Schoenle's big red flag is his size. It was the big red flag that dropped him out of Gen Ad contention last year. But size isnt everything, he could be the anti-Opara. Hopefully he can be of the Michael Parkhurst mold and be the sort where soccer IQ compensates for that. Could have someone like Muma as the brawn and Schoenle the brains. His size will likely knock him out of the top 8, but the teams below that all could realistically pick him given the scarcity of the position this year. Columbus just released a few defenders, he'd be an ideal replacement for Balchan. I dont think he lasts to us. Kemp is a smart pick as a left back as well id say if your looking at defense. His injury will make him fall but he was a blue chipper before it so i think 15 would be good value there.
well we just sent Opara to SKC for their second round pick, so we got 3 picks in this thing now; with two back to back in the second round. I think everyone would agree on central defensive depth, but we can go a few different ways with our picks now. CAM is a pretty popular option too. Also with 2 second rounders if we see someone we really like we can jump to the early 2nd round now. But you know, since all a sudden we need some bodies at central defense......i would not be opposed to double dipping in this draft at that position.
What would I do if I had all those draft picks? I'll tell you what I'd do man - two centerbacks at the same time man!
one other thing that is coming to light of this years potential GA class; international slots. Deshorn Brown and JJ Johnson, two Jamaican forwards projected to be given GA deals could fall the same way Enzo Martinez did last year because of his international status. Also Kekuta Manneh, a forward from Gambia. Thats gonna scare some teams away. There is a remote possibility we could lock in another GA player if we find the value in using an international spot on them. Given our supposed cap squeeze, if we can get a Gen Ad guy, we should try for it. Guys......we are getting a good international Gen Ad player dropping to us if we want to use a int'l slot
I think that is part of the reason why we passed on andy rose last year is he required an int'l slot... big mistake.
Get to know some of the top senior defensive prospects http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/mls-prospects:-defenders_aid28268 Many of the best ones are homegrowns that are not available in the draft.
If Alvarez falls that low all the teams in front of us went blind collectively. If we get him healthy to call it a steal would be an understatement.
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/12/sbi-2013-mls-mock-draft-version-2-0.html#more-22434 also a new mock, if it turns out like that thats an A draft for me, cant hope for much better.
Muller has jumped over Schoenle in the latest Top Drawer big board. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/2013-mls-big-board_aid28313 I have to admit I have not seen much of Schoenle so I can't really comment on him too much. He seems tall but skinny. Strong in the air and comes forward and scores goals on set pieces from the highlights I have seen. Muller I have seen and I was very impressed. Yes he is shorter than Schoenle but he is still 5-11 has filled his body out more than Schoenle so he can play physical. I saw him win lots of aerial challenges marking big boy Eriq Zavaleta, a possible #1 overall pick this year. That being said Schoenle did have 6 goals this year versus 1 for Muller. Matt Doyle has us choosing between Schoenle and Muller in the MLS draft review video (2:02 for us):
One guy who looks interesting to me and may be available late first round is Dylan Tucker-Gangnes of UW. Big kid, looks comfortable with his feet and good in the air. Agility/speed may be an issue.
UW are the stoke city of NCAA ball so maybe he could fit into our system. He looked very good on the defensive side of the ball when I saw their big 2-1 upset over #5 UCLA at UCLA this year. I just don't think he's good in possession due to UW's style. They had something like 20% possession against the Bruins. Probably more of a Ring-type than Baca-type. Worth a supplemental round flier to see if he can earn a spot in camp. The one guy on UW who I would love to draft is the defender who does their long throws... dude can huck it like 60 yards. It was causing all kinds of problems for UCLA. The Rory Delap of NCAA soccer. I forgot his name though.
Dylan Tucker Gagnes looks like a tank in that vid, he looks good on the ball but he could be one of those slow cumbersome defenders. Hes an option though i suppose. I think we will be picking whoever of schoenle or muller is left on the board. Itd be pretty unlikely they are both still there.
So Falvo, do you think the Quakes are interested in your cousin (nephew? I can't remember which) in the 2nd round?
http://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft...occercoms-2013-mock-draft-pre-combine-edition here is the most comprehensive mock to date that ive seen, shows just how sporadic the board can be after the top 10
another thing we will look for is a sour contract situtaion a la Lenhart. Anyone know off the top of their heads some quality that is not happy where they are now??
yeah, that guys a twig, thats the big knock against him. we gotta feed that dude some sammiches if we draft him.