ESPN writer Ives Galarcep grades the performance of the 13 MLS teams during last Friday's SuperDraft, an event he describes as being "thin in the talent department." He gave the Chicago Fire an "A" for walking away with arguably the draft's best forward in Patrick Nyarko, its best attacking midfielder in Peter Lowry and best goalkeeper in Dominic Cervi. Nyarko, he says, is good enough to even be a starter next year, while Stephen King, a third-round "steal," will also be one to watch.
Toronto, which also earned an A, landed the draft's best defenders in Julius James and Pat Phelan. Galarcep thinks both could start next season, while second-round pick Brian Edwards could be a goalkeeper of the future. That said, Kansas City also walked away with a pair of polished defenders in Chance Myers (the No. 1 pick overall) and Roger Espinoza, who could be "a fullback tandem for years." KC got an A-.
FC Dallas and the L.A. Galaxy both received Bs. L.A. in particular needed to fill its roster with reasonably priced talent, which it got in the form of Sean Franklin, an "MLS-ready fullback" who makes up for last week's loss of Chris Albright to New England. Speaking of the Revs, the Albright trade was the best move of the day for the Revs, who had a tepid draft besides the move. The Revs and Red Bulls each received a C+. The rest of the grades weren't so pretty: D.C. United and Real Salt Lake got Cs, San Jose a D, and Colorado, Chivas USA and Houston, Fs.
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