Takeaways from Orlando City's Preseason Draw with the Colorado Rapids

César Araújo is Incredible

This is definitely overselling it -- it was just one preseason game -- but the Uruguayan midfielder looked even better than I thought he would, especially on the ball. When building out of the back, Araújo distributed the ball brilliantly, finding efficient ways out of pressure and breaking lines with his progressive passing. I was of the mind that Araújo would be a similar player to Sebas Mendez; a bit of a destroyer with developing passing chops. After watching him against the Rapids, I didn't see a work in progress or a 20-year-old kid. Araújo has class beyond his years on the ball and might be the best progressive passer on the team. His skillset will be vital to Orlando playing with the ball and allowing Mauricio Pereyra to stay in dangerous areas higher up the field. Last season, Pereyra had to drop deep to help Orlando build from that back. Now, Araújo can be that focal point in possession and free Orlando's attacking players into dangerous space. Maybe this is overreacting to a single good preseason game, but I didn't realize how classy a player Araújo is. If he can bring that level of poise and technical ability this season, Orlando's ceiling goes way up.