Atlanta United has different needs but the same goals when it participates in its second MLS SuperDraft on Friday in Philadelphia.
Instead of having two picks in the top 10 as it did last year in Los Angeles, Atlanta United won’t pick until 14th on Friday. It will also have the 13th and 14th picks in the second round and the first pick in the fourth round.
The probability won’t be as great of finding the next Julian Gressel, picked eighth by the Five Stripes last year and who later was named the league Rookie of the Year after scoring five goals and notching nine assists in 32 appearances.
But Atlanta United Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra isn’t ruling out that possibility.
“When you draft, we will try and get the best player available, and then it’s up to them to come and prove what they can do,” he said.
Bocanegra said Atlanta United is looking for the best available player, regardless of position. He and the scouts for the combine in Orlando are applying the same processes used last year when the team had the chance to find two potential first-year starters.
They watched games and then compared notes on the players they are interested in. They conducted 5-to 10-minute interviews with some of the players – they had spoken to as many as 30 on Wednesday afternoon – and will rank the players overall before Friday. Bocanegra said it’s nice to get to know the players, and joked he’s also learning that he’s not in touch with the new shows on Netflix.
But finding players in the draft who can make rosters, much less contribute, isn’t easy. While Gressel set the standard last year, Miles Robinson, picked second by Atlanta United, didn’t log an MLS minute. Neither did third-round pick Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, but both he and Robinson are still with the team. Fourth-round pick Alex Kapp never signed.
Of the 22 players selected in the first round of last year's draft, only 16 are still active in the league. Of those, only six appeared in at least 13 games.
The numbers get even worse as you go through the rounds: Five of the 22 in the second round are active; Three of the 20 on the third round and three of the 17 in the fourth round are still active.
Just one player, Philadelphia’s Jack Elliott, selected in rounds 2-4 became a consistent starter.
“It’s fair to say that the draft isn’t like other sports in North America,” Atlanta United President Darren Eales said. “It’s tough to find impact players like Julian or Elliott in Philadelphia.”
While Bocanegra and Eales hope to find a first-team contributor, it seems more likely that the draft will indirectly be used to stock the roster of the team’s USL franchise, Atlanta United 2.
“Now our question will be when we come to who will be the player that will be the best for Atlanta United?” Eales said. “Who can make an impact or who has the best upside for medium to long term?”
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