The protected list isn't the best 11 players. Building a list takes in a combination of talent, form, salary, and age to judge how attractive a player would be to an expansion team. Columbus players have been very attractive as the team has lost at least a player in every expansion draft since 2005. With the new rules, each team takes five players, and the poor 2016, Crew SC may break that trend.
The list of protected players can be broken down into several groups. There is the core, these are the key members on the team and the ones you can't afford to lose.