EVERY YEAR THE DLE draft brings the promise of rebirth or renewal for the 32 franchises, but for one player, it brings the promise of stardom, riches and immortality as the number 1 pick. As we reach the business end of the Season 7, BLITZ! thought we would take a recap of the first 6 number one picks to date and see whether they have lived up to the hype or have been crushed by the pressure and the large target that hangs on their back as a no.1
YOUR CORRESPONDENT TRAVELS FIRST to the Kislev border town of Emsk, home to the Red Cardinals. We are searching for C J Mosley, the player whom, no matter what his career brought, had the honour of being the inaugural pick in the DLE. Emsk, is unusually welcoming to outsiders for a Kislev town, but for want of not insulting our hosts we do not raise our suspicions that if Draft 1 was done over, that Mosley would be a surprise pick at no.1
MOSLEY IS NOW AN elder statesman in the DLE. A veteran presence in the Emsk dressing room, Mosely has amassed 884 turns and is one of a dwindling group of players to have played in every DLE season. His is not a flashy skill set, but he provides all round support to the Emsk offense and defense. One may argue that his lack of flashiness and team first ethic has led him to being underappreciated by the league, having only once being awarded an MVP
MOSELEY CEMENTS HIS LEGACY as tough but fair, having made 505 blocks and caused 42 CAS, but having commited only 2 fouls. Happier to set the table for others, rather than seek the glory himself, Mosley has not scored a TD in his career and only has a solitary completion to his name
AS TIME AND THE environment weathers everything in the land of Kislev, so we find that Mosley has not emerged unscathed through the passing of the years. A hit from Harry Chell of the Brionne Buccaneers broke Mosley’s neck, but even this significant injury has not stopped Mosely from being a productive player.
THE HOUR GROWS LATE and the bottle of Koumis lies empty and as your correspondent slips under the Krashenin with his Blyad, I cannot help but feel that while there have been stronger and more glamourous number one picks, no pick so far embodies its team or land more than CJ Mosley.
Do widzenia tovaritches.