I’ll level with you: D.C. United is probably not going to pick anyone in today’s MLS Waiver Draft (3pm Eastern). MLS’s GMs, Technical Directors, Sporting Directors, and the like will all partake in a conference call, and a large majority of teams - hell, maybe even all 22 teams - will pass. United has the 11th pick, but if they bother using it, they might be the first team to actually grab a player.
This is, after all, a sort of catch-all for players that didn’t land in the many other MLS mechanisms. Here’s how the league site explains it:
The Waiver Draft will consist of players who are not eligible for Re-Entry or Free Agency and are either out of contract and have not been issued a Genuine Offer or have not had their 2017 options exercised.
It’s a motley crew to be sure. Plenty of interesting names were only in the league on loan, so selecting them would still result in some sort of haggling with the club that holds their registration. Many of the rest of the names are on this list, because, to be blunt, they’re not MLS-caliber players.
However, that’s no reason to simply blow the whole thing off. You don’t want to be a wasteful fat cat, especially in MLS and especially if you’re burdened with paying a ransom in rent while also building your new place. I’m not saying United should definitely draft any of these players; rather, these are some names they should at least give some healthy consideration.
Connor Hallisey
Age: 23
2016 salary: $63,000 base, $76,750 guaranteed
Position: Winger
Hallisey never broke through as a starter with Sporting Kansas City, but that’s not to say he never played. Peter Vermes put him on the field 13 times in his rookie year (6 starts) before turning to him 17 times (12 starts) this year. He managed 1,588 minutes in two seasons for a good team, and while his numbers in that time (0 goals, 2 assists) aren’t amazing, Hallisey was a capable role player who helped the Sporks high-press everyone they played against. He also got numerous starts in the Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League.
Since Hallisey played as both a right and left forward for SKC, it stands to reason that he could step into Miguel Aguilar’s place on the depth chart. With United’s strength on the flanks, he probably wouldn’t play much. However, Patrick Nyarko tends to miss games due to injury at least once a year, and all three of the Black-and-Red’s top wingers are 30 or older. They’re going to need someone in that spot on the roster, and it might be tough to do better than a guy who merited the 10th overall pick in 2015.
Hallisey isn’t a speedster, though he’s not slow either. Instead, he’s a hard worker who moves intelligently off the ball. Part of the reason he tends to not get goals or assists is a tendency to defer to bigger names, and this year KC’s goals and assists all tended to come from Dom Dwyer and Benny Feilhaber. If Ben Olsen could get him to start calling his own number occasionally, Hallisey could start to contribute on the scoresheet here.
Darwin Jones
Age: 24
2016 salary: $62,500 base, $68,750 guaranteed
Position: Forward/left winger
A Seattle Sounders homegrown product, Jones never really broke through for the new MLS Cup champions. In two seasons, he totaled 11 appearances (0 starts) in MLS, playing just 129 total minutes. 2016 was actually a regression in that department, as Jones made just 2 league appearances.
However, the Sounders have a lot of weapons in their attack, making it hard for a non-Jordan Morris youngster to get into the lineup. Jones - who, before signing with the Sounders went to the University of Washington - might just need a change of scenery to get going.
There’s potential there to be sure. He posted 7 goals and 1 assist playing for Sounders 2 this year (that’s 25% of their goal total in the 2016 USL season), and torched Portland for this goal back during the preseason. Sounder at Heart’s Dave Clark took stock of his skills and weaknesses here, noting in particular both an unwillingness to quit on plays and the tactical awareness to force opponents into less-than-ideal scenarios. Sounds like the kind of guy Olsen would like, right?
We’ve touched on the fact that United could probably use one more winger, and that’s where Jones projects were he to be selected today. However, the fact that he’s spent plenty of time as a striker - a position where United has only three capable options, one of whom is a wide man first - adds to this being a pretty decent fit on paper.
Boyd Okwuonu
Age: 23
2016 salary: $66,000 base, $86,000 guaranteed
Position: Right back
A North Carolina Tarheel with extensive US youth national team experience (all the way up to the u23s), Okwuonu was a three-time All-ACC defender before being drafted in the second round in 2015 by Real Salt Lake. With Tony Beltran in the way at right back, Okwuonu’s minutes in MLS have been limited. He’s played 210 total minutes in 5 appearances (2 starts) spread over two full seasons. Most of his professional playing time has come at the USL level with Real Monarchs SLC, RSL’s B team.
Still, Okwuonu only managed 15 appearances with the Monarchs this year because of the number of times he made RSL’s gameday 18 only to not sub in. Second-string as a defender can be a rough life: with Beltran playing in 60 of RSL’s 68 league matches, Okwuonu never got a look in for an extended period of time.
However, he’s a tough, speedy defender who doesn’t get fooled into giving away fouls cheaply. The folks over at RSL Soapbox seemed very optimistic about his future with the club just over two weeks ago. With Sean Franklin testing the free agent market and the decision to decline Chris Korb’s option, the Black-and-Red’s choices at right back at the start of training camp may be rather thin. Picking Okwuonu would not replace Franklin, but it would be a reasonable way to create cheap, respectable depth at a position that could use it right now.