With season 1 nearly in the books we’re coming close to most GM’s favorite time of the year, the off season. An opportunity to make all the losing from the previous season count for something, trading for picks, adding overpriced talent in Free Agency, picking up bright eyed, bushy tailed prospects in the draft, and whimsically convincing yourself that next season is “your year.” I wanted to take some time to look towards the offseason and project what I feel will be the biggest tales about moves once we make it to season 2.
5. Daniel Jones will be traded or released, and with his new team he will make the pro-bowl and the playoffs. Quarterbacks will be priced at a premium in the upcoming draft. With a pick in the top 10 the New York Giants will be eager to move on from Jones and his contract for the prospect of bringing in fresh talent to rebuild their offense around. This means white Vick has to find a new home, and there’s plenty of underachieving GM’s from season 1 that’d love to acquire his skill set. Raiders, Patriots, Rams, Commanders, Vikings, and Broncos are all teams that could acquire Jones and make this prediction a work of prophecy.
4. In the first 2 rounds of the draft, there will be more picks made for Lineman (offense & defense)than any other combined position group. In every off-season, aging vets come at a premium. Whether acquired via trade assets or picked up during free agency, there’s always a veteran or two worth taking a chance on to bolster your roster for the upcoming season. I just don’t see too many of these types of players hitting the market during the free agency period this year. Which means the primary avenue for teams to stack the meat on their front lines is through the draft. With the run game reigning supreme, and the biggest difference makers in the playoffs playing in the trenches, look for teams to take their shot at the next Aaron Donald, Micah Parsons, and Trent Williams early and often in this year’s draft. This is a class that doesn’t have much depth on either side for this grouping, but the guys at the top will be worth the investment.
3. The 1st round pick acquired from the Eagles in exchange for Derrick Henry will be a SSXF player by the start of Season 3. The next two predictions could also center around 1st round picks acquired for SS’s during the season, however I’m not as confident that any GM other than Dlloyd will prove that they got the better end of their deal. Every cycle he has a diamond in the rough, a rose in the concrete, a needle in the haystack of draft talent that he gives a name in PML. This Eagles 1st round pick gives him the luxury of finding one of these types of talent, very early in the draft.
2. No one will trade players, or send picks to the Denver Broncos this offseason. After an abysmal showing in season 1 this Denver Broncos team is in real trouble. Unless Russell Wilson retires they’re stuck with his money on the books for another season. Having acquired Marshon Lattimore for this years 1st round pick, and Trey Lance for this years 2nd rounder, the Broncos don’t pick until the 3rd round. Being limited in their ability to acquire free agents, not having the capital to build their team up in the draft, the only way to salvage the offseason is by making deals. But PML is a cold, dark, scary place for some during the offseason. Especially former super bowl winners. When you find yourself in a h*** division, faced with h*** competition, the goal is for you to suffer. To never be able to get ahead. To drown, starve and thirst while everyone sits idly by, joyously partaking in your humbling before those you boasted yourself against in cycles past. This is the fate of the Denver Broncos, beginning with this offseason.
1. The BOLDEST prediction of the upcoming offseason is one that involves the #1 pick. There has been a clamoring obsession all season about what team would have the right to draft USC’s Caleb Williams. A player that is recognized as a once in a generational talent is up for grabs and the #1 pick is currently held by the Baltimore Ravens. The bold prediction for the #1 pick in the 2024 draft is that the Baltimore Ravens will select Caleb Williams as their Quarterback of the future, trading away former MVP Lamar Jackson. After throwing 35 interceptions on the season, Lamar is slated to lost his SSXF abilities and there’s just now way I can see the Ravens continuing forward the test of the cycle with that being the case at QB, regardless of who the GM happens to be. One thing for sure, two things for certain is that Caleb Williams enters the league as a SSXF or is very easily upgraded to one early on in season 2. Besides, the haul that the Ravens could bring in for Lamar is easily comparable to the one being shopped for with the #1 pick. This thing here is chess, not checkers, and Lamar is no longer the king to be protected in Baltimore.
