(S24) - Ultimus Week

[AW13]

Code:

4) The offseason is a critical reflection point for the league, during which the directions of entire franchises can shift dramatically. Choose any offseason up to and including the S23 Draft, and focus on a singular team. What strategies did this particular team employ to land the players they desired? What were the team needs during the offseason, and what was the overarching plan for the future? Did they lose or land any free agents that impacted roster holes? How have the players that they drafted contributed to the team?

The off-season is a crucial time for the San Jose Sabercats as we now have to go into overall Ultimus defending mode for next season. We need the team to stay together as much as we can with the expansion having been done and the entry draft coming forward soon as well, we have a better outlook of what will happen this off-season in preparation for the new season. The Sabercats still get plenty of time to celebrate our victory and get ready to welcome new Sabercats into our franchise to continue to grow our franchise and our brand.

First, we can talk about expansion and what happened there as the San Jose Sabercats effectively lost 3 players due to the recent expansion protections and expansion draft. The first player lost was the retired Water Chestnut III due to the expansion protections making it to be more beneficial for the general manager to retire his own young player in order to protect another valuable member of the team, presumably like wide receiver Deondre Thomas-Fox who can be argued against as he is in the back half of his career but that is another discussion. Chestnut is lost and the general manager is recreating again for the 2nd time because of expansion in the more recent times. Next, we have safety Mac Griddle who was also lost to expansion which is a decent size of a loss but in general was sort of a surprise as there were some great players still on the board from San Jose at the time and the pick allowed the Sabercats to protect Ty Brackenridge who has been an integral part of the San Jose defense in recent years, a big protection that the Cats were able to retain. The next loss by the Sabercats was pretty expected and unfortunate and that was tight end Leon McDavid who was a big part of the offense, especially being able to provide an extra blocker for the team and rack up a ton of pancakes and set up running lanes for the great Sabercats' running game. However, while we loved Leon, we were able to hold on to any other player that was left unprotected such as Rando Cardrizzian who San Jose honestly thought we would be taken and the fact that he remains here still is a big win. San Jose kept all players except for a safety, defensive lineman, and a tight end which no matter how awesome those players are, are really not the worst positions to lose from a team and are replaceable.

Now, we look at some of the other positions that we have to look at going forward and how that position group stacks up.

Quarterback:
We keep Monty Jack who is entering his prime years which is big and while taking away a weapon like McDavid can certainly hurt, the team still returns a ton of weapons to give Monty Jack the best opportunity to continue his growth into being the second best quarterback in San Jose history.

Runningback:
Here is where we see a huge win for the Sabercats as they will hold on to both Jamar Lackson and Rando in what is one of the best duos in the league. A big win and a huge position of strength for the San Jose Sabercats.

Wide Receiver:
HUGE WIN. San Jose protected both starting receivers in DTF and Ty Hood but also kept their slot receiver in Nate Swift who, despite being on his last leg is a huge locker room presence and a capable player to open up the field for the two top wide receivers. Big position of strength in helping Monty Jack continue to grow.

Tight End:
Oof. Big loss in McDavid and the team will scramble to replace him in some fashion. General manager CKRoyal has recreated as a tight end but look for the team to maybe look into a trade, a free agent or draft or just get a filler to wait for DingDong to be ready.

Defensive Line:
The team loses one player in youngster Chestnut III so it still stays intact which is definitely great for the team. Look for the team to get a decent free agent or draftee here in what is a very deep defensive line draft.

Linebackers:
We keep Brack! Big win and a huge positional group of strength with Brack and Fisher.

Cornerbacks:
Not great. The team loses Oles who was a rental, lose Krause in free agency who had a pick six in the Ultimus and the remaining corners are inactive or retired or very young. It is likely the weakest positions currently on the team but has a potential to be okay.

Safeties:
Safeties with Stein are okay but losing Griddle is a loss in terms of long term success at the position but we all know CK loves safeties and I expect him to be a safety at some point.

Kicker:
Yay we keep Matty! Probably Ultimus MVP!