By: Cole Mantell (@lightningdragon)
Last season was the first where longtime users got together to represent NFL franchises and draft the best and brightest graduating seniors from the CFSL. Once again, the games have been played, teams and players have been scouted, and the draft is upon us. 23 teams will draft 185 players over 8 rounds this season, looking for the next big addition to their squads.
Here are the ground rules. Each franchise does not take into account last season’s CFSL draft. The GMs are only trying to add CFSL graduates to current NFL rosters as of March 2024. The GMs may pick players they have relationships with or are the coaches of in the CFSL, but may not show favoritism towards said players. In addition, both for the general audience and my fellow GMs, I’ve produced once again an article breaking down the Offense Tiers and Defense Tiers for each position. Once again, the rules for those are similar, and are as follows:
Each position group is sorted the same way the league sorts position groups. That means they go as QB, HB, WR, TE/FB, DL, LB, CB, S, and K. For each group, we’ll grade each player in the position group by tiers. Specifically, we’ll look at them in how likely they are to be drafted and where. This is the table showing how each tier is graded:
| Tier | Description |
| Tier 1 | 1st Round Draft Grade |
| Tier 2 | 2nd-3rd Round Draft Grade |
| Tier 3 | 4th-6th Round Draft Grade |
| Tier 4 | 7th-8th Round Draft Grade |
Keep in mind for these tiers that there are only 23 spots in each round (except for Round 8 which has 24 spots). Therefore, while it will not work out perfectly in this series, there should be only around 20 to 30 total Tier 1 players, at least in theory. Also, keep in mind that while there might be 10 awesome players in a position group, only so many NFL teams might need a Quarterback right now, for example. That does affect how many players are graded in Tier 1 especially. Finally, within the tiers, players are only listed in alphabetical order by last name. So without further ado:
Quarterback
Tier 1: Ludwig Friedman, Charlie Sammons, Mateo Walker, Avery Ware
Tier 2: Sam Dobbins, Del Toro
Tier 3: McKade Alber, Brantley Guaci, Baker Thomas
Tier 4: Kyson Carey, Terry Olliff
If last season had some great QBs in a deep class, this season’s class is an all-timer. Mateo Walker leads the class and is the presumed #1 overall pick. Walker is the CFSL career leader in pass attempts, passing completions, and passing touchdowns. He’s 3rd all-time in passing touchdowns, only behind Cece Range and Doug Day. Just like Ryan Moreland last season, he is the prize of the draft.
Behind him, Charlie Sammons, Ludwig Friedman, and Avery Ware are all 1st Round talents and will get looks in at least the Top 10, if not the Top 5. Behind those four, Sam Dobbins and Del Toro both had excellent careers and while I don’t quite have them in the 1st Round, they will get looks as teams start a run at the QB position.
Behind them, McKade Alber, Brantley Guaci, and Baker Thomas lurk. They all have talent and could be late risers in the draft. Finally, Kyson Carey and Terry Olliff both bring veteran experience and could be both late candidates for picks as well.
Halfback
Tier 1: Josiah Henry, Toby Knerr, Ronnie De La Rocha
Tier 2: Bode Dale, Ike Porter, RaQ Rhodes, Fred Thomas
Tier 3: Tank Lionhart, Storm Odie, Duke Peterson, Rocco Rambo, Aldous Sampson, James Stanton
Tier 4: Joe Beasley, Dorian Hunter, KJ Kretzer
The halfback position might be the most interesting one of the draft this season. Without a doubt, Henry and Knerr represent the two-headed monster of surefire 1st Rounders. I also elevated Ronnie De La Rocha for his big play and red zone ability to Tier 1. I think a team in the late 1st takes a chance on his abilities.
Behind those three, it’s a mashup of guys who can go as early as the 2nd and as late as the 6th. All nine of those HBs can go up or down in the order, with little argument from me. Specifically, Lionhart, Odie, and Sampson all have proven at times to be game-changers. Behind all of them, Beasley, Hunter, and Kretzer all round out the list as guys who didn’t get a lot of looks in the CFSL but could make waves in the pros.
Wide Receiver
Tier 1: Deuce Bolden, JaMarr Carr, Freddy Chen, Ken Dixon III, Blake Xander Martel
Tier 2: Maalik Henderson, Damian Jones, Brandon Oliver, Bruce Roberson, Draymond Shakur III, Joshua Sims, Tyson Steele, Jessica Stephens, Tatum Washington, Joey Wolford
Tier 3: Phillip Allen, Timothy Banger, Rocko Britt, Ellis Budde, Jaxson Bugg, Brandon DeMoura, Domani Green, Delmas Williams, Tanner Wilson
Tier 4: Deebo Banks, Chris Darby, Amiri Hashimoto, Tobias Johnson, Troy Monney, James Newton, Javion Tate
Once again, this is a historic and deep WR class. Partly due to the era of high passing offenses, partly because of how broken Miami is, we have five bonafide 1st Rounders in Tier 1. However, I could’ve put maybe 10 guys in that tier. It was more a question of how many teams need a WR in this good of a class compared to talent. Look for a player like Maalik Henderson or Jessica Stephens to rise into the 1st Round too. 31 total names is a lot to get through, and GMs will have tough choices to make in the later rounds. But even in Tier 4, a guy like Amiri Hashimoto or James Newton could rise as well. This is possibly the deepest position group in the draft once again.
Tight End/Fullback
Tier 1: Perry Pushkaryov
Tier 2: Brett Fink, Darius Harris, John Holcomb, Wyatt Scott, Trey Stivers, Kareem Pitts
Tier 3: Robbie Legg, Jasper McDonald, Richard Satchel, Stone Williams
Tier 4: Aaron Blackburn, Marcus Chamberlain, Dave Dawkins, Cassian Eichenberg, Jameson Emanuele, Jacob Killingsworth, Norm Morrissey
Unlike last season, Perry Pushkaryov isn’t a game-changing talent quite like Cadbury Wellington was. Still, Pushkaryov ends his career with over 1000 more receiving yards than second place in his class. He is easily the only legitimate Tier 1 player in this class.
However, beyond him, a lot of talent lurks in the middle rounds and even later rounds. I want to shout out Trey Stivers, possibly the highest-rated 3-star in this class. Stivers has excelled and finishes his career with over 1000 receiving yards and a Tier 2 grade. Multi-position guys are also littered past Tier 2, including Robbie Legg, Cassian Eichenberg, and Jameson Emanuele. That will add an interesting wrinkle in whether a team wants the player as a tight end of a different position.
