Season 21 CFSL Draft Tiers

By: Cole Mantell (@lightningdragon)

Welcome back to draft season! This season, 98 players will have 98 picks to find out where their post-CFSL careers will take them. We have 14 teams represented in this season’s pro draft, with plenty of intrigue throughout the draft.

As always, let’s take a look at which players might go where, and go through each tier of players available in this season’s edition of the CFSL Pro Draft. For those new to this series, I don’t rank the players in each position group. Instead, I put each player into one of four tiers. Here is the table showing what each tier means:

Note: There is no pro league in the CFSL. This is just to see where guys would be drafted if they were to go on to the NFL.

Quarterback

Tier 1: Zeus Claydon

Tier 2: Owen Dart, Sean Keohane

Tier 3: N/A

Tier 4: N/A

The immediate comparisons are going to start with last season’s QB class. Like last season, we have three QBs available. And like last season, we have a very top-heavy class.

Unlike last season, however, I think we have much more clarity at the top of this group. While Beau Dale surprisingly fell in last season’s Pro Draft, I think the clear star power of Claydon is going to make a much different result. Combine that with a few QB-needy teams at the top of this draft, and Claydon is a lock for a top pick. If I had to predict a #1 overall pick this season, it’s going to be Claydon. Either from Ryan Moreland and the Tennessee Titans, or someone who trades up.

The real debate then begins for the two QBs behind Claydon. Which one goes first? Both could jump into the first round and should be picked early on. But do you go with the guy with more career passing yards? Or the guy who just went to the National Championship? It’s a fascinating dilemma that should be one of the biggest stories of the draft. While I had these two QBs in Tier 2, don’t be surprised if all three QBs in this class are gone by the end of Round 1.

Halfback

Tier 1: N/A

Tier 2: Messiah Bishop, CeeCee Mucci

Tier 3: Cade McClain, Mykel Vanderslice

Tier 4: Will Mcknight

What a fascinating group at this position this season. Last season, it felt like we had a slam dunk at the top with Tyrone Blake being HB1. Here, Any of the four of Bishop, Mucci, McClain, or Vanderslice could go as far down as Tier 3 or even jump into the first round. I gave preference to Bishop and Mucci as they had more total career yards, but this should be a fun position to watch come draft time. Messiah Bishop also won two National Championships at USC, so that could be a factor.

My only projection for this group is that there is no projection. The top four guys in this class could go in any order, though I give a slight edge here to Bishop and Mucci.

Wide Receiver

Tier 1: Dave Axis, Lincoln Martin, Alexander Tolbert, Ty Wolfe

Tier 2: Haden Carter, Kevin Davis, Robert Ivory, Timothy Richardson, Sebastian Sapp

Tier 3: Roger Blackwell, Bruno Bones, Isaac Blevins, Marco Gonzalez, Bo Jones, Gage Tyson, Demelo Washington, David Williams, Rontavius Yankins, Devin Zero

Tier 4: Emanuel Anoai, Boaz Beam, Jason Dodd, Jet Griffin, Braylen Jackson, Ethan Flowers, Caden Swift, Windsor Wellington, Zay Witherspoon

Once again, WR is the most full class of the CFSL Pro Draft. Any type of WR you need, there are at least four of them who can make a difference at the next level in this class. That is not a joke.

As usual when grading WRs, when I try to go and compare players, I open so many tabs that my PC almost crashes. And what a group it is. Axis, Martin, Tolbert, and Wolfe are the clear four leaders in this class. Tier 2 through Tier 4 are all guys who could bounce up and down the draft board depending on team evaluations. When 2 out of every 7 players in the class are WRs, you’ll need to stand out to move up the board. The four guys in Tier 1 do. With so many players, the depth is enormous in this class as well. Tier 3 in particular is filled with crazy depth for a WR class. This is the second largest crop of WRs in the Pro Draft in CFSL history, just behind the 31 selected in Season 19’s edition.

Tight End

Tier 1: N/A

Tier 2: Thomas Banks, Brian Jones, Lucas Leak, Laphonso Wick

Tier 3: Wyatt Babineau, Domenik Barfield

Tier 4: Treylon Walker

Last season, we had one guy at the top of the Tight End pile and uncertainty behind him. This season is a bit different. All four tight ends in Tier 2 likely aren’t Round 1 guys, especially with the talent nearby at WR. But all four provide intrigue and I think at least one or two will be a second-rounder.

Two of them (Banks and Wick) won All-American at Tight End. All four were bonafide starters for multiple seasons on playoff teams. Behind those four, Wyatt Babineau and Domenik Barfield both provide later-round opportunities as well.

Defensive Line

Tier 1: Mike Diamond, Krylic Martel

Tier 2: Caylee Alaina, Travis Hurd, Naomi Marcella, Mike Weaver

Tier 3: JJ Dowd, Max Duncan, Kevin McLeod, Les Longley, Tank Monday

Tier 4: Beau Justice, Brodie Slater, Keegan Walker, Chip York

This season’s class of defensive linemen has some interesting stories, even if the group as a whole is much weaker than the four strong Tier 1 grades I gave out for this position last time around. The question here is which star DE goes first off the board?

Mike Diamond was a two-time All-American and star for a great Ohio State team this season. Krylic Martel has a much longer track record of success for Michigan, including four seasons of at least 22 tackles. However, Martel never won an All-American and only had two sacks in his senior season. So who goes first? That is the story for this group.

Behind those two, there are some great DTs available in Tiers 2 and 3 who could jump depending on team needs. Not to mention later in the draft where guys like Kevin McLeod and Tank Monday could jump up with the right GM who likes their pure talent over the numbers.

Linebacker

Tier 1: Seth Berlin, Admiral Lasky

Tier 2: Luke Radloff, Isaac Sparks, Bjorn Thorsen

Tier 3: Joey Dellamano, DJ Money, Al Pine

Tier 4: Riley Hardin, Joseph Holms, Elliot Thomas

If a defensive player is going to challenge Zeus Claydon for #1 overall in this draft, it’s going to be a linebacker. Which one, however, is up for debate?

First, we have Seth Berlin. Berlin started slow in his career, but after transferring to Ohio State his sophomore season he grew into the star of the Buckeye defense. His senior season was his best, with 90 tackles and 14 TFLs. However, only one sack in his entire career will hurt his case. Admiral Lasky is the other possible choice. Between Auburn and Penn State, Lasky had 275 tackles, most in the class. He was an All-American in Season 20 and maybe the best player overall on multiple playoff Penn State teams.

Behind those two, Tier 2 should be another story to watch. Bjorn Thorsen had 98 tackles this season en route to being an All-American. That’s more than anyone else in this class had in a season. However, those 98 tackles were almost half of his 205 career tackle total between EMU and Florida State. How he is judged, along with other guys down the board, will be interesting.

Cornerback

Tier 1: N/A

Tier 2: Jaidyn Nichols, Jayden Strange

Tier 3: Tyrell Dunn, Adam Leach, Aiden Miller, JT Miller, Damian Walker

Tier 4: Trey Cooks, Cleveland Edison, Dakota LeBlanc, Shaquille Rocky

Last season, Jordan Holt was a surefire 1st rounder and represented a strong CB class. There’s no Jordan Holt in this class. Not by a long shot. While both Nichols and Strange had great careers, this class as a whole is a step back from last season. There is more depth behind them, however, especially in Tier 3.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see someone like Tyrell Dunn or Damian Walker jump up a tier, as teams try to get their CB early. This is a CB class where there is talent, but unlike last season GMs will have to be much more observant on where that talent may lie.

Safety

Tier 1: JM Cook Jr, Tucker McGuire

Tier 2: Malik Austin, Ladarius Byrd, Jim Morris, Jake Price, Cash Thomas, Kevin Walsh

Tier 3: Arch Archie, Carson Cutbirth, Will Davis, Ronnie James Jr, Mackenzie Wilder

Tier 4: Beanie Buchanan, Matt Hunter, Daniel Reed, Buddy Watkins

Last season, I had safety as the hardest position to grade. Well, once again, safety, especially in Tiers 1 and 2, was the hardest position to grade. I honestly can see arguments for every Tier 1 safety in Tier 2 and vice versa.

For myself, I gave preference to Cook Jr and McGuire with their All-American awards. Cook Jr also has familial ties to a CFSL legend, which should help her case. But this is maybe the deepest position group outside WR in the class, and there is plenty of talent to go around. Even in Tier 3, guys like Arch Archie or Carson Cutbirth could jump up a tier with the right team. And with so many safeties, who knows which order they get selected in? This is another season where the safeties group is chaotic to grade and unpredictable to watch on draft night.

Kicker

Tier 1: N/A

Tier 2: N/A

Tier 3: N/A

Tier 4: Noah Schafer

With apologies to the German native Noah Schafer, not too much I can say here. The only question is whether Schafer becomes the first-ever kicker taken last in the CFSL draft. My money says no, as Pro Draft GMs historically like to take a kicker somewhere at the beginning of Tier 4, and there is only one kicker available this season. Still, Schafer provided two quality seasons of kicking for LSU, so while he might not be the flashiest player in the draft, he certainly has talent.