2014 MLS Draft Profile: Steve Neumann

It's rare that a player as talented as Steve Neumann is being talked about as a potential mid-first round prospect in the MLS Draft. Most years, the most outright talented players are scooped up the second that the gates open. For all intents and purposes, Steve Neumann appears to be one of the most talented guys on the board, and his college production was fantastic. He scored 41 goals and 34 assists during his four years with the Hoyas, a great consistency that a lot of players (See: Diouf, Mamadou Doudou) fail to maintain.

Here's the problem with him: nobody knows quite where he's going to play. He's got the playmaking ability of an attacking midfielder and the finishing ability of a forward, and both were consistent during his college game. However, nobody's quite sure if either will shine through at the next level. Though he was consistently good in college, he was never otherworldy.

The other knock on him is his athleticism. In a league where there's lots of speed/strength and technical players sometimes get tossed aside, he might not have the stuff to get through even with his great ability. Some team is going to make that gamble, and that team could well be the Rapids. After all, as the MLS Mock Draft yesterday said, they've got plenty of athleticism up top for him to throw the ball towards.