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 S24 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 offseason going into the S24 draft for the Tijuana Luchadores was a vitally important one. After winning the Ultimus in S22, their roster was completely ravaged by call ups, inactives becoming ineligible, and even a surprise retirement from OL Kevin Malone. With a small S23 draft class, the Luchadores were only able to grab a couple key pieces to begin their rebuild, most notably, safety Maverick Bowie, quarterback Mike Boss Jr., and linebacker Adam Schell. With a skeletal roster they managed to reach 6-8 in S23, but missed the playoffs. Going into S24, they knew they had to nail a lot of draft picks to rebuild the roster into a championship contending squad. They had holes all over the roster, needing two defensive ends, two defensive tackles, a linebacker, two cornerbacks, a safety, a nickelback, an offensive tackle, a running back, a tight end, and a slot wide receiver. Tijuana had a tall task, as finding thirteen starters in a draft is pretty much unheard of. Luckily, the S24 DSFL draft class (ISFL S25 class) was the third largest class in league history, so Tijuana at least had a chance of filling most of those spots with great scouting and drafting.
The strategy - Given our great need, we knew we had to do three things to have a successful draft: Scout thoroughly, trade effectively to acquire players and accumulate extra draft picks, and focus on defense early and often. Given we were only returning 3 defensive starters we absolutely needed a defense-heavy draft, as we could probably manage with Boss Jr. at quarterback, reigning OPoY Crowbar Theeks at RB, and superstar kiwi receiver duo Friedrich Vequain and Doug Howlett.
Scouting thoroughly ¬– Our scouts set us up for success. They evaluated every player, looking for locker room fit, which is highly important to our franchise, as well as talent and potential. All of our scouts deserve credit for their great effort, as each made important contributions for drafting the right players. @Bigred1580 scouted the quarterbacks and kickers, @SwankyPants31 scouted the running backs and tight ends, @Rufio_NZ scouted the wide receivers, @CalvinGolladay scouted the offensive linemen, @Jay_Doctor scouted the defensive tackles, @JPach scouted the defensive ends, @Cincyfan96 scouted the linebackers, @mithrandir scouted the cornerbacks, and @Tonzy scouted the safeties. With so many people helping out, we were each able to have conversations with every prospect and evaluate them on an individual basis and give each the attention they deserved.
Trade effectively – We were able to make three trades that offseason, trading a draft pick for a sophomore tight end, trading a quarterback we drafted for a rookie cornerback, and trading back with Dallas by giving up one pick for three picks. All three of these trades worked out very much in our favor and was a big reason for our success.
Focus on defense – We always intended to heavily draft defense going into the draft, and we stayed true to our gameplan, taking defenders with six of our first seven picks, including our first and second round selections. Overall, we selected one safety, three cornerbacks, two defensive ends, two linebackers, and one defensive tackle.
The players acquired – Our very first selection was safety NationalSimulation FootballLeague. He played two seasons for Tijuana, made a key playoff interception in S25, and his user, SDCore, joined the league Head Office. Our second round pick was cornerback Rich Triplet. Triplet was a starter at outside cornerback for two seasons, and was voted a captain at the end of his rookie year. The user, Kotasa, also became a Rookie Mentor. Our third round pick was running back Bronko Mills. He joined Crowbar Theeks to form a nasty duo, and won offensive rookie of the year. His user, Payton, had previously won an Ultimini as a GM of Tijuana. Our fourth round pick was defensive end Tex Wrecks. Wrecks was a force for Tijuana, recording seventeen TFLs and four sacks in his rookie season. His user, 209 tacos, is a graphics designer for many Luchadores. Our fifth round pick was linebacker Terry Tate. This was perhaps the first pick that could be considered a draft bust. Tate initially showed great promise for the Luchadores, racking up eight sacks in his rookie year, but retired after just one season with the team due to injury concerns. Our sixth round pick was defensive tackle Vance Slattery. He was a great run stopper in the middle of the defense for two seasons. His user, Punter715, went on to be the GM for the Philadelphia Liberty of the ISFL. Tijuana traded their seventh round pick for the eighth, tenth, and thirteenth picks of the Dallas Birddogs. With their own eighth rounder, they took defensive end Owen Isaac, a solid contributor who is still on the team. With the pick acquired from Dallas, Tijuana finally went back to the offensive side of the ball and drafted offensive tackle Adam Mellott. Despite being the eighth OL drafted, Mellott blossomed into one of the best linemen in the class. His user, GuitarMaster116, went on to be an HO intern and a rookie mentor. With our ninth round pick, we took kicker Jack Burton. This was our first miss of the draft. Burton kicked for Tijuana for one season before being cut for his poor play. Tijuana made another trade in the tenth, sending their pick to Portland for tight end Thomas Engine. While Portland used the pick on WR TJ Evans, who is no longer rostered in the league, Tijuana got a tight end who has been a solid blocker and receiver for three seasons with the team. Tijuana used Dallas’s draft pick to acquire WR Mark Walker. Walker spent a season as the team’s slot receiver, before exceeding expectations and being called up immediately to the Yellowknife Wraiths. In round eleven, we selected quarterback Owen Holloway. The QB-needy Myrtle Beach ended up trading for Holloway, sending star cornerback Ben Alexander-Arnold to Tijuana in returner. His user, Ben, is one of the most active Tijuana war room members and an Ultimini-winning GM. The last significant contributor came from Tijuana’s next pick, twelfth rounder Mason Gillion. Gillion has played two stellar seasons as Tijuana’s nickelback, and has a knack for forcing turnovers and finding the endzone.
Summary and results – All in all, Tijuana turned the S24 draft into three cornerbacks, a safety, a linebacker, two defensive ends, a defensive tackle, a running back, a wide receiver, a tight end, an offensive line, and a kicker, all of whom started for the team for at least a year. Of those thirteen players, ten of those reached the 250 TPE cap for the DSFL, and DE Owen Isaac is only thirteen TPE away from joining those ten. Many of these users have become captains for the team and have gone on to do great things in the league as users or players. The Luchadores used this franchise-altering offseason to win the division and go 10-4 in S24 and win their eighth Ultimini in S25.
The offseason going into the S24 draft for the Tijuana Luchadores was a vitally important one. After winning the Ultimus in S22, their roster was completely ravaged by call ups, inactives becoming ineligible, and even a surprise retirement from OL Kevin Malone. With a small S23 draft class, the Luchadores were only able to grab a couple key pieces to begin their rebuild, most notably, safety Maverick Bowie, quarterback Mike Boss Jr., and linebacker Adam Schell. With a skeletal roster they managed to reach 6-8 in S23, but missed the playoffs. Going into S24, they knew they had to nail a lot of draft picks to rebuild the roster into a championship contending squad. They had holes all over the roster, needing two defensive ends, two defensive tackles, a linebacker, two cornerbacks, a safety, a nickelback, an offensive tackle, a running back, a tight end, and a slot wide receiver. Tijuana had a tall task, as finding thirteen starters in a draft is pretty much unheard of. Luckily, the S24 DSFL draft class (ISFL S25 class) was the third largest class in league history, so Tijuana at least had a chance of filling most of those spots with great scouting and drafting.
The strategy - Given our great need, we knew we had to do three things to have a successful draft: Scout thoroughly, trade effectively to acquire players and accumulate extra draft picks, and focus on defense early and often. Given we were only returning 3 defensive starters we absolutely needed a defense-heavy draft, as we could probably manage with Boss Jr. at quarterback, reigning OPoY Crowbar Theeks at RB, and superstar kiwi receiver duo Friedrich Vequain and Doug Howlett.
Scouting thoroughly ¬– Our scouts set us up for success. They evaluated every player, looking for locker room fit, which is highly important to our franchise, as well as talent and potential. All of our scouts deserve credit for their great effort, as each made important contributions for drafting the right players. @Bigred1580 scouted the quarterbacks and kickers, @SwankyPants31 scouted the running backs and tight ends, @Rufio_NZ scouted the wide receivers, @CalvinGolladay scouted the offensive linemen, @Jay_Doctor scouted the defensive tackles, @JPach scouted the defensive ends, @Cincyfan96 scouted the linebackers, @mithrandir scouted the cornerbacks, and @Tonzy scouted the safeties. With so many people helping out, we were each able to have conversations with every prospect and evaluate them on an individual basis and give each the attention they deserved.
Trade effectively – We were able to make three trades that offseason, trading a draft pick for a sophomore tight end, trading a quarterback we drafted for a rookie cornerback, and trading back with Dallas by giving up one pick for three picks. All three of these trades worked out very much in our favor and was a big reason for our success.
Focus on defense – We always intended to heavily draft defense going into the draft, and we stayed true to our gameplan, taking defenders with six of our first seven picks, including our first and second round selections. Overall, we selected one safety, three cornerbacks, two defensive ends, two linebackers, and one defensive tackle.
The players acquired – Our very first selection was safety NationalSimulation FootballLeague. He played two seasons for Tijuana, made a key playoff interception in S25, and his user, SDCore, joined the league Head Office. Our second round pick was cornerback Rich Triplet. Triplet was a starter at outside cornerback for two seasons, and was voted a captain at the end of his rookie year. The user, Kotasa, also became a Rookie Mentor. Our third round pick was running back Bronko Mills. He joined Crowbar Theeks to form a nasty duo, and won offensive rookie of the year. His user, Payton, had previously won an Ultimini as a GM of Tijuana. Our fourth round pick was defensive end Tex Wrecks. Wrecks was a force for Tijuana, recording seventeen TFLs and four sacks in his rookie season. His user, 209 tacos, is a graphics designer for many Luchadores. Our fifth round pick was linebacker Terry Tate. This was perhaps the first pick that could be considered a draft bust. Tate initially showed great promise for the Luchadores, racking up eight sacks in his rookie year, but retired after just one season with the team due to injury concerns. Our sixth round pick was defensive tackle Vance Slattery. He was a great run stopper in the middle of the defense for two seasons. His user, Punter715, went on to be the GM for the Philadelphia Liberty of the ISFL. Tijuana traded their seventh round pick for the eighth, tenth, and thirteenth picks of the Dallas Birddogs. With their own eighth rounder, they took defensive end Owen Isaac, a solid contributor who is still on the team. With the pick acquired from Dallas, Tijuana finally went back to the offensive side of the ball and drafted offensive tackle Adam Mellott. Despite being the eighth OL drafted, Mellott blossomed into one of the best linemen in the class. His user, GuitarMaster116, went on to be an HO intern and a rookie mentor. With our ninth round pick, we took kicker Jack Burton. This was our first miss of the draft. Burton kicked for Tijuana for one season before being cut for his poor play. Tijuana made another trade in the tenth, sending their pick to Portland for tight end Thomas Engine. While Portland used the pick on WR TJ Evans, who is no longer rostered in the league, Tijuana got a tight end who has been a solid blocker and receiver for three seasons with the team. Tijuana used Dallas’s draft pick to acquire WR Mark Walker. Walker spent a season as the team’s slot receiver, before exceeding expectations and being called up immediately to the Yellowknife Wraiths. In round eleven, we selected quarterback Owen Holloway. The QB-needy Myrtle Beach ended up trading for Holloway, sending star cornerback Ben Alexander-Arnold to Tijuana in returner. His user, Ben, is one of the most active Tijuana war room members and an Ultimini-winning GM. The last significant contributor came from Tijuana’s next pick, twelfth rounder Mason Gillion. Gillion has played two stellar seasons as Tijuana’s nickelback, and has a knack for forcing turnovers and finding the endzone.
Summary and results – All in all, Tijuana turned the S24 draft into three cornerbacks, a safety, a linebacker, two defensive ends, a defensive tackle, a running back, a wide receiver, a tight end, an offensive line, and a kicker, all of whom started for the team for at least a year. Of those thirteen players, ten of those reached the 250 TPE cap for the DSFL, and DE Owen Isaac is only thirteen TPE away from joining those ten. Many of these users have become captains for the team and have gone on to do great things in the league as users or players. The Luchadores used this franchise-altering offseason to win the division and go 10-4 in S24 and win their eighth Ultimini in S25.
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