Photo: Paul Rudderow

Since the Georgetown standouts were picked 2nd and 3rd in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, there has been a guarded, anxiously hopeful expectation that Josh Yaro and Keegan Rosenberry would, at some point, form the right side of Philly’s defense for years to come.

Yaro’s injuries have slowed his development, and Rosenberry’s confidence crisis — embodied by a positional paralysis that was, frankly, stunning to see earlier this season — meant he took a step back in 2017.

But these players still have plenty of upside, even if neither has been able to put it all together since early last season.

Yaro and the limits of athleticism

Yaro’s main assets remain his athleticism and comfort on the ball. These are a solid foundation for a MLS centerback, but they can also become crutches. The big test for Yaro going forward will be his ability to read the game and put himself in positions where his speed is an asset and not a superpower deployed to save the day.

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Above, Yaro is slow to read that he needs to step high to snuff out this play, and Bedoya almost drifts over to help, which would leave his man open. But Yaro’s speed is such an equalizer that he’s on the ball before it can be turned upfield.

In this case, speed is extremely useful. But Yaro’s read must be quicker — or the center back must be more vocal — so Bedoya doesn’t try to do too much and end up lost in space. This is a case in which Yaro’s speed can allow him to delay his forward movement until the man on the ball commits to a pass. However, this is only a positive for the Union if the rest of the team understands that this is Yaro’s plan. To the extent that Bedoya believes his young defender is leaving the open runner, it creates havoc in midfield.

In other words, this type of play could be a preview of the skills that could make Yaro a unique contributor going forward or it could be foreshadowing Yaro’s reliance on his speed to make up for a slow read.

Fans will need to wait to see what Yaro becomes, but this is a clear reminder that the Union have a player with immense potential but a lot of learning still to do.

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In this clip, Jack Elliott steps into midfield to attack a pass, and the loose ball falls to an Atlanta player to womp over the top for the exceptionally zippy Josef Martinez to chase.

Once again, Yaro’s speed here is breathtaking: Most other center backs would be — ironically, given what happened later in the match — grabbing for Martinez’s jersey.

But if Yaro steps forward as Elliott attacks the ball, he puts Martinez offside. The Union’s back line has never shown the coordination to pull off this kind of offside trap, but it’s a necessary step forward in the future to prevent the constant retreat sprints the club asks of its midfield and wings in the current deep defending setup. Those sprints may or may not contribute to Philly’s inability to close out matches, but they unquestionably drain the energy reserves of a squad that already has difficulty staying focused.

Yaro’s ability to cover ground is impressive, but his decision-making remains an issue of huge concern. This is not to say that the center back cannot improve in this area: He’s young and he’s getting minutes, so the situation is ripe for the player to learn and grow from mistakes. But it’s not a given, and Philly’s coaching staff can answer questions about their ability to develop talent by showing that they can help Yaro’s speed of thought match his speed covering ground.

Yaro on the ball

For a player with such immense potential on the ball, Yaro also tends to go from calm to wild in record time when closed down.

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The big question here is whether Yaro can find a balance between patience and risk that allows players ahead of him to find space without exposing the ball to defenders.

He has the ability. Watch here as Yaro draws in defenders then finds a long line-breaking pass to Tranquillo Barnetta.

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Or, again, as he pulls defenders close then finds the space left behind by an aggressive defense.

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These are the moments that truly, speed aside, make Yaro a prospect worth developing.

Still, Yaro’s Union career has thus far been marked in nearly equal measure by these moments of class and moments of self-destruction. Breaking lines from the back is a wonderful answer to pressure, but three red cards in 19 starts is a worrying way to begin a career.

Rosenberry’s back

Keegan Rosenberry’s return to the lineup gives a chance to remind Union fans what the young defender can bring their side.

The answer? Well… exactly what was expected.

Rosenberry’s defensive reads remain an issue. He tends to let the movement of the other team guide his decision-making instead of leaning on the team’s system as a template. Unlike Yaro, though, Rosenberry does not have plasma jets in his heels that can propel him across time and space at unfathomable speeds.

This is not damning, though. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. A fullback like Rosenberry is hardly a luxury in the modern game; his ability to provide width up the pitch and pick out dangerous longer passes will become even more important as wingbacks become more common in the next few years. And the big test for him was never going to be whether he could fit into a professional attack, but whether he could play within himself defensively enough to provide a net positive when on the pitch.

Last season: Yeah.

Early 2017: …

But the truth is that right now the Union need Rosenberry to step up. Ray Gaddis is imperfect, but he provides strong defensive support to Yaro and/or Jack Elliott. However, Gaddis’ limitations on the ball are exacerbated by Philly’s lack of central support to the wings.

Rosenberry can help.

Though plays like this one

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stand out in memory, Rosenberry spent a good portion of last season successfully completing risky passes through the middle. And he had to, because the Union were not providing less risky options.

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Above, you can see Rosenberry at it on Saturday. Being able to play balls like that one allows the Union to get out of trouble even though they do not support the wings well, and it makes Rosenberry a crucial asset to develop going forward.

Additionally, the fullback can time his attacking runs far better than Gaddis. Against LA last season, Rosenberry’s quick-thinking outside run draws a defender and opens space for Barnetta in the channel. The key going forward is to help the fullback identify when it is safe to make these runs without slowing down his decision-making process to the point where the run arrives too late.

But to feel safe putting Rosenberry on the pitch, Philly needs to see improvements in areas like the one below.

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Here, the fullback has support from Bedoya, yet he still respects the inside player on Atlanta. If he has already assessed the situation, Rosenberry would understand that with the ball carrier facing away from goal and Bedoya in support, he has an opportunity to play tight to his man and potentially force a turnover. Instead, he arrives late and has to scramble to force Atlanta deep. Even so, playing the ball backwards is a win for the visitors considering that a good read could have meant a turnover near the halfway line.

Looking back to light the way forward

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Above, you can see Rosenberry and Yaro paired together against San Jose in early 2016. Rosenberry gets caught between two options and Yaro offers no guidance or support. This leads to Rosenberry moving right while Yaro is slow to step to the ball receiver, despite the fact that the original pass comes from a player facing away from goal, so Yaro should feel safe to step up.

Both defenders have suffered setbacks since this moment, but at some point in 2018 the Union need to be able to put these players in situations like the one above and have them make good reads quickly and efficiently. Otherwise their prodigious attacking skills will all be in service of making up for defensive errors.

The major benefit of employing a defensive strategy more complex than full-field man-to-man marking is that it should provide mental shortcuts that grow out into physical shortcuts. In other words, you don’t have to chase guys all over the pitch if, instead, you know what cues to read in order to anticipate the movements of your teammates and your opponents.

Philadelphia Union are often forced to rely on physical effort to make up for slow defensive reads, and this is most apparent in how their young players behave on the pitch. But these young players are not dumb; in fact, they are likely swinging between overthinking each moment and getting locked in on the ball.

Right now, Yaro and Rosenberry are not ready to anchor a MLS back line. But they could be. And whether they develop — and how quickly the club believes they can develop — will be a huge part of deciding how Philly allocates resources in what has now become an almost unimaginably important offseason transfer window for Philadelphia Union.