41 - PRO | OL Marc Clevinger | Western New York - Niagara Falls, ON - Dan O’Mac
42 - TOR | OL Phil Gross | Rhode Island State - Providence, RI - idm
43 - LDN | OL Ethan West | Rockefeller* - Dubuque, IA - Dan O’Mac
44 - BOS (from LI via LDN) | S Mason Paquette | Montreal Provincial - Montreal, QC - Darknes
45 - MTL | DL Miles Mandrycky | Erie - Erie, PA - Dan O’Mac
46 - LOU (from HFX via LDN) | QB Al Washington | Haynes - Hartford, CT - TheEnigmaticOne
47 - BOS (from MIN via LDN) | DL Joseph Kerr | Brooklyn Metropolitan - New York City, NY - idm
48 - LI (from IND) | DL Chris Price | Michigan* - Battle Creek, MI - idm
49 - MIN (from PIT) | OL David Biarski | Michigan* - Port Austin, MI - TigersFan93
50 - TOR (from BOS) | OL Ralph Bush | Dominion - Kingston, ON - DireBear
51 - PRO (from OTT) | WR Mariano Marino | Michigan* - South Haven, MI - Stickman
52 - MTL (from BUF) | S Gabriel Allerton | Nova Scotia - St. Andrews, NB - Stickman
5th Round
The last two QBs would go off the board in the 5th round with the Raiders grabbing QB Darko Hardonk out of Jersey State, while Halifax would take the local talent in UPNB QB Colt Dorsey. The Raiders would use the two picks they grabbed from the Tigers for S Valentine Kitcher and OL Bob Abuoy. The other interesting pick was Ottawa taking RB Jordan Hawkes, who was projected as a 4th round talent, but almost went undrafted, likely due to character issues. Finally, the Blue Wings would take the final player of the draft, DB Samuel McCann.
5th Round Picks
53 - LOU | LB Elias Ragsdale | Louisville State* - Mt Vernon, IL - ZO82
54 - LI (from PRO via IND via LDN) | S Valentine Kitcher | UHamilton - Hamilton, ON - ZO82
55 - TOR | LB Chase Chalker | Major Ohio* - Warren, OH - Jayhawk
56 - LI (from LDN) | OL Bob Abuoy | Central Pennsylvania* - Hometown, PA - H-Town
57 - LI | QB Darko Hardonk | Jersey State* - Newark, NJ - Stickman
58 - LDN (from MTL via IND) | WR Alphonso Abbott | Rideau - Montreal, QC - NoE38
59 - HFX | QB Colt Dorsey | UPNB - Moncton, NB - Darknes
60 - MIN | WR Montana Strole | Montreal Provincial - Montreal, QC - idm
61 - IND | LB Ridley Robertson | King’s* - Queens, NY - idm
62 - PIT | OL Chet Manley | New England - Mansfield, MA - Kingsfan11
63 - BOS | LB Nick Proehl | Nova Scotia - Moncton, NB - Kingsfan11
64 - OTT | RB Jordan Hawkes | Toronto - Halifax, NS - Darknes
65 - BUF | DB Samuel McCann | Minneapolis* - Austin, MN - Scratch
Undrafted
RB Scott Grant | Ben Franklin* - Minersville, PA - JamHeronArk
OL Grant Pell | Erie - Andover, OH - idm
S JP Richter | Sudbury Provincial - Sudbury, ON - Darknes
S Shane Derfus | Daniel Boone* - Mount Gay-Shamrock, WV - Dan O’Mac
OL Paul Dix | Jersey State* - Egg Harbor Township, NJ - idm
K Rhys Kupp | Central Pennsylvania - Altoona, PA - idm
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