D.C. United is going to be taking a forward in the upcoming SuperDraft; the only question is which one. The release of Pablo Hernadez was a good move; between Hernadez and Danny Allsopp, United has cleared $467,000 off of its books. Now, they have acquired a couple of forwards through the Re-Entry draft, but neither of them are long term solutions.
I see United taking one of three of the top forwards in the draft: Darlington Nagbe, Omar Salgado, and Will Bruin. I like Chest Rockwell’s theory that D.C. United is angling for the number one pick, but I don’t think there’s any way that they would take Perry Kitchen with that pick. I think that they keep Clyde Simms and let him teach Conor Shanosky, who was signed out of the Academy to play the very position that Kitchen plays. That might mean that Chris Pontius could be out, but that is a problem that has been festering for awhile.
However, I have come around on which of the forwards I think that United should draft. I’ve been arguing that they should take Omar Salgado, as he has the most upside of any of the forwards in this class. But now, I am for Nagbe if United somehow gets the #1 pick or Will Bruin if United stays at the #3 pick. United doesn’t need another Hernandez or Christian Castillo, a prospect with worlds of talent but who isn’t able to put it together. D.C. United needs someone proven to be able to score goals; with Bruin getting comments that he is a physical presence and the best finisher in the draft, I would be happy to just sit back at #3 and take him. But United could also clear up some of its roster congestion, trade up, and take Nagbe. People are saying that he could be better than Teal Bunbury and Steve Zakuani; any team in MLS would benefit from a player like that.
Sometime before the draft I’ll actually do homework on these two (through YouTube), and have some more comments on draft day eve.
Before Extra Time 