1956 NAAF Draft Pt.2

2nd Round
The second round would kick off with Montreal taking the first QB of the draft in Oscar Rigano. Rigano is a strong arm QB that shares some similarities to Lee Rogers, which could be a cause for concern, but with some development could become a good player in the future. Boston would grab OL Pete Brackenridge right after to boost their line. Ontario would go Safety with Drew Porter for the next pick.  A small trade would occur with Ottawa and Providence. The Royals would move up to the 12th pick and Providence would take the 16th and 32nd later on in the draft. The Royals would go for DB Henderson Durant to kick off the defensive back selections in the draft.  Worcester would continue the DB train with Dennis Kirchner next to add some depth behind Alexander Bradley. Buffalo would finally grab a WR with Daniel Irons after being too far back to grab Sammy Moss in the first. Long Island would grab Xander Devereaux with their pick who could grow into a piece on the line with Vernon Spears and Tyrone Affalo. The final pick of the 2nd round was Providence taking OL Mila O’Hara, who happens to be a diehard Boston Independents fan...ironic.  

Round 2
9 - MTL - QB Oscar Rigano - Bronx, NY - ZO82
10 - BOS - OL Pete Brackenridge - Rochester, NY - Dan O’Mac
11 - ON - S Drew Porter - Baltimore, MD - Captain Mort 3D
12  - OTT (via PRO) - DB Henderson Durant - Terrebonne, QC - Darknes
13 - WOR - DB Dennis Kirchner - Dearbon, MI - DireBear
14 - BUF - WR Daniel Irons - Rochester, NY - Darknes
15 - LI - DL Xander Devereaux - Fort Drum, NY - Darknes
16 - PRO (via OTT) - OL Milo O’Hara - Boston, MA - Darknes 

3rd Round 
Long Island would start the 3rd round with grabbing RB Bernard Alston who had fallen from the 10th ranked player in the draft. Could be quite the steal at the end of the day with a player expected to go in the second round. The next interesting moment would be Ottawa acquiring the 22nd pick in a trade with Buffalo sending over WR Thomas Oezescki. The Royals would then take Troy Hunt’s twin brother DL Tim Hunt which may end up being a dynamic duo on the D-line. Boston would also trade to the 23rd pick following that with Long Island taking LB Charlie Finster. Boston would take S Roy Conley with the pick to look at replacing S Michael O’Brien.  

Round 3
17 - LI (via MTL) - RB Bernard Alston - Portland, ME - Captain Mort 3D
18 - BOS - DB Patrick Lindsey - Montreal, QC - Wallflower
19 - ON - DB Bob Ellis - Toronto, ON - GoRedSox96
20 - PRO - LB Apollo Paeans - Niagara Falls, ON - Thehealthiestscratch
21 - WOR - OL Chuck Rendell - Andover, MA - GoRedSox96
22 - OTT (via BUF) - DL Tim Hunt - Williamsport, PA - Captain Mort 3D/Wallflower
23 - BOS (via LI) - S Roy Conley - Albany, NY - ZO82
24 - OTT - S Reginald Barnaby - London, ON - Darknes 

4th Round
The final round would not be too exciting besides RB Don Gregson who was ranked at 11 heading into the draft and fell all the way down to 26th overall. Could be a big steal for Boston at the end of the day. Ontario would also take a QB in Pete Christie as the only other QB taken. The lone TE taking in the draft was Corbin Stanton heading to Long Island at 30th overall.  

Round 4
25 - MTL - WR Fredrick St.Pierre - Quebec City, QC - Wallflower
26 - BOS - RB Don Gregson - Uxbridge, MA - TigerFan93
27 - ON - QB Pete Christie - Albany, NY - GoRedSox96
28 - PRO - RB Vance MacDougall - Moncton, NB - Darknes
29 - BUF (via WOR) - DL Jack Mosely - New York City, NY Wallflower
30 - LI (via BUF) - TE Corbin Stanton - Providence, RI - ZO82
31 - LI - WR Mickey Auger - Boston, MA - BlogDunk
32 - PRO (via OTT) - OL Billy Simon - Gettysburg, PA - Captain Mort 3D 


That concludes the draft, how do you feel your team did? Who won the draft? Any players you are excited to see moving forward? 

I think Boston probably won the draft if I say so myself, they've restocked on Defense..now they just need to develop

Hey everyone!
*A quick break from your regularly scheduled program*
I have been a bit busy over the last day and am a bit behind in the offseason and needed a bit of a break. I ended up going down the road of creating a top 50 player list for this past season and came up with this list. It is based on a mix of the overall ratings as well as their actual performance over the season and a bit before. 

Hope you guys find this interesting or fun, might be willing to do some more of this kind of stuff when we hit the 10-year anniversary or for each decade.

Also took a different direction with the design going for something straight out of Formula 1 (I really love the whole aesthetic over there...anyone else watch F1 around here?). Would love to hear thoughts on the design as well as the list, any surprises? any snubs?
I'll be back tomorrow to continue the offseason as we inch closer to the 1956 season.

1956 Re-sign Stage

New QB at the top of the Payroll
The Gold Stars’ young starter Connor O’Rourke made a big impact in his first season under center. Entering his second season, he will quickly become the highest-paid QB in the league. He signed on for 5 seasons starting at $31,000 a season which will increase to $33,000 by the 5th season of the contract. Jean Matieau and Riley Kiernan come in right behind O’Rourke with $30,000 a season at this point. O’Rourke is the future of the Gold Stars and he will be treated that way with the massive contract. The total he will earn over the 5 seasons will be $159,000. 

Rusty McVee Becoming Sean Bowen 2.0?
The Montreal Rouge are heading into a heavy rebuild. It didn’t help that the team was attempting to still be somewhat competitive last season which might have set them back an extra year. This rebuild is a cause for concern with LB Rusty McVee, who is the team's top player when looking into the future. Looking back a few years to the Hartford Hawks when they signed their top player DL Sean Bowen to an extension, they gave him an option after 3 seasons if he wanted out if the Hawks weren’t competitive. Just two years later, the Hawks were still making no progress and Bowen was dealt to Buffalo. McVee could be following a similar path after signing a 2-year bridge deal at $22,000 a season. However, there is a lot of concern with the 2-year deal as it might not give Montreal enough time to see where they are going to either keep McVee or trade him if things aren’t going well. The deal could be a big risk for Montreal but there are reports that McVee was very hesitant on signing anything longer at this point. 

Boston Locks Up Their Future
The Independents made several big signings that will be important in getting the team back to the competitive level they were at. WR Ellis Lindholm and LB Brent Harper both signed 5-year deals starting at $23,000 a year going up to $25,000 in the future. DB Clayton Malone and K Johnnie Berg both signed 3-year deals to continue to strengthen the core for Boston. They certainly look to be in a much better position when compared to Montreal after one season of rebuilding.  

Lee Rogers Leaving NAAF
The former 1st overall pick has had a frustrating start to his career. Rogers just finished a season with his second team in his first 3 seasons of play and it is clear that he has just not found his footing in the NAAF. Montreal was still hoping to give Rogers another shot but the QB has decided to go elsewhere. Rogers has landed a spot in the ACFL with Baltimore and hopes that the team will give him the chance to revitalize his career. 

Big Names in Free Agency
With free agency around the corner, there were some big names that didn’t resign with their teams. Ontario might have taken a big hit with two players not signing due to financial constraints as well as playing time. QB Duane Logan will be looking for a new home next season as the Tigers will hand the reins over to QB Christian Stewart for next season. The options for Logan are looking pretty slim with not many teams looking for a new starting QB, so it might be time for Logan to become a backup this season while more options with expansion open up next year. LB Roland Hensley will join Logan in free agency after his short tenure with the Tigers ended without a playoff appearance, something the player desperately wants. Financial issues also played a role in both players not being able to sign.  

WR Willard Brooks also makes a surprise appearance here but after back-to-back cups with the Royals, he has decided to look for a new opportunity with the Royals WR core getting a bit crowded with youngsters. Brooks should make for a strong #2 receiver for most teams in the league. RB Gene Fischer was released by the Raiders which came at a surprise, but they might be looking to go younger with RB Lawrence Sharp and RB Timothy Weeks both being available. Weeks will be a hot target after his performance in replacing an injured RB Marcus Devonshire at the end of last season.  

QB Bruce Woodard is sticking around for one more year, and after a strong week 10 performance with the Royals that earned him offensive player of the week, he might be the top target for some teams looking for veteran presence in the locker room. 

Top Free Agents
1 - QB Duane Logan - ON
2 - LB Roland Hensley - ON
3 - WR Willard Brooks - OTT
4 - RB Timothy Weeks - WOR
5 - RB Lawrence Sharp - BUF
6- RB Gene Fischer - LI
7 - QB Bruce Woodard - OTT
8 - DL Matis Baril - BUF
9 - S Carl Dawson - LI
10 - DB Timothy Key - OTT

Undrafted Free Agents from the Draft
TE Danny Harmon - Stamford, CT - Captain Mort 3D
LB Dwyane Jonestroy - Portland, ME - Jack Watner
QB Lucas Sly - Syracuse, NY
OL Georgio Valzinikov - St. Petersburg, RU/New York City, NY - Darknes
WR Frank Daniels - Toronto, ON - Wallflower

Lee Rogers has to be the biggest bust so far in NAAF history. I’m not sure that his over aggressive tendencies will work in any league. Hopefully he can turn it around in Baltimore but I’m seriously doubting that it will happen.