2012 SB Nation MLS Mock Draft Results

My initial thought going into the mock draft was basically to select the best player available, provided that it wasn’t at the following positions: goalkeeper, fullback and striker. I feel that Sporting Kansas City is already set at those positions. I did have my eye on the center back position specifically in the first round, as I thought that perhaps a player such as Louisville’s Austin Berry, or more surprisingly, UNC’s Matt Hedges may fall to me at 16. When both players ended up being drafted with the 11th and 12th picks, I started focusing in on Silva, who I was actually very surprised was still on the board as my selection was coming up.

A player creative player like Silva could play a role for Sporting Kansas City in his first year, even if it’s strictly as a role player. Besides Graham Zusi, Kansas City is lacking a player in the midfield that can find his teammates on a consistent basis. Silva, even if he has only a minimal impact in 2012, may be able to become that player for Sporting in the near future.

Though early combine reports are marginal, his season with University of South Florida in the Big East earned him Offensive Player of the Year and 2nd Team All-America. He was one of the last players to sign a GA deal this year. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds he’s a strong and fast forward who nets goals through off-ball movement, speed and quick trigger.

With the Seattle Sounders doing things a bit different than other teams (Vegas Combine, heavily lean to Southern California players and a history of going for those not on national boards) a short list of players filled the short board for Sounder at Heart. Those players went with picks 31 (Gaddis), 32 (Allen) and 33 (Ibarra). With options quickly dwindling the pick of Jamie Finch may be a bit of a stretch, but there’s little evidence that a pick in the mid 30s should be anything but a flyer that may succeed.

This selection is a pick that surprised even myself. The UNC junior was around at 13 and the top defensive options at both center back (Andrew Jean-Baptise and Matt Hedges) and left back (Tyler Polak and Chris Estridge) had been taken previous to the Philadelphia Union’s turn to select in the first round of the mock SuperDraft. Considering the Union will either draft directly for defensive depth or select the best player available, I went for the creative midfielder.

The best name in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft (sorry Luckymore) fell to the Union in the second round, with the 35th overall selection.

This report was written by Daniel Robertson, the managing editor of FC Dallas blog Big D Soccer.

These picks were made by Patrick Guldan, the managing editor of Crew blog Massive Report.

Segares led the team in minutes played in 2011 by more than 300 and he isn’t getting any younger. Estridge is an offensively minded left back that could duplicate and even surpass the offensive role Fire head coach Frank Klopas had Segares serve this year. Estridge played forward for the Fire’s 2011 PDL team and even led the team in goals with 7. The Indianapolis native is just too perfect of a fit to pass up.

Raymon Gaddis is one of a couple of right backs the Fire will be tempted to take with the No. 23, No. 28, or what is essentially the No. 47 overall pick; the No. 9 pick in the Supplemental Draft. It starts to get murky on overall talent after No. 20 and some teams start to pick for the future while others make picks hoping against the odds that they have found a player who can contribute right away.

D.C. United heads into the 2012 SuperDraft with a roster cut down to bare bones, so selecting a player that will need a couple seasons to blossom is a luxury Ben Olsen and Co. can’t afford. With that in mind, I fake-drafted Louisville senior midfielder Nick DeLeon, who was the No. 3 player on my draft shortlist behind only Darren Mattocks and Andrew Wenger.

DeLeon is a versatile attack-minded midfielder who will likely feature as a winger as a pro. At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, United will not have to fret over whether DeLeon will be yet another college attacker who was too small for MLS. That versatility is key, as United will probably need him to play both wings and even make the occasional appearance up front as the year goes on. As an added bonus, DeLeon has already signed an MLS contract.

This pick was made by Rachna Kapur, a writer for Chivas USA blog The Goat Parade.

These picks were made by Dave Rowaan, a writer at Toronto FC blog Waking the Red.

Finlay was an integral part Creighton’s offense this season, scoring 14 goals from a forward position and finishing as a runner-up to Billy Schuler for the Hermann Trophy. While he lacks the true finisher’s polish of Hoffman, Finlay has the ball skills to play out wide as well as at striker, and with Zerka still not a lock to return, wing depth may well be a major concern for the Revs in 2012. Finlay could provide spark and dept, and is frankly a steal at pick 22.

These picks were made by Steve Stoehr, managing editor for Revolution blog The Bent Musket.

Benjamin Massey is a SB Nation Soccer contributor as well as the managing editor of Whitecaps blog 86 Forever.