Grading the Revolution’s 2021 SuperDraft

As the 2020 MLS SuperDraft comes to an end, it’s time for The Bent Musket crew to give our thoughts on the Revolution’s selections.

Josh:

Going into the SuperDraft, I expected the Revs to add some much-needed depth in the center back and midfield positions. With the Revs having late picks, I wasn’t expecting any big names to still be on the board when it was our time to pick.

That all changed when UNH defender Josh Bauer slowly slid down the draft board. Before the draft, Bauer was slated to be selected with the 4th overall pick by D.C. United. It was honestly shocking to see someone ranked that high still on the board.

For me, Bauer checks all the boxes. A young, local kid, who would easily fit in as a depth piece to the Revs backline. I was rather shocked to hear Revs legend Chris Tierney announce Edward Kizza’s name.

Look, Kizza can score. With thirty-one goals and seven assists across 53 appearances, it is clear to see the impact Kizza has on an offense. Although he had an amazing stat line in college, Kizza stands at a 5-foot-9. In a league dominated by tall defenders, it’s questionable if Kizza will have a similar production level as he did in college. Only time will tell.

Moving on, the Revs selected Francois Dulysse from Manhattan College. Dulysse should ring a bell for Revs fans as the defender signed a contract with Revs II in December of 2020. I honestly do not know much Dulysse. Yet it’s clear to see that the organization is high on him. It is not typical to see teams select players they have on their developmental team. So, I highly expect Dulysse to be a big part of the Revs backline for the coming years.

Additionally, selecting Dulysse prevents the Revs from having to negotiate for his MLS rights if he were to have been selected by another club, which is always a positive.

Finally, the Revs passed on selecting during the 78^th overall pick. Not much to say here. Not many picks are made past the end of the second round, and with slim pickings remaining, it made sense for them to pass there.

Grade: C-

Sam:

With all the moves that the Revolution have made this offseason, the SuperDraft kind of snuck up on everyone. It seems that their first team roster is pretty much set in stone, but the club still needs to build for the future.

Let’s start off with what the club ended up doing.

The selection of Kizza is an interesting one. When he is on the field he is great. He’s a goalscorer and that’s exactly what the Revolution need.

But there are some questions that need to be answered. Will he be able to score goals with his height issues as Josh highlighted? There’s also the issue of Kizza abruptly leaving the University Of Pittsburgh. Bruce Arena said that the club did their background work on Kizza so one can only hope that there will be no problems now that he is in MLS.

The selection of Dulysse seems like more of a long term play with the club acquiring his MLS rights. They must think highly of the defender if they felt the need to make this selection.

Even though the club passed on the local kid in Bauer, they did a decent job. Also I won’t pretend to know as much as Arena does, so it seems only right that I stay cautiously optimistic.

Grade: B-

Jake C:

I am going to trust Bruce Arena when he says that the organization`did their homework on Edward Kizza and the mystery surrounding his early departure from the University of Pittsburgh. Kizza is highly rated, Matt Doyle had him as the best center forward in the draft, but at 5-foot-9 I am not sure this was the backup target man I had in mind going into the draft.

I’m going to echo Josh and agree that I’d have taken Bauer if he was still on the board. Defenders have a much better chance of developing and getting minutes in MLS, especially given that Kizza is going to be behind a several international players in the Revs attacking group. Perhaps Kizza and Justin Rennicks can become a force for Revs II and work a little Open Cup magic this season.

Francois Dulysse was one of the Revs II prospects eligible for the draft and part of me thinks the Revs could have gotten him with that third round pick they passed on. Either way, the Metro Atlantic defender should feel very confident that the Revs though highly of him to protect him his rights by selecting him in this draft.

But I hate passing, I don’t understand why the majority of the league does this, especially with USL development being much more of a thing now. There’s no getting past the fact that the Revs wasted an MLS resource here, and they’re the best at using those resources and turning them into other commodities. I was going to give this a middling grade, but the pass knocks a whole letter grade off for me.

Final Grade: D+