BDL Discussion Thread 2024

[InjuredReserve]

15 hours ago, TedLavie said:

Las Vegas Bangers

Offseason needs : RB, WR (x3), OT, OG, INT, LB (x2), CB (x2), EDGE, TE

Cap space remaining: $25,477

Roster spots remaining: 29

 

What they did so far:

1.    Shore up the offensive line

IR came in BDL and made decisive moves to give Lamar a top notch offensive line. Trading for Joe Thuney and Quentin Nelson gives LV the best guard duo in BDL, which wasn't given for a team starting the year with only the horrific Alex Cappa as a natural G on roster. At center, IR traded Creed Humphrey away - a move I still don't necessarily agree - but proceeded to pick up Erik McCoy as a replacement which, salary excluded, is ok short term. To pair with Penei Sewell, IR then went away and signed Alaric Jackson in RFA, giving Las Vegas what is likely the best OL in the league, but also probably the most expensive one with 52K allocated to the group. 

 

2.    Get Lamar some weapons

The other position group Las Vegas came in the offseason thinking about reinforcing was the WR group. Mike Evans was too often alone last year and he was a free agent anyways. He got 3upped, in a very logical move, but Las Vegas traded for Deebo Samuel and Josh Downs to team up with him. While both players are health concerns, when they play they provide immediate upgrades over what Baltimore had on roster. To afford all these major salaries, something had to give however and George Kittle was traded away. Las Vegas will bank on Isaiah Likely, freshly traded from Anchorage and who yours truly is a big fan of, to replace him.

 

3. Made interesting choices on defense

They paid handily for that, but I think it's hard to doubt LV upgraded its offense this offseason. On defense however, it's a little harder to judge. They started by trading away Odafe Oweh and Carlton Davis but got Jaycee Horn in return (among plenty of other things). Horn is another injury waiting to happen, but on the field he's better and cheaper than Carlton Davis. Losing Oweh s**** however. With both Hargrave and Burns free agents, and with the possibility to 3up only one, LV chose to extend Brian Burns and let Hargrave walk. I've admittedly been lower on Burns than consensus for the entirety of his career, but I certainly don't think I would have given him 20K+ a year, so we'll see if this pans out.

 

4. Invest heavily on the defensive line in the draft

I usually limit myself to 3 points on these, but Las Vegas offseason was busy enough to warrant a 4th. When you focus that many resources on offense, that's going to leave some holes on defense. Las Vegas chose to tackle its defensive needs in the draft, with 7 out of 9 picks dedicated to the defense, including 5 on the defensive line. They will hope someone out of Newton or Fiske can provide an adequate replacement for Hargrave. And they will wish for someone out of Kneeland/Isaac/Braswell group to emerge to become a reliable pass rusher for them.

 

What remains to be done:

1.    Build a CB room

The main issue in Vegas roster is quite clearly its CB room. They have a #1 guy in Jaycee Horn, but below that it's a rookie, an IRL backup and nothing else. So IR and BB will have a lot of work to do there, with limited resources to do so. This is probably going to be the make or break decisions for Vegas. Do they wait for cheap veteran deals in Shark Tank like Darious Williams last year? Do they take a chance on someone on a multiyear deal? Both? 

FA fit: Darious Williams + Mike Hilton (Shark Tank)

 

2.    Beef up the defensive line

At edge, Las Vegas has a lot of bodies and, even though I don't know if they have a great starting option opposite to Burns, I think they will have to live with that. But the more critical hole is inside. I've said in many reviews that trusting rookies year 1 is risky, and that's especially true for DTs which are slower to develop. Las Vegas will have to find someone to pair up with Leonard Williams in Free Agency or in Shark Tank.

FA fit: Dalvin Tomlinson

 

3.    Get someone to run behind this awesome OL

I really like Jaylen Warren but I think of him as a more complementary back than a bellcow, at least for a BDL offense. I would like to see him pair up with someone else to give Las Vegas a triple threat with Lamar and Warren. Behind that OL, and with the right running back behind it, pounding the rock will be hard to stop.

FA fit: Raheem Mostert

 

4.    Get help at LB

Another big hole on Las Vegas roster is probably the LB position. I have doubts in Chenal or Barton holding the position, Collins is an EDGE. Can Payton Wilson have a positive impact year 1? I think Vegas needs two guys there, and will probably have to wait for the Shark Tank to sign guys at a decent salary.

FA fit: De'Vondre Campbell + Tremaine Edmunds (Shark Tank)

 

 

Final assessment:

Las Vegas did a lot of good work to revamp its offense, and as long as they stay healthy (which is a big if for their WR corps), could have one of the most dynamic offense of the league. But taking over Baltimore was never going to be a one year task and a lot of efforts still have to be made on defense. With a lot of money allocated to the offense (probably a tad too much to my taste), IR and BB will have their hands full in the Shark Tank to get cheap and productive players to fill out their defense, especially their CB room which is probably what worries me the most.

 

@InjuredReserve @BodyBurner

 

Next up: Well after the Bangers, now come the Jizz

Appreciate the quality review. Don't really disagree with anything. CB, INT, LB, and RB rooms very much still works in-process. 

Won't have a ton for FA either, so cheap deals and Shark Tank will be pretty critical.

I also liked the point on Brian Burns. One of the decisions I wrestled with the most. Felt I could not let him walk and despite the cost will give it a go and see if he can put up elite production as the only real option I had this off-season to present a strong edge rush threat. My DL draft investments could change that if they have a reasonable hit rate, but likely to bear fruit in future years at best.

Thanks again for all the effort on these and really enjoyed the read.

[Pickle Rick]

Probably gonna get crazy with my 3 downs and final 3 up.  Decisions soon 

[Blue]

12 minutes ago, Pickle Rick said:

Probably gonna get crazy with my 3 downs and final 3 up.  Decisions soon 

Is it really that crazy to 3 Down Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs

[Pickle Rick]

3 hours ago, Blue said:

Is it really that crazy to 3 Down Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs

1 for sure, 1 maybe.....either way the 3rd might be crazy 

[Ragnarok]

9 hours ago, Pickle Rick said:

Probably gonna get crazy with my 3 downs and final 3 up.  Decisions soon 

Come ooonnnnnnn

[TedLavie]

New Orleans Jazz

Offseason needs : RB, OG (x2), EDGE, INT (x2), LB, CB, S, OT, WR

Cap space remaining: $82,305

Roster spots remaining: 26

 

What they did so far:

1.    Reload at WR

Last year, New Orleans drafted two promising receivers in Rashee Rice and Michael Wilson. That was enough to give Lukic the confidence to send packing DeAndre Hopkins and Deebo Samuel and rejuvenate its WR corps. With the drafting of Brian Thomas Jr, they added more promises to the room. Of course, short term they downgraded, but they also freed up a lot of money that can be used to pair DJ Moore with another established receiver in FA/Shark Tank. One established player in the receiving game New Orleans traded for is Josh Jacobs at the RB position. With him and the recently 3upped Derrick Henry, New Orleans has a very good 1-2 punch that complements each other very well.

 

2.    Build up the secondary

One of the rare weaknesses of the 2023 Jazz was its secondary, and Lukic didn't wait for Free Agency to address it. They first bought low on Derwin James, hoping he can find back his form after a down year in LA. And they then traded for Rasul Douglas to give them another CB in the mix to start. They now have there an interesting mix of up-and-coming player and veterans that should be solid enough to contend.

 

3. Made tough choices on the DL

With Nick Bosa, Christian Wilkins and Jeffrey Simmons free agents, one of them was always going to be available in free agency, and Lukic chose to not extend Wilkins who will be one of the top FA available this summer. While Simmons was 3upped, the more surprising decision of New Orleans offseason was to trade away Nick Bosa for a 1st, a 3rd and Erik Stokes. While New Orleans have a lot of promising players at EDGE, replacing Bosa will be a hard task.

 

What remains to be done:

1.    Get a new LT

Another casualty of New Orleans youth movement was Taylor Decker who was traded away to Akeyuri. With only Abraham Lucas as a viable starter at tackle - and he's a RT - New Orleans needs one starting LT and probably a swing tackle as a backup. With the cap space they have, they can can probably target the top LT in the market that can provide help for multiple years.

FA fit: Jake Matthews

 

2.    Get two new guards

Another spot in the offensive line that needs major help is both guard spots as last year starters, Bitonio and McGovern, are both free agents. Whilst maybe one G can be added in the Shark Tank, I expect Lukic to go after the top of the G class to replace Bitonio at least.

FA fit: Mike Onwenu

 

3.    Get a difference maker on the DL

What was an area of strength for New Orleans last year is suddenly pretty weak. Aside from Jeffrey Simmons, I don't look at any Jazz DLineman as a current menace, off the edge or in the interior. Lukic will sure hope that last year draftees Tyree Wilson and Tuli Tuipulotu as well as this year first round picks Laiatu Latu and Byron Murphy can become those guys. But I expect a veteran to be added to the mix at both position, especially inside.

FA fit: Javon Hargrave

 

 

Final assessment:

New Orleans had one of the most interesting offseasons where they took two of their biggest strengths from last year in the DL and WR group and tore them down to add youth. With the OL being a major question mark, it's certainly a risky strategy short term, but one that could pay a lot of dividends in the next 2 or 3 years. These moves however freed up a lot of cap space and New Orleans is expected to be extremely active in Free Agency and in the Shark Tank where they will be able to fill out some of the holes they created. The challenge for Lukic will be to find deals that make sense for this year, but also for the next 3 years where they should have an open championship-window.

 

@WFLukic

 

 

Next up: The Raleigh Firedquaterbacks

 

[EaglesPeteC]

Im not sure if anyone did draft Plus/Minus but I decided to do it this afternoon. I added PFA +/- as well which warps the numbers a little but but its fun so whatever

 

1. New Orleans +291

2. Ivory Coast +172

3. Raleigh +122

4. Hungary +65

5. Anchorage +29

6. Cuba -4

7. CWM  -46

8. Lancaster -57

9. Berlin -84

10. Svalbard -92

11. Rome -141

12. Greenland -171

13. Las Vegas -184

14. Cancun -346

15. Akureyri - 364

16. Quebec -376

Here is the doc with all the individual breakdowns

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G8IziiGw2Gjq1Or5RZBmo2lY8XucaBL1CrSVabhSlVA/edit?usp=sharing

 

[vikes635]

On 5/24/2024 at 11:20 AM, Blue said:

Is it really that crazy to 3 Down Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs

From nothing to 2 could be considered crazy enough

[Blue]

7 hours ago, vikes635 said:

From nothing to 2 could be considered crazy enough

2 what?

[Scoundrel]

27 minutes ago, Blue said:

2 what?

2 Chainzzzzzzz….

[RuskieTitan]

On 5/22/2024 at 4:45 AM, TedLavie said:

Ivory Coast Black Rhinos

Offseason needs : QB, OT, OG, LB (X2), FS

Cap space remaining: $30,957

Roster spots remaining: 26

 

What they did so far:

1.    Get their QB

Ivory Coast started the year with a big question mark at QB but that disappeared quickly as they proceeded to trade for Brock Purdy as the year opened. Purdy might be on a low end of BDL starters at QB, but given how many big contracts Ivory Coast has on the books, getting a decent QB on a rookie deal - and the cheapest one there is at that - was certainly a welcomed addition for Ruskie.

 

2.    Resign pieces of their secondary

Ivory Coast didn't do much else this offseason but they had decisions to make for their 3ups as several players probably were considered: Aaron Rodgers, Damian Lewis, Patrick Queen. In the end, Ruskie opted to 3up Engram at TE, and Diggs and Dugger in the secondary. Diggs was an obvious one - whether Engram or Dugger deserve to be paid as much as they are here is up for debate, but with Purdy and his $500 contract at QB, IC can afford this kind of signings

 

Fair on the needs I"d say, though perhaps I have a bit more faith in Fuller than others. It'll still be a spot I target during the offseason, as well as several others.

 

Agreed on the QB, helped establish the position for 2024 and will give us flexibility moving forward on what to do with him. The secondary 3-ups ended up the result of looking around the league at the quality of players, contracts, and who was to be available. Not too thrilled to give Diggs so much, but we'll re-evaluate after we see how he plays coming back from injury. Dugger should end up being worth the money, at least we hope so. Engram was an easy decision to make once we passed on Bowers in the draft, and we wanted to avoid getting into any unnecessary bidding wars.

 

 

On 5/22/2024 at 4:45 AM, TedLavie said:

What remains to be done:

1.    Find a right tackle

Trent Williams is, at least short term, the obvious guy at LT but Ruskie doesn't have a great option on the right side, unless Tyler Guyton balls out year one. Because of their need for depth (see assessment), I don't know if Ivory Cast can afford another big contract in Free Agency so it's more likely they get someone from the 2nd tier of free agents or someone from Shark Tank.

FA fit: Jack Conklin (in Shark Tank)

 

2.    Find another guard

Isaiah Wynn is current Zack Martin counterpart and that needs to be upgraded. Too bad Ivory Coast decided to trade away two BDL studs in Quinn Meinerz and Teven Jenkins 🤣. Again, it will likely have to wait Shark Tank, but G is definitely on IC shopping list this summer. Fortunately, given the depth of this G FA class, this shouldn't be a problem.

FA fit: Kevin Dotson

 

3.    Get a couple of linebackers

With both Queen and White out of the team, Ivory Coast has two glaring holes at LB. Edgerrin Cooper was drafted to compete there but you can't count on a rookie here I think. Fortunately, LBs aren't the most sought out players in free agency (and IRL I suppose) so maybe Ivory Coast can grab someone for cheap in Free Agency and not wait for Shark Tank for once.

FA fit: Demario Davis + Frankie Luvu (Shark Tank)

 

 

Final assessment:

Ivory Coast is very top heavy, which might be an issue down the road. With only 30K left in cap space and more than 25 roster spots open, there's a clear need for depth across the roster - basically everywhere aside from the defensive line. After seeing his 2023 year crushed by injuries, I'm sure Ruskie will be very aware of that. Therefore, I don't expect Ivory Coast to be much of player in Free Agency. Maybe opting out of it to focus on getting multiple cheap veterans in Shark Tank is the way to go here.

It'll be interesting to see who goes after which tackle, and Guyton could end up being the starter at RT. Not sure I like Conklin though, injury history scares us away. Agreed on the guard need, and while hindsight might be different, we've shown that guard is one of the positions we seem to be able to find and fill without difficulty. Agreed that we'll need more linebacker depth before the season starts, but Cooper may very well be one of the starters. We'll be monitoring his progress with the Packers.

Ultimately, agreed that we're top heavy, and hopefully we don't get murdered by the injury bug this season. Should be able to snag a couple of impact players in FA / shark tank, and hope to see what the season brings.

[EaglesPeteC]

I'm going to do the Positional Rankings between FA and the Shark Tank again this year, but adding an extra layer. I've started going through each roster and I'm going to be put each player on every roster into one of the following buckets:

 

1. Franchise Cornerstone- an elite player who is the focus of your gameplans and the focus of your opponent to stop. (worth 4pts)

 

2. Quality Starter- a very good NFL and BDL starter who is just not quite a cornerstone (worth 3pts)

 

3. Competitive Starter- a good NFL starter but a functional BDL starter. Someone ideally who is a bench or rotational player for you. This is a good player that might be flawed enough to get exposed against the right gameplan (worth 2pts)

 

4. Quality Depth- this will be the biggest and broadest category. An NFL starter or rotational player that is best served as a BDL backup or bench player. They are good enough (or have enough potential) to be an injury fill in but you might be in trouble if you are relying of them to start weekly (worth 1pt)

 

5. Replaceable Player- a player that has shown very limited or no functional use in BDL so far in their career or their days of BDL usefulness are behind them.Also for players currently not on an NFL roster (worth 0 points)

 

6. Incomplete Evaluation- reserved for rookies or 2nd year players that do not have enough NFL tape to properly put in any category (worth 0 points) 

[RedGold]

I reserve the right to treat these as golf scores.  

[TedLavie]

Raleigh Firebirds

Offseason needs : QB, WR, OT (x2), OC, EDGE, LB, CB 

Cap space remaining: $51,455

Roster spots remaining: 14

 

What they did so far:

1.    Made moves at QB

Raleigh main weakness is obvious and it's the QB position. Pete realizes that and made three moves at the position to try to get a decent player to compete with Bryce Young. He first traded for Justin Fields, a move that may have made more sense in January where it was assumed Fields would get a starting position IRL. He then 3upped Russell Wilson, which, at least, gives him whoever starts in Pittsburgh as a surefire starting QB. And finally he drafted Michael Penix Jr, only to see him getting drafted by a team who has 3 years locked with Kirk Cousins contract.

 

2.    Drafted two potential starters on offense

In addition to Penix, Raleigh drafted two offensive players that figure to start immediately for Raleigh. They created a hole at WR by trading away Diontae Johnson but replaced him immediately by someone who was commonly viewed as the best prospect of this draft in Marvin Harrisson Jr. On the OL, while the left side of line is awesome, the RT spot was weaker and, in Fuaga, Raleigh might have found the perfect fit for its style of play.

 

3. Made a couple of key resignings on defense

In addition to Russ and Jordan Mailata, who was a pretty obvious 3up, Raleigh made two key extensions on the defensive side of the ball in Danielle Hunter, who rounds out a deep and talented EDGE group that includes the recently acquired Nolan Smith, and Ifeatu Melifonwu, who was resigned in RFA after an offer from Svalbard, and gives Raleigh another solid starting safety option. Both EDGE and S groups illustrate well one of the strengths of Raleigh, which is its depth across the board.

 

What remains to be done:

1.    Find a center

Nah just kidding. I mean, yes, Connor Williams is an IRL FA whose availability for 2024 is a question mark. So Raleigh needs a center. But we all know what Raleigh needs first.

FA fit: Ryan Kelly

 

2.    Find a starting QB

Bryce Young hasn't shown anything close to be a BDL franchise QB yet. Wilson/Fields aren't the answer. Penix will ride Atlanta bench for a while. Raleigh roster is good enough to justify a massive investment on whoever they feel is the best QB available in the Shark Tank. Kirk Cousins would make sense as Raleigh has his handcuff in Penix, but reality is, Raleigh should aim for whoever they like most.

FA fit: Jared Goff (in Shark Tank)

 

3.    Build up the CB room

Aside from QB, CB is probably the main position of need for this Raleigh team. Nate Wiggins was just drafted. Murphy-Bunting first season as a pure outside CB was disappointing. Budda Baker can be lined up in the slot but outside, behind Wiggins/SMB, Raleigh has a bunch of nothing. Aside from QB, Raleigh main investment should definitely in the CB department. Wiggins is the future, but I think one guy should be signed to wait for Wiggins to be ready/compete with SMB

FA fit: Steven Nelson

 

 

Final assessment:

Raleigh is not far from being a contender. Unlike most of the Tier 3 rosters, and even some contenders, Raleigh has depth across board. With 53K in hand, they have more than enough money to sign a center, a CB and a LB. The big questions, as it was last year for Raleigh already, is, can they field a QB good enough to make this team competitive? Unlike last year, the QB trade market should be pretty dry so it's a decision Pete can't miss on in Shark Tank.

 

@EaglesPeteC

 

 

 

Next up: Rome

[EaglesPeteC]

Great write up @TedLavie, I can’t argue with much of your assessment