With every iteration of the MLS SuperDraft, it becomes harder to identify who might have done best out of the process. Never a wholly reliable predictor of talent, the draft’s importance has diminished in recent years with the evolution of the game in the US, and in particular the emergence of the MLS club academies as an alternate route to the traditional college system.

And given the MLS rules and the “last shall be first” logic of the draft, it feels a little strange to be considering the 2015 also-rans who dominate the top of the draft order as anything like winners, but at least in the absence of expansion teams there was a clearer chance to assess how Chicago, NYC FC and Philadelphia Union might use their draft picks to kickstart needed rebuilds. All three clubs have new head coaches or GMs – or in Chicago’s case, both – and this was the first chance to test their priorities. All three had their moments.

It was also a chance to see how the clubs acquitted themselves within the micro-politics of the draft room itself – in this case a cavernous ballroom at Baltimore Convention Center, packed with technical staff, media, hopeful players and parents, and a healthy contingent of rowdy supporters.

It seems strange to talk of stable teams as losers. There were few surprise moves from last season’s top teams, which in itself is an indicator of the diminished importance of the draft. Such “losers” as there were tended to be teams who need very little tweaking, or see little value in doing that in this context.

Winners

Chicago Fire: New GM Nelson Rodriguez and head coach Veljko Paunovic are an intriguing double act. Paunovic’s pedigree working with youngsters is impeccable given that he took Serbia to an under-20 World Cup win last season. But MLS is a case apart, so the presence of the enthusiastic Rodriguez, who spent several years as the vice-president of competition at the league’s office, may have proved vital in navigating a draft that the Fire held the top pick in.

They selected Jack Harrison, a Bolton-born midfielder who spent seven years in the Manchester United youth system, as the No1 overall pick, only to trade the No4 slot with New York City FC in return for Harrison and allocation money.

Eyebrows were raised about the Fire selecting a midfielder when they are chronically short in central defense, and, sure enough, the Fire used their new pick for Stanford defender Brandon Vincent. Add in one of the most complicated trade sequences ever executed later in the first round, which left Chicago taking another defender, Jonathan Campbell, at No12, and the Fire can reflect on a solid start to a big rebuild.

Philadelphia Union: All eyes were on the Union coming into this draft, particularly given the changes at senior management and the appointment of the well-respected Earnie Stewart as technical director — a role he’d previously filled with distinction at AZ Alkmaar. Stewart has a reputation for identifying and nurturing young players, and the Union showed their new set of priorities with a series of trades that left them picking second, third and sixth in the first round, along with a high second-round pick. They picked up a pair of Georgetown defenders in Joshua Yaro and Keegan Rosenberry, and traded with Houston to take Fabian Herbers at No6.

Philadelphia picked up Joshua Yaro from Georgetown. Photograph: Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports

The Union have a checkered history with the draft, but with Stewart directing player personnel and coach Jim Curtin having more of a free coaching hand than he did under Nick Sakiewicz, there’s perhaps more cause for optimism about the club’s draft business than there’s ever been.

New York City FC: Before it was confirmed that Harrison was the “player to be announced” when the Chicago Fire had acquired their fourth pick, NYC FC looked to have made an underwhelming swap, in keeping with their first season emphasis on marquee names above serviceable depth. But the move for Harrison was an intriguing one – it semes some thought is being given to including greater mobility to a midfield that includes Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo. It was the only business of the day for New York City, and hardly indicates a wholesale shift towards youth, but given that such symbolic importance as the draft still retains tends to be loaded on the No1 pick, NYC FC trading to get that player was a solid, and even humble, move.

Losers

Colorado Rapids: It’s probably unfair to label Colorado losers given the key detail of what they acquired in the carousel of trades that dominated the middle order of the first round – first place in the allocation order for returning US internationals. If Tim Howard or Alejandro Bedoya should decide to enter MLS in the future their option is currently Colorado’s to lose.

And that’s the rub for Colorado – not one of the glamor destinations in the league. So for the deal to work they’ll have to get one of those type of signings over the line, or at least further leverage their elevated position in another deal, as they did last year in acquiring Marcelo Sarvas from LA in return for the No2 pick in the allocation order. Watch this space.

New York Red Bulls: If there was an iconic image of this year’s SuperDraft it may have come before it started, when the Red Bulls displayed six of the seven homegrown players they’d signed over the off-season. The Red Bulls didn’t move from their 18th pick in the first round, but on the evidence of that clutch of young talent, why would they?

How many contribute as first-team players remains to be seen, and the chances are most will be farmed to NYRB II for this season, but the fact is the Red Bulls did nothing of note at the draft.That doesn’t so much make them losers as a team who didn’t see the benefit of taking part. (See also LA Galaxy, whose main business of the day was bringing back the veteran Mike Magee after trading away their 12th pick in the first round).

The format itself: With so many top prospects bypassing the draft altogether in favor of homegrown contracts, there is an expectation that MLS might move to make the SuperDraft less focused on college prospects and more as a mechanism for clubs to sign young talent from other countries. It’s beginning to happen slowly, but if the draft is staying with us (and it is), the emphasis needs to shift.