Dynamo Draft Picks: #32, Mark Sherrod

The Houston Dynamo addressed one need when they selected Generation Addidas defender AJ Cochran with the 16th pick of this year's SuperDraft. They also needed forwards, and Dom Kinnear and Chris Canetti obliged with their second pick. The thirteenth pick of the second round - and 32nd overall - went to select Memphis forward Mark Sherrod.

I may not agree with the comparisons to Brian Ching that ESPN was making - I think that even that suggestion might be putting too much pressure on the young man's shoulders - but a look at his highlight reel (here it is), and I have to agree that he certainly could be good. Tall - both Dynamo picks today are 6'3" - he seems to be fairly good in the air. He's not as hyped as Cochran has been, but a look back through last season shows that any added aerial threats will be welcome. I've been told that his hold up play isn't that good - but like Cochran, he'll have time to develop, should he make the roster.

It won't be as easy for him as it is for Cochran, I think - even with so few forwards on the Dynamo roster - but I don't think Kinnear and Canetti would've selected him had they not thought he could contribute. Again, the relationship with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds is an added bonus - and will perhaps provide more roster slots for young players - perhaps giving a young man like Sherrod a chance to develop that he might not have had in previous years.

It might be a challenge - with Brian Ching gone, Cam Weaver and Omar Cummings likely gone, and Calen Carr again out with an injury, the Dynamo are in need of forwards - but I think that once developed, Sherrod will be a good addition to the Dynamo. The key there is "once developed" - I don't think throwing him into the fire might be the best of ideas, no matter how much we need goals. This opinion may change once we see him in preseason play, but until then, I want to see him developed first. There's certainly skill there - let's give the staff a chance to draw it out.

All in all, this is what appears to be the second good pick the Dynamo have made today. We'll have to wait years before we know for sure, of course, but the pick addresses a need, and for that reason alone, there's reason to like it.