With mock draft season upon us, the most important thing to have for predicting team picks is the link to the team budgets and draft pick tracker. The second most important thing is an article about what ever team's needs are going into the draft. I haven't seen one of those, and with S25 equipment purchases coming up soon, I figured I'd help me everyone out. I'll cover each team's starter situation post-expansion draft results and then try to figure out needs. Free agent signings and trades will be incorporated as much up until roughly the time of publishing but may obviously change needs later.
Arizona is a mostly younger team with only three players subject to regression for S25. They had 5 players enter free agency, all of whom were in the DSFL last year. The top player by TPE was S22 WR Friedrich Vequain who ended up signing a 3 year contract with Austin. They chose to focus protection on the defense, protecting 2 offensive and 6 defensive players. They additionally traded S23 S Benoit Blanco and S24 LB Adam Schell to Berlin, possibly hoping to get some value out of a player they couldn't protect. Entering the expansion draft, their weakness on paper was running back and DB.
Expansion losses:
2nd - S23 RB Joseph Petrongolo (protecting S22 DE Sandro Ryeu)
3rd - S22 DT Claude Miller II (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The WR pair of Gunner Thorbjornsson and Taro Raimon project to be called up be be the future as Saba Donut enters his second year of regression. They additionally have QB Charlemagne Cortez who may be the future after Jay Cue but seems more likely to make his debut in S26 or S27. DE Mattress Cadaire could be a call up, though he hasn't been earning at the rate of the other S24 players.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S18 Jay Cue
RB: S22 Zed Keppler
WR: S17 Saba Donut, S22 Thomas Passmann, S24 Taro Raimon, S24 Gunner Thorbjornsson
TE: S22 Heath Evans
OL: S22 Bruce Buckley, S23 Julio Jones, S22 Calvin Golladay
DL: S21 DT Pete "Plop" Miller, S22 DE Sandro Ryeu, S17 DT Shane Masters
LB: S20 Galf Wilf, S22 Stanislaw Koniecpolski
DB: S20 CB Desmond Scarlett, S22 CB Zamir Kehla, S23 S DB Jadakiss, S21 CB Atlas Quin
K/P: S21 J.J. “Jay” Jay-Jaymison
Weaknesses:
RB - losing their active RB makes this a huge need going into the draft.
DB - the trio of Scarlett/Kehla/Jadakiss are solid, but depth beyond that seems important with Quin not updating.
DL - With Masters getting deeper in regression, Cadaire not being a max earner, and losing Miller II, I'd expect the Outlaws to look for depth on the line.
Austin was the losing team in the S23 Ultimus but followed that up with a disappointing S24, going 7-9 in a really quite balanced ASFC, an unfortunate result given that it was the last year for multiple key players including S16 RB Mendonca, S15 WR Tidwell, and the safety pair of S20 Sexjoke and S17 Okura. Going into expansion protection, Austin chose to focus on the defense and future - 6 of 8 protection slots were used on defensive players, and 7 were used on S22 or 23 players with the last on S20 DE Isbest. The expansion also led to JKortesi81 stepping down as GM so that the S16 QB Cold wouldn't have to be protected. The presumptive future of QB in Austin is the other GEM's S25 Daytona, but leaving the team's starting QB unprotected clearly seems risky if Cole were to be taken by an expansion team hoping to win now.
Austin was quite active in the offseason leading up to the expansion draft, trading for S24 S Bowie while signing S22 WR Vequain, S21 S McGregor, and the inactive pair of S19 LB Arianlacher and S22 S Thornton. That did a lot to shore up the most obvious weaknesses in the defense in Austin, leaving K/P, TE, and OL as the biggest holes prior to the expansion draft. Then in the near aftermath of the expansion draft, they signed about DB in the form of S23 CB Crooks.
Expansion losses:
13th - S23 CB Tomage McGullager (protecting S22 RB Kichwa Jones)
21st - S21 LB Holden Summers (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
S Bowie was traded for rather than drafted, but still projects to be a defensive starter in S25. RB Watts also will be important to the team following Mendonca's retirement. RB Kitchens could be a callup, but seems unlikely to crack the roster without an increased earning rate.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S16 Easton Cole
RB: S22 Kichwa Jones, S24 Zoe Watts
WR: S18 Net Gaines, S22 Eddie Jeeta, S23 Videl-San, S22 Friedrich Vequain
TE: S16 Peter Larson
OL: S20 Hal Fassingit
DL: S20 DE Carolinabbq Isbest, S22 DE Troen Egghands, S22 DE Slinky Claxton, S23 DT Tyler Montain
LB: S17 Honda Edmond, S19 Mack Arianlacher, S23 Griffin Porter
DB: S16 CB Dermot Lavelle Jr., S22 CB Colt Mendoza, S21 S Gregor McGregor, S23 CB Lesean Paris Crooks, S24 S Maverick Bowie, S22 S Buck Thornton
K/P: ¯\_(?)_/¯
Weaknesses:
K/P - S14 Crisco retired, leaving no kickers in Austin. Clearly a problem.
TE - S16 Larson seems not long for this league, making his replacement a priority
OL - S15 Beaver-Dantes's retirement leaves only S20 Hal "Inactive with 235 TPE" Fassingit as the only lineman on the Copperheads, which seems like a likely area of focus given Cole "iStegosauruz revolutionizer of the OL" Mendoza's presence in the draft room.
Baltimore had a rough year as they went 3-13, and a rough offseason as they lost their top two WRs to Berlin as the expansion GMs. That along with some in-season trades left their team in an extremely youthful position with only S15 S Green from before S21. The only good side to losing their top two WRs was that they have a trio of active ones in the DSFL who seem likely to debut next year. Their protection naturally followed the age of the team with S21-23 players getting the nod. With another year of earning from their young players, Baltimore seem like they have a good chance to make improvement from last year's record. Prior to expansion, a d-line of only 2 players after losing 2 IAs seemed like the most obvious weakness, though third linebacker seems like also an important element. And with a high amount of draft capital, a second offensive linesman could also be a target if the Hawks find the right timing.
Expansion losses:
11th - S22 OL Byron Dolls (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The Hawks had RB Fukushu as a starter, getting about 40% of rush attempts for the season. As mentioned above, the pair of WRs Brown and Campbell seem likely to join S23 Howlett as starters. RB Rogers seems likely to get called up to replace S20 RB Williams, lost to the Yeti in free agency.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S21 Chika Fujiwara
RB: S24 Mai Fukushu, S24 Captain Rogers
WR: S23 Doug Howlett, S24 Joshua Campbell, S24 Korbin Brown
TE: S21 James Lewandowski
OL: None
DL: S22 DT Nuniq Annastesia, S21 DE Matt Hole
LB: S22 Derred de Ville, S22 Dex Kennedy
DB: S22 CB Eldrick Avery, S22 CB Ben Stackinpaper, S15 S Walt Green, S23 S CJ Riley
K/P: S23 Datsum PhastBawls
Weaknesses:
DB - with S23 CB Crooks currently a free agent and S21 McGregor signed with Austin, at least one DB seems like a dire need
DL - defensive line players can be effective at lower TPE, but I have to think this is the second biggest area of concern
OL - assuming Baltimore values human OL, they'll want to address having none
Even before the expansion draft, Berlin was active. They signed S22 FA CB Krause and traded for S23 S Blanco and S24 LB Schell.
Expansion losses:
N/A
Notable S24 draftees:
N/A
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: ¯\_(?)_/¯
RB: S23 Joseph Petrongolo
WR: S18 Asher Quinn, S22 Nick Kaepercolin, S22 Susan Cash Jr., S23 Dre Matthews
TE: S22 Clark Boyd
OL: S22 Byron Dolls
DL: S22 DE Mario VonPebbles, S22 DT Claude Miller II, S22 DT Hank Steel
LB: S23 Hingle McCringleberry, S24 Adam Schell
DB: S22 CB Matt Krause, S23 S Eric Richards, S23 S Benoit Blanco
K/P: S23 Karmichael Hunt
Weaknesses:
QB - I have to assume Berlin has a plan here, with either a trade lined up or a position switch or something, but it's obviously the biggest thing they'll need to figure out
DB - 3 is definitely on the low side for the modern ISFL, so I'd expect this to also be an area of focus
DL/LB - I'd expect at least one more of one of these positions but the specific priority would depend on preference for 3-3-5 vs 4-2-5 alignment.
Chicago seems to have turned the corner they've been predicted to the last few years, making the playoffs in the harder conference despite a 7-9 record. They've done a great job in the last couple years of building up a youthful core but that left them in a rough situation for the expansion with absolutely no way to protect all their players. They even traded for a protection slot (which I honestly didn't realize could be done) but still had to leave tons of great players unprotected. Their best hope is that they can't lose that many players. And on top of that, they signed FA S22 CB Oles Jr. and S23 DE Eller to further deepen the team. Still, Chicago went into the expansion draft having one of the largest rosters with no glaring weaknesses.
Expansion losses:
7th - S22 DE Mario VonPebbles (protecting S19 WR Sean O’Leary)
18th - S23 LB Hingle McCringleberry (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
OL Riposte seems likely to take over S21 Tucker Jr.'s role and LB Domine is available and seemed likely to get called up if either of the starting LBs get taken in the expansion draft.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S21 George O’Donnell
RB: S21 Baby Yoda, S22 Julio Tirtawidjaja
WR: S19 Sean O’Leary, S18 Bender B. Rodriguez, S23 Luca Scabbia, S23 Griff Oberwald, S21 Raheem Okusi
TE: S21 Tree Gelbman, S22Von Hayes
OL: S22 Benson Bayley Jr., S24 Icebox Riposte, S21 Perry Tucker Jr.
DL: S21 DT John "Tripod" Smirh, S22 DT Daymond Brooks, S22 DE Simeon Works, S23 DE Arik Eller
LB: S18 Mike Hockhertz, S24 Juan Domine
DB: S21 CB Osiris Firestorm-Fjord, S22 CB Tyler Oles JR, S22 S Hamish MacAndrew, S22 CB Tyron Shields, S23 S Raphael d’Alcott
K/P: S22 Sam Sidekick
Weaknesses:
Salary cap - keeping all these great young players around as they move off of their rookie deals and hit increased contract minimums is going to be a challenge for the GMs.
LB - after losing McCringleberry and with Hockhertz entering regression, LB is now an area I'd expect Chicago to focus on
Despite a surprising loss to San Jose in the Ultimus, Colorado enter the offseason in a fairly good position. They took the common route of primarily protecting younger players with S18 CB Purchase as the only player protected from before S21. That specifically leaves S16 QB McDummy, S17 RB Owens, and S18 TE Sauce unprotected. McDummy announced he'll be retiring after the S25 season with S24 Caliban as the presumable future. So, while I can't say that the team had any major weaknesses prior to the expansion draft, the possibility of their offense getting plundered and being much less effective next year is definitely present. Other than that, having only a pair of d-lineman seems like something they'd be planning on improving.
Edit 2: in a post-expansion draft trade with NY, Colorado traded away S17 RB Owens and S20 S Kirkby.
Expansion losses:
4th - S23 WR Jackson Kingston (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
S24 QB Caliban seems unlikely to start in S25 with McDummy in place. The S Drake seems likely to be the future as S18 S Parker enters regression. And K/P Murder-Moose seems intriguing given that S20 Banana has a few good years left. I could see one of them getting traded if there's any demand.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S16 Wolfie McDummy
RB: S20 Darrel Williams, S17 Ashley Owens, S22 Richard Gilbert
WR: S22 William Lim, S22 Leeroy Jenkins
TE: S18 Earl Sauce
OL: S22 Mo "Mamba" Magic, S23 Dick Thruster
DL: S21 DE Immanuel Blackstone, S22 DE Ismael Sanchez
LB: S20 Warren Stephens, S23 Adélie de Pengu
DB: S18 CB Louisiana Purchase, S21 CB Rotticus Scott, S18 S Pete Parker, S23 S Greedy Sly, S20 S Thor Kirkby, S24 S Joel Drake
K/P: S20 Silver Banana
Weaknesses:
LB - with S15 Gabagool leaving after least season and S20 Stephens leaving after this one (and S23 draft pick Wright Jr. not really panning out), LB seems like a core area of concern.
DL - S21 DE Blackstone is pretty great, but he isn't an entire line.
WR - Losing the promising Kingston leaves WR as a pretty big hole. I think it's slightly lower priority than the defense just because I'm not sure a rookie WR will be their main focus with the last year of the QB, but it's still a clear concern.
Honolulu had a decent year in a packed ASFC but missed the playoffs. They are the most extreme of the youth movement teams with an impressive zero players in regression. They split protections on offense/defense. However, they had several inactive players that looked likely to be losses to free agency. Their pre-expansion weakness seemed like the lines, with no OL on the roster for S25 and somewhat suspect d-line depth.
Expansion losses:
1st - S22 LB Jack Banks (protecting Powers)
12th - S19 DE Jayson Kearse (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
S24 DE Montain was a starter and seems likely to continue being important in the future. WR J'Vathon seems to be a likely callup with TE Krashwagen possibly joining him in the receiving side of things. And finally, DT Sternenstaub seems likely to join the higher-earning Montain on the line next year.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Luke Skywalker
RB: S22 Keʻokeʻo Kāne-Maikaʻi, S23 Nicholas Ayers
WR: S19 Jed Podolak, S22 William Alexander, S20 Jacoby Clay, S24 Tre’Darius J’Vathon
TE: S24 Ragnar Krashwagen
OL: None
DL: S24 DE Asher Montain, S24 DT Sigismund Sternenstaub
LB: S23 Heinrich Kackpoo
DB: S22 S Shawn Dawkins, S22 CB Jim Waters, S23 CB Ray-Ray Jackson, S23 CB Bane Kaʻanāʻanā, S20 CB Victor Moreno
K/P: S20 Venus Powers
Weaknesses:
LB - S23 Kackpoo is good, but their next options on the roster are a pair of S23 draftees under 300 TPE. I think this vaults into a top concern after losing Banks in the expansion draft.
DL - Kearse was heading towards regression next year anyway, but I think this now moves up in priority with only two on the roster.
OL - with at least one drafted in S24, this seems like an area Honolulu wants to build in, so I'd expect them to try again.
New Orleans protected multiple players entering regression, seemingly hoping to try and make this their window to win in the crowded ASFC. They protected their entire secondary while also making a GM switch to free up a protection switch. Entering regression season with an impressive 4 protected players over 1k TPE, they seem set to be solid contenders next year. Prior to expansion losses, a future for RB seemed like their biggest issue.
Expansion losses:
15th - S22 DT Hank Steel (protecting S21 WR Ed Barker)
17th - S21 Dorfus Jimbo Jr (last loss) - traded S22 WR Sean Snyder for Jimbo Jr. after the expansion draft
Notable S24 draftees:
LB Light seems like the brightest prospect for the Second Line with S15 LB Bode not plausibly long for this league. They also have a DT/DE pair of Ranger and Simwell that seems likely to reinforce the DL along with S Button for DB depth.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Ben Slothlisberger
RB: S18 Marcella Toriki, S15 Forrest Gump
WR: S21 Ed Barker, S22 Sean Snyder, S23 Brock Bodenhamer
TE: S19 Austin McCormick, S21 Rainier Wolfcastle
OL: S18 Givussafare Rubbe
DL: S22 DT Magnus Rikiya, S24 DT LeBong Simwell, S24 DE Azarius Ranger
LB: S15 Quenton Bode, S21 Ugarth the Dissector, S24 Busch Light
DB: S18 CB David Rector, S19 S Mason Blaylock, S22 CB Andrew Witten, S22 S LiterallyJust A. Hexagon
K/P: S24 Juke Thomason
Weaknesses:
RB - S15 Gump plans to run 'until his legs fall off', but that future is not too far away. With S18 Toriki also entering her first year of regression, New Orleans needs to have a plan for the future at RB.
WR - After trading S22 WR Snyder to get S21 OL Jimbo Jr. back, I imagine the Second Line will want to reload here as a high priority.
LB - S24 Light will help replace S15 Bode, but I think an upgrade for S21 Dissector seems like a goal as well.
New York wasn't as active as Berlin but still signed S17 CB Andrews to get rolling. They hit high gear after the draft though
Edit 1: Thanks for @[speculadora] for pointing out that I'm bad at computers and was wrong here - the Silverbacks actually traded for S24 QB Sam Howitzer 10 days ago but I missed that because the DSFL section of NY was on the second page of my monitor :|.
They did still sign Andrews, and then they had a pair of trades collectively swapping an OL and CB for a WR, DE, and 2 draft picks immediately after the expansion draft. They kept up the pace with another trade, swapping a first and second for a first, third, and two players to fill their holes at RB and S.
Expansion losses:
N/A
Notable S24 draftees:
N/A
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S24 Sam Howitzer
RB: S17 Ashley Owens
WR: S23 Jackson Kingston, S22 Sean Snyder
TE: S21 Leon McDavid
OL: S21 Douglas Quail
DL: S17 DT Bubba Thumper, S18 DE Steco Ocewilder, S19 DE Jayson Kearse
LB: S22 Jack Banks, S21 Holden Summers
DB: S20 S Thor Kirkby, S17 CB Jordan Andrews, S23 CB Tomage McGullager, S23 S Mac Griddle, S25 CB Dukburg QuakStak
K/P: S21 Dougie Smalls
Weaknesses:
WR - pretty much all teams seem to run 3 WRs, so I figure they'll be wanting to hit that mark.
RB - with Owens in regression, I'd expect a future at RB to be a priority.
DB - S17 CB Andrews helps out for a year or two, but I expect New York to be looking for depth in the secondary for future seasons. S25 CB and GM QuakStak will be a mandated pick, but I expect an interest in at least one more DB.
Orange County finished out their Armstrong era making another playoff run which certainly was disappointing, but they seem well-set to move into S25 in a strong position. Similarly to New Orleans, they protected a pair of high-TPE DBs entering their first year of regression, though they did leave S19 CB Beerus available. All other protections were S21-23, though, so the Otters seem like they'll be able to keep in contention. Prior to expansion losses, a third WR and second OL seemed like the top targets for the draft.
Expansion losses:
9th - S19 CB Lord Beerus (protecting S21 DT Rapid Eagle) - traded S18 DE Ocewilder and 2 draft picks for him after the draft
20th - S21 OL Douglas Quail
Notable S24 draftees:
LB Joestar played in the big leagues in S24. The best of the rest is TE Mo who could see play next year over a third WR.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Suleiman Ramza
RB: S22 Tatsu Nakamura, S23 Keynel McZeal
WR: S21 Future Trunks, S22 Garfield Despacito Jr.
TE: S22 Jeffrey Phillips
OL: None
DL: S21 DT Rapid Eagle, S23 DT Carl Wheezer, S20 DE Bobby Boucher
LB: S22 Deshun Jones, S24 Joseph Joestar, S20 Inspectah Deck
DB: S19 CB Lord Beerus, S18 CB Korrin Abernathy, S18 S Tyrone Biggums, S21 S Prince Vegeta, S23 S Bob Bob
K/P: S15 Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname
Weaknesses:
K/P - S15 Dasistwirklichseinnachcopyandpastehisname is old and S22 QB isn't exactly a top earner.
OL - after losing S21 Quail to expansion, getting at least one human OL seems a likely target.
WR - with only 2, I figure Orange County to want to get at least a third, though I could see this being a lower priority if they think S24 TE Ne Mo will shore up the receiving corps enough for this season.
The Liberty had a very rough year, with their offense and defense both under performing points-wise as compared to their yardage. Glancing over their games, I'm not sure why - they were roughly even on turnovers, so it wasn't like they were driving but losing the ball, or consistently defending short fields. On paper, their D-line was a lot weaker than their secondary and they were relatively better against the pass than the run, so maybe the defense just couldn't get off the field? Either way, the weakness of the line showed very clearly in protections with zero used on the DL or LBs other than the automatic S24 protections. Prior to expansion, I'd say the biggest need for the future was a plan for the future at RB with the two on the roster being S16 and S18.
Expansion losses:
14th - S23 K/P Karmichael Hunt (protecting S22 LB Spike Suzuki)
19th - S23 WR Dre Matthres (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
DE Zbornak and LB Zelos were both with Philly for the year. OL Elephant seems like a possible call-up as an active but not high-earning option. LB Rose could potentially be a fill-in if the Liberty loses an LB or possibly to replace S18 LB Howyanow who is entering regression.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S19 Brock Phoenix
RB: S18 Fuzzy Dotson, S16 Sam Torenson
WR: S20 Randy Vuxta, S21 Flash Panda
TE: S19 Avon Blocksdale Jr., S22 Donatello Arrabiata
OL: S21 Simon Tremblay
DL: S23 DE Tycker Om, S24 DE Dorothy Zbornak, S20 DT Reggie Culbertson, S22 DT Tristan Gronlie
LB: S22 Spike Suzuki, S24 Jeremiah Zelos, S18 Wayne Howyanow
DB: S22 S Matt "Son of Havoc" Cross, S22 CB Brandon Booker, S22 S Wesley Eriksen, S23 S Eugene Smoothie, S15 S Richard D’Attoria V
K/P: ¯\_(?)_/¯
Weaknesses:
RB - with both RBs on the roster in regression, this seems like the most likely high pick target.
K/P - Philly will need some kicker at some point.
WR - losing their one DSFL receiver makes trying to find more seem likely.
Sarasota entered the draft with a deep roster which makes sense given their 12-4 record in S24. They came up short against the Yeti in the playoffs and while they did split the regular season games, they'll clearly want to be making improvements to leapfrog Colorado next year. The Sailfish spread their protections out across a range of players with S17 QB Banks II the only protected player in regression. This biggest weakness is probably the lack of a human OL or maybe a better second RB, but the team still looked good overall.
Expansion losses:
10th - S22 TE Clark Boyd (protecting S23 DE Mike Karpaasi)
22nd - S23 S Eric Richards (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
QB Boss Jr. looks to be the future of the passing position but probably for S26 rather than the upcoming season. CB Andrews seems likely to be a starter. S Mouse and DE Heights, both around 250 TPE, could make an appearance, but don't look to displace starters. And lastly, K/P Kokot doesn't seem needed given S22 Small but could be of interest to other teams.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S17 Dexter Banks II
RB: S21 Raphtalia Chan, S23 Running Back
WR: S19 Rayne Gordon, S22 Michael Witheblock,
TE: S22 James Angler
OL: None
DL: S22 DT Cuco Clemente, S23 DE Son Goku, S22 DT Big Edd, S23 DE Mike Karpaasi
LB: S22 Haha Mango-Panda, S22 Fawn Dillmiballs
DB: S20 S Jamie Nkiah, S18 CB Xavien Adams, S19 S Beat, S24 CB Harrison Andrews
K/P: S22 Jacob Small
Weaknesses:
DB - after losing S23 S Richards and with S18 CB Adams entering regression, I expect the Sailfish to look to pick up at least one DB.
TE - given their previous 2 TE setup and lack of OL, I expect seeking a replacement for Boyd and his 32 pancakes.
OL - seeing as the numbers say a human OL is great, I figure they'll want to pick one up. I could see it not being a priority if they prefer the 2 TE/2 WR alignment instead, but I can't imagine it would be something Sarasota wouldn't do.
With an Ultimus win after coming out on top of the 4 9-7 ASFC teams, San Jose had a great season where they inarguably overperformed expectations. They did lose S21 CB PickSix to retirement after the Ultimus, though they'll have him on the team this year to at least help some. They also have S13 WR Swift who's staring down a 60% TPE loss this offseason but seems to not be planning on retirement. The math doesn't work on him trying to keep playing much longer though, so I think a replacement WR is a top priority, along with a replacement for S21 DE Otle.
Expansion losses:
5th - S23 S Mac Griddle (protecting S17 LB Tyron Brackenridge)
8th - S21 TE Leon McDavid (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The CB duo of Hilliard and Vaughne look well-suited to reinforce the retirement of S21 CB PickSix, though they're a bit off the highest earning pace of the S24 class.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Monterey "Monty" Jack
RB: S22 Jamar Lackson, S21 Rando Cardrissian
WR: S19 Deondre Thomas-Fox, S23 Tychondrius Hood, S13 Nate Swift
TE: None
OL: None
DL: S21 DT Otis Allen, S23 DT Yuuto Kira Cloudera, S21 DE Chip Otle
LB: S17 Tyron Brackenridge, S22 Lawrence Bass, S22 George ’Corpse Grinder’ Fisher
DB: S21 CB HeHateMe PickSix, S23 S Philip Stein, S22 S Brendan Lanier, S22 CB Chester Sweets, S24 CB Rashad Hilliard, S24 CB Rickie Vaughne
K/P: S22 Matthew McDairmid
Weaknesses:
TE/OL - S21 TE McDavid was almost as much more for blocking than receiving with 60 pancakes to 62 receptions. I expect TE to be the main target, but I could see OL being the plan instead.
WR - S13 WR Swift looks like he'll be the only player from S13 or 14 in the league if he doesn't announce a retirement in this offseason, so replacing him seems like an obvious goal.
LB - S17 LB Brackenridge will be in his second season of regression and S24 LB Sabor doesn't seem to be tracking well towards a replacement, so I expect the Sabercats to take another swing at this position.
Yellowknife took a step back in S24 after their S23 Ultimus win. Their protection focused on their younger players plus S17 CB Leonard. He and the S18 pair of RB Hanyadi and LB Virtanen plus S15 DE Alexander will all be dealing with regression this year, but the younger players on the team seem to be coming together to replace last year's retirees. The Wraiths may still be a season off from seriously challenging the top of the NSFC and the Butchers are also growing fast, but there are a lot of strong points in Yellowknife. The offseason signing of the IA S21 WR Kross looks to replace the loss of S22 Cash Jr. in the expansion draft. The obvious weaknesses pre-expansion seemed to be replacements for the older players at RB, DL, and DB.
Expansion losses:
6th - S22 WR Susan Cash Jr. (protecting S22 S Magnus Valdyr)
16th - S21 K/P Dougie Smalls (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The Wraiths have a pair of LBs Thomaslacher and Chainbreaker who look set to contribute soon. I don't know if both will get called up, but both seem to be earning well.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Colby Jack
RB: S18 Mathias Hanyadi, S22 Acura Skyline
WR: S23 Kai Sakura, S21 Chris Kross
TE: S22 Zee Rechs
OL: None
DL: S22 DE James Cho, S22 DT Patrik Money, S15 DE Nero Alexander
LB: S18 Maurice Virtanen, S21 Douglas Quaid, S24 Brach Thomaslacher, S24 Alejandro Chainbreaker
DB: S17 CB Mervin Leonard, S22 S Johnny Hellzapoppin, S22 S Magnus Valdyr, S23 S L’Carpetron Dookmarriot
K/P: ¯\_(?)_/¯
Weaknesses:
K/P - As with other teams who lost a kicker in the expansion, the Wraiths will need one.
WR - signing an IA FA is a good stopgap plan, but a stopgap needs to be temporary.
DL - S15 Alexander is the oldest player left on the team by 2 season and is not getting younger. I'd expect this to be a position of interest.
Update: I missed a significant trade getting a QB to the and have revised the NY section
Arizona is a mostly younger team with only three players subject to regression for S25. They had 5 players enter free agency, all of whom were in the DSFL last year. The top player by TPE was S22 WR Friedrich Vequain who ended up signing a 3 year contract with Austin. They chose to focus protection on the defense, protecting 2 offensive and 6 defensive players. They additionally traded S23 S Benoit Blanco and S24 LB Adam Schell to Berlin, possibly hoping to get some value out of a player they couldn't protect. Entering the expansion draft, their weakness on paper was running back and DB.
Expansion losses:
2nd - S23 RB Joseph Petrongolo (protecting S22 DE Sandro Ryeu)
3rd - S22 DT Claude Miller II (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The WR pair of Gunner Thorbjornsson and Taro Raimon project to be called up be be the future as Saba Donut enters his second year of regression. They additionally have QB Charlemagne Cortez who may be the future after Jay Cue but seems more likely to make his debut in S26 or S27. DE Mattress Cadaire could be a call up, though he hasn't been earning at the rate of the other S24 players.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S18 Jay Cue
RB: S22 Zed Keppler
WR: S17 Saba Donut, S22 Thomas Passmann, S24 Taro Raimon, S24 Gunner Thorbjornsson
TE: S22 Heath Evans
OL: S22 Bruce Buckley, S23 Julio Jones, S22 Calvin Golladay
DL: S21 DT Pete "Plop" Miller, S22 DE Sandro Ryeu, S17 DT Shane Masters
LB: S20 Galf Wilf, S22 Stanislaw Koniecpolski
DB: S20 CB Desmond Scarlett, S22 CB Zamir Kehla, S23 S DB Jadakiss, S21 CB Atlas Quin
K/P: S21 J.J. “Jay” Jay-Jaymison
Weaknesses:
RB - losing their active RB makes this a huge need going into the draft.
DB - the trio of Scarlett/Kehla/Jadakiss are solid, but depth beyond that seems important with Quin not updating.
DL - With Masters getting deeper in regression, Cadaire not being a max earner, and losing Miller II, I'd expect the Outlaws to look for depth on the line.
Austin was the losing team in the S23 Ultimus but followed that up with a disappointing S24, going 7-9 in a really quite balanced ASFC, an unfortunate result given that it was the last year for multiple key players including S16 RB Mendonca, S15 WR Tidwell, and the safety pair of S20 Sexjoke and S17 Okura. Going into expansion protection, Austin chose to focus on the defense and future - 6 of 8 protection slots were used on defensive players, and 7 were used on S22 or 23 players with the last on S20 DE Isbest. The expansion also led to JKortesi81 stepping down as GM so that the S16 QB Cold wouldn't have to be protected. The presumptive future of QB in Austin is the other GEM's S25 Daytona, but leaving the team's starting QB unprotected clearly seems risky if Cole were to be taken by an expansion team hoping to win now.
Austin was quite active in the offseason leading up to the expansion draft, trading for S24 S Bowie while signing S22 WR Vequain, S21 S McGregor, and the inactive pair of S19 LB Arianlacher and S22 S Thornton. That did a lot to shore up the most obvious weaknesses in the defense in Austin, leaving K/P, TE, and OL as the biggest holes prior to the expansion draft. Then in the near aftermath of the expansion draft, they signed about DB in the form of S23 CB Crooks.
Expansion losses:
13th - S23 CB Tomage McGullager (protecting S22 RB Kichwa Jones)
21st - S21 LB Holden Summers (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
S Bowie was traded for rather than drafted, but still projects to be a defensive starter in S25. RB Watts also will be important to the team following Mendonca's retirement. RB Kitchens could be a callup, but seems unlikely to crack the roster without an increased earning rate.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S16 Easton Cole
RB: S22 Kichwa Jones, S24 Zoe Watts
WR: S18 Net Gaines, S22 Eddie Jeeta, S23 Videl-San, S22 Friedrich Vequain
TE: S16 Peter Larson
OL: S20 Hal Fassingit
DL: S20 DE Carolinabbq Isbest, S22 DE Troen Egghands, S22 DE Slinky Claxton, S23 DT Tyler Montain
LB: S17 Honda Edmond, S19 Mack Arianlacher, S23 Griffin Porter
DB: S16 CB Dermot Lavelle Jr., S22 CB Colt Mendoza, S21 S Gregor McGregor, S23 CB Lesean Paris Crooks, S24 S Maverick Bowie, S22 S Buck Thornton
K/P: ¯\_(?)_/¯
Weaknesses:
K/P - S14 Crisco retired, leaving no kickers in Austin. Clearly a problem.
TE - S16 Larson seems not long for this league, making his replacement a priority
OL - S15 Beaver-Dantes's retirement leaves only S20 Hal "Inactive with 235 TPE" Fassingit as the only lineman on the Copperheads, which seems like a likely area of focus given Cole "iStegosauruz revolutionizer of the OL" Mendoza's presence in the draft room.
Baltimore had a rough year as they went 3-13, and a rough offseason as they lost their top two WRs to Berlin as the expansion GMs. That along with some in-season trades left their team in an extremely youthful position with only S15 S Green from before S21. The only good side to losing their top two WRs was that they have a trio of active ones in the DSFL who seem likely to debut next year. Their protection naturally followed the age of the team with S21-23 players getting the nod. With another year of earning from their young players, Baltimore seem like they have a good chance to make improvement from last year's record. Prior to expansion, a d-line of only 2 players after losing 2 IAs seemed like the most obvious weakness, though third linebacker seems like also an important element. And with a high amount of draft capital, a second offensive linesman could also be a target if the Hawks find the right timing.
Expansion losses:
11th - S22 OL Byron Dolls (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The Hawks had RB Fukushu as a starter, getting about 40% of rush attempts for the season. As mentioned above, the pair of WRs Brown and Campbell seem likely to join S23 Howlett as starters. RB Rogers seems likely to get called up to replace S20 RB Williams, lost to the Yeti in free agency.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S21 Chika Fujiwara
RB: S24 Mai Fukushu, S24 Captain Rogers
WR: S23 Doug Howlett, S24 Joshua Campbell, S24 Korbin Brown
TE: S21 James Lewandowski
OL: None
DL: S22 DT Nuniq Annastesia, S21 DE Matt Hole
LB: S22 Derred de Ville, S22 Dex Kennedy
DB: S22 CB Eldrick Avery, S22 CB Ben Stackinpaper, S15 S Walt Green, S23 S CJ Riley
K/P: S23 Datsum PhastBawls
Weaknesses:
DB - with S23 CB Crooks currently a free agent and S21 McGregor signed with Austin, at least one DB seems like a dire need
DL - defensive line players can be effective at lower TPE, but I have to think this is the second biggest area of concern
OL - assuming Baltimore values human OL, they'll want to address having none
Even before the expansion draft, Berlin was active. They signed S22 FA CB Krause and traded for S23 S Blanco and S24 LB Schell.
Expansion losses:
N/A
Notable S24 draftees:
N/A
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: ¯\_(?)_/¯
RB: S23 Joseph Petrongolo
WR: S18 Asher Quinn, S22 Nick Kaepercolin, S22 Susan Cash Jr., S23 Dre Matthews
TE: S22 Clark Boyd
OL: S22 Byron Dolls
DL: S22 DE Mario VonPebbles, S22 DT Claude Miller II, S22 DT Hank Steel
LB: S23 Hingle McCringleberry, S24 Adam Schell
DB: S22 CB Matt Krause, S23 S Eric Richards, S23 S Benoit Blanco
K/P: S23 Karmichael Hunt
Weaknesses:
QB - I have to assume Berlin has a plan here, with either a trade lined up or a position switch or something, but it's obviously the biggest thing they'll need to figure out
DB - 3 is definitely on the low side for the modern ISFL, so I'd expect this to also be an area of focus
DL/LB - I'd expect at least one more of one of these positions but the specific priority would depend on preference for 3-3-5 vs 4-2-5 alignment.
Chicago seems to have turned the corner they've been predicted to the last few years, making the playoffs in the harder conference despite a 7-9 record. They've done a great job in the last couple years of building up a youthful core but that left them in a rough situation for the expansion with absolutely no way to protect all their players. They even traded for a protection slot (which I honestly didn't realize could be done) but still had to leave tons of great players unprotected. Their best hope is that they can't lose that many players. And on top of that, they signed FA S22 CB Oles Jr. and S23 DE Eller to further deepen the team. Still, Chicago went into the expansion draft having one of the largest rosters with no glaring weaknesses.
Expansion losses:
7th - S22 DE Mario VonPebbles (protecting S19 WR Sean O’Leary)
18th - S23 LB Hingle McCringleberry (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
OL Riposte seems likely to take over S21 Tucker Jr.'s role and LB Domine is available and seemed likely to get called up if either of the starting LBs get taken in the expansion draft.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S21 George O’Donnell
RB: S21 Baby Yoda, S22 Julio Tirtawidjaja
WR: S19 Sean O’Leary, S18 Bender B. Rodriguez, S23 Luca Scabbia, S23 Griff Oberwald, S21 Raheem Okusi
TE: S21 Tree Gelbman, S22Von Hayes
OL: S22 Benson Bayley Jr., S24 Icebox Riposte, S21 Perry Tucker Jr.
DL: S21 DT John "Tripod" Smirh, S22 DT Daymond Brooks, S22 DE Simeon Works, S23 DE Arik Eller
LB: S18 Mike Hockhertz, S24 Juan Domine
DB: S21 CB Osiris Firestorm-Fjord, S22 CB Tyler Oles JR, S22 S Hamish MacAndrew, S22 CB Tyron Shields, S23 S Raphael d’Alcott
K/P: S22 Sam Sidekick
Weaknesses:
Salary cap - keeping all these great young players around as they move off of their rookie deals and hit increased contract minimums is going to be a challenge for the GMs.
LB - after losing McCringleberry and with Hockhertz entering regression, LB is now an area I'd expect Chicago to focus on
Despite a surprising loss to San Jose in the Ultimus, Colorado enter the offseason in a fairly good position. They took the common route of primarily protecting younger players with S18 CB Purchase as the only player protected from before S21. That specifically leaves S16 QB McDummy, S17 RB Owens, and S18 TE Sauce unprotected. McDummy announced he'll be retiring after the S25 season with S24 Caliban as the presumable future. So, while I can't say that the team had any major weaknesses prior to the expansion draft, the possibility of their offense getting plundered and being much less effective next year is definitely present. Other than that, having only a pair of d-lineman seems like something they'd be planning on improving.
Edit 2: in a post-expansion draft trade with NY, Colorado traded away S17 RB Owens and S20 S Kirkby.
Expansion losses:
4th - S23 WR Jackson Kingston (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
S24 QB Caliban seems unlikely to start in S25 with McDummy in place. The S Drake seems likely to be the future as S18 S Parker enters regression. And K/P Murder-Moose seems intriguing given that S20 Banana has a few good years left. I could see one of them getting traded if there's any demand.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S16 Wolfie McDummy
RB: S20 Darrel Williams, S17 Ashley Owens, S22 Richard Gilbert
WR: S22 William Lim, S22 Leeroy Jenkins
TE: S18 Earl Sauce
OL: S22 Mo "Mamba" Magic, S23 Dick Thruster
DL: S21 DE Immanuel Blackstone, S22 DE Ismael Sanchez
LB: S20 Warren Stephens, S23 Adélie de Pengu
DB: S18 CB Louisiana Purchase, S21 CB Rotticus Scott, S18 S Pete Parker, S23 S Greedy Sly, S20 S Thor Kirkby, S24 S Joel Drake
K/P: S20 Silver Banana
Weaknesses:
LB - with S15 Gabagool leaving after least season and S20 Stephens leaving after this one (and S23 draft pick Wright Jr. not really panning out), LB seems like a core area of concern.
DL - S21 DE Blackstone is pretty great, but he isn't an entire line.
WR - Losing the promising Kingston leaves WR as a pretty big hole. I think it's slightly lower priority than the defense just because I'm not sure a rookie WR will be their main focus with the last year of the QB, but it's still a clear concern.
Honolulu had a decent year in a packed ASFC but missed the playoffs. They are the most extreme of the youth movement teams with an impressive zero players in regression. They split protections on offense/defense. However, they had several inactive players that looked likely to be losses to free agency. Their pre-expansion weakness seemed like the lines, with no OL on the roster for S25 and somewhat suspect d-line depth.
Expansion losses:
1st - S22 LB Jack Banks (protecting Powers)
12th - S19 DE Jayson Kearse (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
S24 DE Montain was a starter and seems likely to continue being important in the future. WR J'Vathon seems to be a likely callup with TE Krashwagen possibly joining him in the receiving side of things. And finally, DT Sternenstaub seems likely to join the higher-earning Montain on the line next year.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Luke Skywalker
RB: S22 Keʻokeʻo Kāne-Maikaʻi, S23 Nicholas Ayers
WR: S19 Jed Podolak, S22 William Alexander, S20 Jacoby Clay, S24 Tre’Darius J’Vathon
TE: S24 Ragnar Krashwagen
OL: None
DL: S24 DE Asher Montain, S24 DT Sigismund Sternenstaub
LB: S23 Heinrich Kackpoo
DB: S22 S Shawn Dawkins, S22 CB Jim Waters, S23 CB Ray-Ray Jackson, S23 CB Bane Kaʻanāʻanā, S20 CB Victor Moreno
K/P: S20 Venus Powers
Weaknesses:
LB - S23 Kackpoo is good, but their next options on the roster are a pair of S23 draftees under 300 TPE. I think this vaults into a top concern after losing Banks in the expansion draft.
DL - Kearse was heading towards regression next year anyway, but I think this now moves up in priority with only two on the roster.
OL - with at least one drafted in S24, this seems like an area Honolulu wants to build in, so I'd expect them to try again.
New Orleans protected multiple players entering regression, seemingly hoping to try and make this their window to win in the crowded ASFC. They protected their entire secondary while also making a GM switch to free up a protection switch. Entering regression season with an impressive 4 protected players over 1k TPE, they seem set to be solid contenders next year. Prior to expansion losses, a future for RB seemed like their biggest issue.
Expansion losses:
15th - S22 DT Hank Steel (protecting S21 WR Ed Barker)
17th - S21 Dorfus Jimbo Jr (last loss) - traded S22 WR Sean Snyder for Jimbo Jr. after the expansion draft
Notable S24 draftees:
LB Light seems like the brightest prospect for the Second Line with S15 LB Bode not plausibly long for this league. They also have a DT/DE pair of Ranger and Simwell that seems likely to reinforce the DL along with S Button for DB depth.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Ben Slothlisberger
RB: S18 Marcella Toriki, S15 Forrest Gump
WR: S21 Ed Barker, S22 Sean Snyder, S23 Brock Bodenhamer
TE: S19 Austin McCormick, S21 Rainier Wolfcastle
OL: S18 Givussafare Rubbe
DL: S22 DT Magnus Rikiya, S24 DT LeBong Simwell, S24 DE Azarius Ranger
LB: S15 Quenton Bode, S21 Ugarth the Dissector, S24 Busch Light
DB: S18 CB David Rector, S19 S Mason Blaylock, S22 CB Andrew Witten, S22 S LiterallyJust A. Hexagon
K/P: S24 Juke Thomason
Weaknesses:
RB - S15 Gump plans to run 'until his legs fall off', but that future is not too far away. With S18 Toriki also entering her first year of regression, New Orleans needs to have a plan for the future at RB.
WR - After trading S22 WR Snyder to get S21 OL Jimbo Jr. back, I imagine the Second Line will want to reload here as a high priority.
LB - S24 Light will help replace S15 Bode, but I think an upgrade for S21 Dissector seems like a goal as well.
New York wasn't as active as Berlin but still signed S17 CB Andrews to get rolling. They hit high gear after the draft though
Edit 1: Thanks for @[speculadora] for pointing out that I'm bad at computers and was wrong here - the Silverbacks actually traded for S24 QB Sam Howitzer 10 days ago but I missed that because the DSFL section of NY was on the second page of my monitor :|.
They did still sign Andrews, and then they had a pair of trades collectively swapping an OL and CB for a WR, DE, and 2 draft picks immediately after the expansion draft. They kept up the pace with another trade, swapping a first and second for a first, third, and two players to fill their holes at RB and S.
Expansion losses:
N/A
Notable S24 draftees:
N/A
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S24 Sam Howitzer
RB: S17 Ashley Owens
WR: S23 Jackson Kingston, S22 Sean Snyder
TE: S21 Leon McDavid
OL: S21 Douglas Quail
DL: S17 DT Bubba Thumper, S18 DE Steco Ocewilder, S19 DE Jayson Kearse
LB: S22 Jack Banks, S21 Holden Summers
DB: S20 S Thor Kirkby, S17 CB Jordan Andrews, S23 CB Tomage McGullager, S23 S Mac Griddle, S25 CB Dukburg QuakStak
K/P: S21 Dougie Smalls
Weaknesses:
WR - pretty much all teams seem to run 3 WRs, so I figure they'll be wanting to hit that mark.
RB - with Owens in regression, I'd expect a future at RB to be a priority.
DB - S17 CB Andrews helps out for a year or two, but I expect New York to be looking for depth in the secondary for future seasons. S25 CB and GM QuakStak will be a mandated pick, but I expect an interest in at least one more DB.
Orange County finished out their Armstrong era making another playoff run which certainly was disappointing, but they seem well-set to move into S25 in a strong position. Similarly to New Orleans, they protected a pair of high-TPE DBs entering their first year of regression, though they did leave S19 CB Beerus available. All other protections were S21-23, though, so the Otters seem like they'll be able to keep in contention. Prior to expansion losses, a third WR and second OL seemed like the top targets for the draft.
Expansion losses:
9th - S19 CB Lord Beerus (protecting S21 DT Rapid Eagle) - traded S18 DE Ocewilder and 2 draft picks for him after the draft
20th - S21 OL Douglas Quail
Notable S24 draftees:
LB Joestar played in the big leagues in S24. The best of the rest is TE Mo who could see play next year over a third WR.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Suleiman Ramza
RB: S22 Tatsu Nakamura, S23 Keynel McZeal
WR: S21 Future Trunks, S22 Garfield Despacito Jr.
TE: S22 Jeffrey Phillips
OL: None
DL: S21 DT Rapid Eagle, S23 DT Carl Wheezer, S20 DE Bobby Boucher
LB: S22 Deshun Jones, S24 Joseph Joestar, S20 Inspectah Deck
DB: S19 CB Lord Beerus, S18 CB Korrin Abernathy, S18 S Tyrone Biggums, S21 S Prince Vegeta, S23 S Bob Bob
K/P: S15 Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname
Weaknesses:
K/P - S15 Dasistwirklichseinnachcopyandpastehisname is old and S22 QB isn't exactly a top earner.
OL - after losing S21 Quail to expansion, getting at least one human OL seems a likely target.
WR - with only 2, I figure Orange County to want to get at least a third, though I could see this being a lower priority if they think S24 TE Ne Mo will shore up the receiving corps enough for this season.
The Liberty had a very rough year, with their offense and defense both under performing points-wise as compared to their yardage. Glancing over their games, I'm not sure why - they were roughly even on turnovers, so it wasn't like they were driving but losing the ball, or consistently defending short fields. On paper, their D-line was a lot weaker than their secondary and they were relatively better against the pass than the run, so maybe the defense just couldn't get off the field? Either way, the weakness of the line showed very clearly in protections with zero used on the DL or LBs other than the automatic S24 protections. Prior to expansion, I'd say the biggest need for the future was a plan for the future at RB with the two on the roster being S16 and S18.
Expansion losses:
14th - S23 K/P Karmichael Hunt (protecting S22 LB Spike Suzuki)
19th - S23 WR Dre Matthres (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
DE Zbornak and LB Zelos were both with Philly for the year. OL Elephant seems like a possible call-up as an active but not high-earning option. LB Rose could potentially be a fill-in if the Liberty loses an LB or possibly to replace S18 LB Howyanow who is entering regression.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S19 Brock Phoenix
RB: S18 Fuzzy Dotson, S16 Sam Torenson
WR: S20 Randy Vuxta, S21 Flash Panda
TE: S19 Avon Blocksdale Jr., S22 Donatello Arrabiata
OL: S21 Simon Tremblay
DL: S23 DE Tycker Om, S24 DE Dorothy Zbornak, S20 DT Reggie Culbertson, S22 DT Tristan Gronlie
LB: S22 Spike Suzuki, S24 Jeremiah Zelos, S18 Wayne Howyanow
DB: S22 S Matt "Son of Havoc" Cross, S22 CB Brandon Booker, S22 S Wesley Eriksen, S23 S Eugene Smoothie, S15 S Richard D’Attoria V
K/P: ¯\_(?)_/¯
Weaknesses:
RB - with both RBs on the roster in regression, this seems like the most likely high pick target.
K/P - Philly will need some kicker at some point.
WR - losing their one DSFL receiver makes trying to find more seem likely.
Sarasota entered the draft with a deep roster which makes sense given their 12-4 record in S24. They came up short against the Yeti in the playoffs and while they did split the regular season games, they'll clearly want to be making improvements to leapfrog Colorado next year. The Sailfish spread their protections out across a range of players with S17 QB Banks II the only protected player in regression. This biggest weakness is probably the lack of a human OL or maybe a better second RB, but the team still looked good overall.
Expansion losses:
10th - S22 TE Clark Boyd (protecting S23 DE Mike Karpaasi)
22nd - S23 S Eric Richards (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
QB Boss Jr. looks to be the future of the passing position but probably for S26 rather than the upcoming season. CB Andrews seems likely to be a starter. S Mouse and DE Heights, both around 250 TPE, could make an appearance, but don't look to displace starters. And lastly, K/P Kokot doesn't seem needed given S22 Small but could be of interest to other teams.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S17 Dexter Banks II
RB: S21 Raphtalia Chan, S23 Running Back
WR: S19 Rayne Gordon, S22 Michael Witheblock,
TE: S22 James Angler
OL: None
DL: S22 DT Cuco Clemente, S23 DE Son Goku, S22 DT Big Edd, S23 DE Mike Karpaasi
LB: S22 Haha Mango-Panda, S22 Fawn Dillmiballs
DB: S20 S Jamie Nkiah, S18 CB Xavien Adams, S19 S Beat, S24 CB Harrison Andrews
K/P: S22 Jacob Small
Weaknesses:
DB - after losing S23 S Richards and with S18 CB Adams entering regression, I expect the Sailfish to look to pick up at least one DB.
TE - given their previous 2 TE setup and lack of OL, I expect seeking a replacement for Boyd and his 32 pancakes.
OL - seeing as the numbers say a human OL is great, I figure they'll want to pick one up. I could see it not being a priority if they prefer the 2 TE/2 WR alignment instead, but I can't imagine it would be something Sarasota wouldn't do.
With an Ultimus win after coming out on top of the 4 9-7 ASFC teams, San Jose had a great season where they inarguably overperformed expectations. They did lose S21 CB PickSix to retirement after the Ultimus, though they'll have him on the team this year to at least help some. They also have S13 WR Swift who's staring down a 60% TPE loss this offseason but seems to not be planning on retirement. The math doesn't work on him trying to keep playing much longer though, so I think a replacement WR is a top priority, along with a replacement for S21 DE Otle.
Expansion losses:
5th - S23 S Mac Griddle (protecting S17 LB Tyron Brackenridge)
8th - S21 TE Leon McDavid (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The CB duo of Hilliard and Vaughne look well-suited to reinforce the retirement of S21 CB PickSix, though they're a bit off the highest earning pace of the S24 class.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Monterey "Monty" Jack
RB: S22 Jamar Lackson, S21 Rando Cardrissian
WR: S19 Deondre Thomas-Fox, S23 Tychondrius Hood, S13 Nate Swift
TE: None
OL: None
DL: S21 DT Otis Allen, S23 DT Yuuto Kira Cloudera, S21 DE Chip Otle
LB: S17 Tyron Brackenridge, S22 Lawrence Bass, S22 George ’Corpse Grinder’ Fisher
DB: S21 CB HeHateMe PickSix, S23 S Philip Stein, S22 S Brendan Lanier, S22 CB Chester Sweets, S24 CB Rashad Hilliard, S24 CB Rickie Vaughne
K/P: S22 Matthew McDairmid
Weaknesses:
TE/OL - S21 TE McDavid was almost as much more for blocking than receiving with 60 pancakes to 62 receptions. I expect TE to be the main target, but I could see OL being the plan instead.
WR - S13 WR Swift looks like he'll be the only player from S13 or 14 in the league if he doesn't announce a retirement in this offseason, so replacing him seems like an obvious goal.
LB - S17 LB Brackenridge will be in his second season of regression and S24 LB Sabor doesn't seem to be tracking well towards a replacement, so I expect the Sabercats to take another swing at this position.
Yellowknife took a step back in S24 after their S23 Ultimus win. Their protection focused on their younger players plus S17 CB Leonard. He and the S18 pair of RB Hanyadi and LB Virtanen plus S15 DE Alexander will all be dealing with regression this year, but the younger players on the team seem to be coming together to replace last year's retirees. The Wraiths may still be a season off from seriously challenging the top of the NSFC and the Butchers are also growing fast, but there are a lot of strong points in Yellowknife. The offseason signing of the IA S21 WR Kross looks to replace the loss of S22 Cash Jr. in the expansion draft. The obvious weaknesses pre-expansion seemed to be replacements for the older players at RB, DL, and DB.
Expansion losses:
6th - S22 WR Susan Cash Jr. (protecting S22 S Magnus Valdyr)
16th - S21 K/P Dougie Smalls (last loss)
Notable S24 draftees:
The Wraiths have a pair of LBs Thomaslacher and Chainbreaker who look set to contribute soon. I don't know if both will get called up, but both seem to be earning well.
Projected S25 pre-draft roster:
QB: S22 Colby Jack
RB: S18 Mathias Hanyadi, S22 Acura Skyline
WR: S23 Kai Sakura, S21 Chris Kross
TE: S22 Zee Rechs
OL: None
DL: S22 DE James Cho, S22 DT Patrik Money, S15 DE Nero Alexander
LB: S18 Maurice Virtanen, S21 Douglas Quaid, S24 Brach Thomaslacher, S24 Alejandro Chainbreaker
DB: S17 CB Mervin Leonard, S22 S Johnny Hellzapoppin, S22 S Magnus Valdyr, S23 S L’Carpetron Dookmarriot
K/P: ¯\_(?)_/¯
Weaknesses:
K/P - As with other teams who lost a kicker in the expansion, the Wraiths will need one.
WR - signing an IA FA is a good stopgap plan, but a stopgap needs to be temporary.
DL - S15 Alexander is the oldest player left on the team by 2 season and is not getting younger. I'd expect this to be a position of interest.
Update: I missed a significant trade getting a QB to the
and have revised the NY section
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Draft Steal (retired S35 CB) - Profile/Update | Wiki
Troen Egghands (retired S22 DE) - Profile | Update | Wiki
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