2017 CRFL Draft Preview: Huskerfan

The 2017 NFL draft is less than a month away! In the mean time, I'll be doing a preview of each of the 12 CRFL teams, where they currently stand, what they need to address in the draft, etc. Moving down the 2016 standings in the Cascade Conference, we now look at the Huskers, who failed to make the postseason last fall. Is a bounce back season in order?

2017 Keepers

QB Matt Ryan ATL
RB Jay Ajayi MIA
RB Carlos Hyde SF
RB Mark Ingram NO
RB Jerick McKinnon MIN
RB Charles Sims TB
WR Amari Cooper OAK
WR Brandin Cooks NO
WR Kelvin Benjamin CAR
TE Tyler Eifert CIN

2017 Draft Picks

1.03
1.06
2.04
2.06
3.06
4.06
5.06
6.06
7.06
8.06

Preview

Missed opportunity. That's how the Huskers will feel about the 2016 season. Every year a surprise QB comes out of nowhere to be a high-end QB1. In 2016, that QB was Matt Ryan. The Huskers even saw the mid-season emergence of Jay Ajayi into a RB1, but ultimately failed to reap the benefits in the win column.

Coming into 2017, the Huskers are not particularly great or awful at any position, mostly above average across the board. Carlos Hyde and Mark Ingram are decent RB options, but certainly not elite. Same could be said for Brandin Cooks and Kelvin Benjamin behind Amari Cooper. A healthy Tyler Eifert figures to help their cause, but will Matt Ryan be able to post high-end QB1 numbers again?

The great news for this team is that their draft is stacked, including two top 6 picks at 1.03 and 1.06. They also have two 2nd round picks. With these draft assets in hand, I expect the Huskers to load up and possibly fight for Top 5 status this upcoming season. With Leonard Fournette and one of Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey off the board, what Huskerfan does at 1.03 will be intriguing.