FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Now just days away from the 2018 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, New England Revolution General Manager Michael Burns remains open to any and all possibilities when it comes to the Revs’ pair of top-10 picks.
New England currently hold both the eighth and ninth overall selections in next Friday’s draft, and while Burns is confident that talented players will be available at those spots, he won’t rule out the possibility of moving those picks should a desirable offer be presented.
“It puts us in a really good position, either to keep the picks or to potentially make a move,” said Burns. “When you have two top-10 picks, you’re in a more advantageous position.”
The ninth overall pick is New England’s natural selection, while they acquired the eighth overall pick from the Philadelphia Union in the trade that sent Charlie Davies to Philly in 2016. The Revs traded both their second- and third-round picks, while they hold the 78th overall selection in the fourth round.
Last year’s MLS Rookie of the Year was selected at eighth overall, as Providence College product Julian Gressel bagged five goals and nine assists with expansion side Atlanta United FC.
New England’s top pick last year was University of Vermont forward Brian Wright at 20th overall, and he’ll return for a second year with the Revolution in 2018.
“There’ll be a lot of rumors like there are every year about what we’re going to do with the picks, what other teams are going to do, and what players we should go after,” Burns said. “As always, we’ll try to make the best decision for our team, but we definitely feel we’re in a much better position this year going into the draft with two top-10 picks.”
Burns, head coach Brad Friedel and the rest of the Revolution’s technical staff are currently in Orlando for the 2018 adidas MLS Player Combine to make their final assessments on the upcoming draft class, while the SuperDraft itself will go down on Friday, January 19, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Whatever decisions the Revs make ahead of that date will likely be affected by the moves they’ve already made, having brought in left back Gabriel Somi, central midfielder Wilfried Zahibo and attacking midfielder Isaac Angking within the past week-and-a-half.
“It will impact a little bit the way we’re thinking in terms of positionally going into this draft,” Burns said.
