Compared to the chaos of last offseason, this past offseason was calm, maybe too calm. Lesean Paris Crooks entered free agency in lieu of the expansion draft and shifted teams; he left the Baltimore Hawks and joined the Austin Copperheads. The Copperheads were in a transition phase, but ultimately fell out of the playoff picture with a couple extra weeks in the season. For Crooks, he expected to perform better and lost his way a little bit towards the end of the season. After getting back in the lab, Crooks has re-dedicated himself to stay on top and fulfill his potential to the maximum.
As of now, Crooks is a season or two away from hitting his peak. He has three more attributes to improve, but he'll need approximately 2 full seasons of TPE to gain enough to improve them all the way. As of now, he'll still retain the outside spot on the Austin secondary, as he and Mendoza look to form a scary tandem while rookie Alexander-Arnold slides in the mix. Mcgregor, Bowie, and the two CB's will have to do their best to protect the rookie, expected to be targeted heavily as the Copperheads start their post-Dermot Lavelle Jr. era. Lavelle Jr., in his final moments of his career, moved onto Baltimore.
Dermot wasn't the only player to "depart" from the Copperheads. Longtime vet Peter Larson retired and former captain Carolina BBQ had a surprise retirement. However, for the latter, it was due to becoming the new co-GM of the team. As we are all happy for the promotion, the team will miss his presence on the d-line, hopefully the loss isn't too damaging to the front 4. Likewise, the Copperheads decided to bolster the front 7 by trading away inactive LB Mark Arianlacher for the promising Brach Thomslacher. With the changes, the Copperheads went from one of the oldest rosters two seasons ago, to a decently youthful collective, with over half of the roster S22 or younger. The only player on their last legs is QB Easton Cole. Cole hopes to find some Cooter Bigsby magic before Jackie Daytona takes over next year.
The Copperheads offense has enough weapons between Watts, Jeeta, Videl-San, Vequain, and even the IA Jones. The Copperheads will be competitive but I believe not having any developed o-linemen or tight ends will hurt the offense as Cole's mobility and endurance drops. And the defense doesnt have any major holes except for the CB2 slot, but they are a year or two away from having superstars up and down the roster.
As of now, Crooks is a season or two away from hitting his peak. He has three more attributes to improve, but he'll need approximately 2 full seasons of TPE to gain enough to improve them all the way. As of now, he'll still retain the outside spot on the Austin secondary, as he and Mendoza look to form a scary tandem while rookie Alexander-Arnold slides in the mix. Mcgregor, Bowie, and the two CB's will have to do their best to protect the rookie, expected to be targeted heavily as the Copperheads start their post-Dermot Lavelle Jr. era. Lavelle Jr., in his final moments of his career, moved onto Baltimore.
Dermot wasn't the only player to "depart" from the Copperheads. Longtime vet Peter Larson retired and former captain Carolina BBQ had a surprise retirement. However, for the latter, it was due to becoming the new co-GM of the team. As we are all happy for the promotion, the team will miss his presence on the d-line, hopefully the loss isn't too damaging to the front 4. Likewise, the Copperheads decided to bolster the front 7 by trading away inactive LB Mark Arianlacher for the promising Brach Thomslacher. With the changes, the Copperheads went from one of the oldest rosters two seasons ago, to a decently youthful collective, with over half of the roster S22 or younger. The only player on their last legs is QB Easton Cole. Cole hopes to find some Cooter Bigsby magic before Jackie Daytona takes over next year.
The Copperheads offense has enough weapons between Watts, Jeeta, Videl-San, Vequain, and even the IA Jones. The Copperheads will be competitive but I believe not having any developed o-linemen or tight ends will hurt the offense as Cole's mobility and endurance drops. And the defense doesnt have any major holes except for the CB2 slot, but they are a year or two away from having superstars up and down the roster.
