Draft Assessment: Michael

The most baffling thing about Michael: how in the world is he only 18 years old? He looks older than his age and appears to be a lot more mature as well, and he even says he will tell his tribemates he’s 23, which is probably a smart move. He compares himself to Malcolm Freberg (4th place, Survivor: Philippines, 9th place, Survivor: Caramoan, 17th place, Survivor: Game Changers), one of the most charming and successful “bros” to ever play the game. However, though Michael seems mature and capable, he does lack life experience. Will that hinder him, like 18-year-old Will Wahl (8th place, Millennials vs. Gen-X), who basically got himself voted out of the game due to his age-related insecurities?

Bottom line: Despite Michael’s charm and self-awareness, he will probably not win the game due to his lack of life experience. The youngest male winner was 21-year-old Jud “Fabio” Birza in Survivor: Nicaragua, who only made it to the final tribal council because he managed to win three immunity challenges in a row, and only scored jury votes because he hadn’t pissed anyone off. Michael is smarter than Fabio, but he may have a hard time making it to the final tribal council based on social strategy alone. That said, he would make a decent draft pick because he could win challenges and will most likely make the merge.