MLS Expansion Draft 2011: Colorado Rapids Projected Protected List

The Colorado Rapids having almost no talented depth to speak of made it quite easy to make my protection selections. Goalkeeper Matt Pickens was probably the biggest snub on my list, but I left him off mainly so there would be an extra spot open in the "midfield" selections for Sanna Nyassi. I'm big on protecting the guys I think would most likely be picked by the Montreal Impact, not necessarily the best players on the team - you'll notice Jamie Smith isn't on there either because of that ACL tear. That left mostly the few established talents on the team like Conor Casey, Jeff Larentowicz et al. as well as a handful of the young guys that I like best.

I went with Ababio because I think he's got the best potential of all the young guns in Colorado, with Andre Akpan being the closest second to stealing his spot. Fortunately for us, Davy Armstrong is automatically protected so we don't have to worry about him. Honestly, I will be very surprised if any Rapids are taken in the expansion draft as long as the few big guns on the team are protected.

Projected protection list: Conor Casey, Omar Cummings, Brian Mullan, Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz, Eddie Ababio, Sanna Nyassi, Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne, Anthony Wallace, Kosuke Kimura. Automatically protected: Davy Armstrong, Josh Janiere

Chris "UZ" White is the managing editor of Rapids blog Burgundy Wave. Follow him on Twitter at @BurgundyWave. Be sure to check out SB Nation Soccer's Mock Expansion Draft on Thursday.