NFL Draft with a Marvel Comics Spin

With the NFL Draft starting tonight, I often wonder what it would be like if there was a draft for a new team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. Who would be the first pick?

I would have to say for Marvel Comics, the selection of heroes is far more complicated than our DC Comics draft. Given the state of Marvel Comics, the popularity of some heroes exceeds their actual powerset. You could probably take these heroes into consideration for the top 5 picks:

• HULK
• THOR
• Captain Marvel
• Iron Man
• Spider-Man

Personally if I had a top 5 pick, I might consider trading down for an extra pick in the second round. Why? Because just like in the NFL, there is plenty of value in later rounds when you're dealing with Marvel Comics. Most people immediately think of the Avengers related heroes, but I'm eyeballing X-Men here.

Marvel Girl would be my first pick. Because she comes from a lesser known league of heroes (thanks to Marvel crapping on the X-Men for the last few years) not as many casual fans know about her tremendous abilities. Here's where knowing your heroes comes in handy.

Oh, you want to trade up to draft Spider-Man? Sure thing...I'll take your second round pick and move back in the first. Now I'm going to get Marvel Girl in the first and when I have two picks next round, don't cry when I get both Iron Fist AND Cyclops!

But before we get that far, we need to look at who would round out the potential top ten:

• Wolverine
• Punisher
• Nova
• Dr. Strange
• Silver Surfer

Those are who I would rank to round out the top ten, in no particular order. I mean, just looking at this list you can see why it may be difficult. There's still some great heroes missing. It would be hard for you to screw up the first round of a Marvel draft. Odds are you'll come out with great talent. But what if you are drafting near the middle of the first round? There are still plenty of solid options to choose from and it all depends on how you grade out the heroes:

• Scarlet Witch
• Ant-Man
• Human Torch
• Thing
• Mr. Fantastic

You notice that I'm avoiding the X-Men? Good. Because let's be honest...unless you're a Marvel die-hard, you probably aren't nearly as familiar with them as the casual fan. But mutants such as Professor X, White Queen, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Psylocke could easily find their way into the first round if the person drafting knows their X-Men.

Then we get to the bottom of the draft where your superhero team is just looking to add a hero to contribute to an already good team. Heroes that include

• Groot
• Hawkeye
• Daredevil
• Luke Cage
• Black Panther

You may have noticed the absence of a few 'popular' names here such as Deadpool, Captain America, Black Widow or Magneto. These are heroes that have off-the-field issues. Heroes with 'red flags' that would be considered high-risk draft picks that could be harmful to my superhero team. While they have value, it's those character issues that prevent them from being first round picks.

Look for them to be taken anywhere between rounds 2 and 3.

So what would be the ultimate draft strategy: Drafting for need or the 'best hero available'? 

If your team lacks a strategist...why would you take Human Torch, if Mr. Fantastic is still on the board? While your team may benefit from the extra power, you could get out manuevered in battle and ultimately lose. Reed Richards' mind alone gives him a first round grade, it wouldn't be much of a 'stretch' to take him early.

It seems like it would be smarter to draft for need but then again, there are advantages to 'best hero available'. Scenario: if your first pick was HULK and you see that Thing slipped into the second round...how could you pass that up? Having two heroes with that kind of power would certainly make a formidable team.

If you'd be interested in participating in a fantasy Marvel Comics superhero draft...let us know in the comments below. If we get enough response...maybe we'll set something up to see what kind of teams we come up with!

Check out the DC Comics version of this idea here!