Jared Watts had a breakout year at Center Back for the Rapids. After trying to fit in in 2014 and 2015 as a defensive midfielder, Watts established himself as the starting CB alongside Axel Sjoberg, and was consistently veery good throughout the year. His passing out of the back was excellent, and his speed, technical ability, and emergency tackling helped to form a critical element in Colorado’s league-best defense.
So why did the Rapids leave him exposed? Here’s our list:
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It came as a surprise to me that Marlon Hairston was no longer considered an automatically protected Generation Adidas player, so that messed up my predicted list for protected/unprotected Rapids.