What NFL Team Does Orlando City Compare to Best?

A fun piece Wednesday from our SB Nation sister blog The Brotherly Game sparked an interesting question: If MLS teams were NFL teams, which would our Orlando City SC Lions be?

TBG theorized that OCSC was most akin to the Houston Texans.

Orlando City: Houston Texans – Both are new teams that seem to be headed in the right direction but haven’t taken that final step just yet.

The points presented are certainly not bad ones; Orlando City is a new franchise, which just concluded its first season in the American top flight. Likewise, the Texans, established in 2002, are relatively much newer than most of their NFL brethren. Also, the Texans do seem to be moving in the right way, although they are moving that way weirdly without a franchise quarterback and largely due to a poor division.

We had some other thoughts at The Mane Land as to who Orlando City may compare to a bit more favorably, with all due respect to our friends at The Brotherly Game, of course.

Green Bay Packers

These comparisons are made less from a historical standpoint than they are in relating to the current makeup of the teams. Obviously the Packers, having been in existence for nearly a century, are nowhere near being a "new" franchise. But when you take a look at the on-field personnel, things line up a bit more than you may expect.

At the helm of the offense, you’ve got Aaron Rodgers, aka Ricardo Kaká. A world class, wily veteran who commands the field and distributes to his play-makers with pinpoint accuracy. Rodgers is in his prime, unlike Ricky, but the two compare well for their roles within their respective teams.

Elsewhere, you’ve got a great young talent like Eddie Lacy to represent Cyle Larin (albeit with considerably less self-control at the dessert table), and the flowing blonde locks of Clay Matthews to represent Brek Shea. Like Orlando City, Green Bay lost an integral part of its offense to a season-ending knee injury in Jordy Nelson, and it dramatically changed the face of the team’s offensive outlook. The Lions endured a similar problem after losing midfielder Kevin Molino, who missed most of the year due to an ACL tear after showing considerable signs of progress up front, most notably in his chemistry with Kaká, à la Nelson and Rodgers.

In the criminally underrated department, you’ve got Josh Sitton on the offensive line for the Pack and Cristian Higuita in the central midfield for Orlando.

New York Giants

Like Orlando City, the Giants are led by a star who, although past his prime years, still remains immensely talented and vital to the success of the squad. That star would be quarterback Eli Manning, who has helped guide the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl victories during his tenure in the Big Apple, and like Kaká, he’s done it by slinging the ball with aplomb.

In this analogy, Odell Beckham Jr. represents striker Cyle Larin, who has wasted no time letting the league know that he is going to be a problem for opposition defenses for years to come. Production wise, Larin matches up well with Beckham, but if you want to factor in his recent outburst against Josh Norman and the Panthers, you could also equate him with an immensely talented young defender who had to learn the hard way last season to keep his cool in the heat of battle: Rafael Ramos.

On the other side of the ball for New York is Jason Pierre-Paul, who saw an off-field decision affect his on-field status, similarly (although more dangerously) to former Lion Sean St. Ledger, who was dismissed by OCSC mid-season after missing a team flight and training following a trip to New York City FC.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Like the Lions did by drafting Larin No. 1 overall last year, Orlando’s neighbors off I-4 West also got their hands on a potentially transcendent rookie talent in the form of No. 1 pick Jameis Winston. Both teams now have a cornerstone to build their squads around for years to come, and sufficient offensive talent surrounding those pieces to build on; The Lions have Kaká, Molino, Carlos Rivas and Adrian Winter while the Bucs have Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Doug Martin and a couple of young but talented O-linemen.

Defensively, both teams have talent but also have a ways to go before they are elite. While Orlando has Aurélien Collin, Seb Hines, Ramos and co. showing promise, the Lions still allowed 56 goals last season. Likewise, Tampa has studs like Lavonte David, Gerald McCoy and Kwon Alexander but ranks dead last in the NFL in completion percentage allowed to opposing QBs.

Also, fairly or unfairly, both teams have had questions surrounding their coaches recently, Lovie Smith and Adrian Heath, while remaining in the playoff hunt for a while before eventually bowing out.

The Minnesota Vikings also received votes, and Teddy Bridgewater and Cyle Larin do match up fairly well. However, Adrian Peterson’s physical freakishness and pure power aren’t a like-for-like comparison to Ricky in the wily vet role. Young offensive talent like Stefon Diggs and Cordarrelle Patterson is there too, however, so there are some valid comparisons in Minny.

Let us know which comparison you agree with, or give us a different suggestion of your own.