Before the start of the MLS Combine, the Rapids put a post on their site detailing a few things the team would be looking for while in Ft. Lauderdale. One particular quote by Paul Bravo caught my eye, as well:
The MLS Draft has traditionally been one of the least BPA (best player available) centered drafts in sports, from what I've seen. In Major League Baseball and the NHL drafts, you're not guaranteed to see your kids most of the time for several years, so drafting for need is usually fruitless. In the NFL, reaching for a player rarely works out either unless you have the No. 1 pick and are desperate for a quarterback.
If the Rapids are deciding to eschew the two biggest needs on the team (center forward, center back) we might see an interesting name get called when their card comes up on Thursday. Perhaps after the combine, the Rapids would see one of the young international players who had been called in as the best player available. They could grab a guy we haven't talked about like Carlos Alverez out of UCONN, a playmaking midfielder who probably wouldn't crack the field all that often.
I'm going to stick to assuming we'll see a guy like Eriq Zavaleta on the Rapids after their pick is through, but that quote does give some food for thought.
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Matt Pollard 