2018: Mar-A-Lago Grabbers

After renewing for a second term in Mar-A-Lago, the Grabbers hoped to make their franchise great again; they came within a point of LBII but have been accursed ever since, unable to find the playoffs since that 2011 season. This season started with stellar efforts, as Philip Rivers came off the street to lead a triple threat offense with David Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Stefon Diggs roaring. But the real motor was a ball hawking defense that got double digit production from every member of their secondary, an unsustainable mirage. In week three the good times stopped rolling, and shortly thereafter the team made a number of short sighted cuts that undercut future considerations. Latavius Wright, Bradley Chubb, Austin Hooper, Clayton Geathers, Peyton Barber, and Myles Jack would all be shed for nothing only to come into value later on in the season. Can't keep everybody- but patience with a few of those players might have been fruitful. Second round scoring from first round pick David Johnson, and a tough to manage quarterback platoon (Rivers and Carson Wentz) shook the team up during a nightmarish seven week losing streak that even a flourishing return of Alshon Jeffery could not rescue.

The team's defense was guided through the year by capable hands Tahir Whitehead, Haha Clinton Dix, and DJ Swearinger, while the offense saw an overhaul over the course of the season: A trio of deals addressed needs capably, without over buying. Each deal saw they deal off a talented target (Jordy Nelson, Stefon Diggs, and Evan Engram) to upgrade elsewhere on the roster. Even as the season got away from them, Mar-A-Lago worked to steady the ship and ended up putting together some valiant efforts in the late-season, working their way up to 12th in overall points but unable to force their way into the consolation bracket.

MAR-A-LAGO GRABBERS

RECORD: 4-9 (13th)

2,471.34 PF (12th)

2,616.73 PA (9th)

Transactions: 36

Trades: 3

2019 Draft Pick Selection: 7th

TRADES:

• 10/3 Acquired TE Vance McDonald & RB Ronald Jones II from PAW for WR Jordy Nelson

Vance McDonald settled in as a top of the wire variety tight end, but kept plugging away for the Grabber anyway with a few touchdowns to his credit. Meanwhile Jordy ended up on the wire himself mid-season; He's since restored some value, but it was a long way around. Ronald Jones has yet to make good on his pedigree and is looking like a bust in his rookie season.

• 10/25 Acquired RB Matt Breida, WR Tyler Lockett, and RB Raheem Mostert from HVM for WR Stefon Diggs

Tyler Lockett and Matt Breida fueled the teams late season resurgence to respectability- Lockett is a notch below a healthy Diggs but has been a contributor week in and week out, rarely being left out of the game plan and having a nose for the end zone. Breida's only buggaboo has been injury- when healthy, he has availed himself well. Mostert was a handcuff for the oft-gimpy lad, and turned in a nice week 9 line before hitting the IR. Overall, this deal ended up a win-win.

• 11/14 Acquired DE Danielle Hunter & WR Michael Crabtree from PHX for TE Evan Engram

Getting an elite defensive lineman paid immediate dividends, as Hunter was a terror in his week 11 debut, but he's yet to record a sack after getting at least one in eight of nine previous games. Likewise, Michael Crabtree scored a touchdown in one of his three games with MAL, but was quiet in the other two after a solid (if underwhelming) couple of months to start the season. On the other side, Evan Engram caught two balls in his Phoenix debut before being inactive for two subsequent weeks. 

KEY TRANSACTIONS:

• 9/6 dropping Damarious Randall for Qandre Diggs; Both CBs have been top 11 at the position
• 9/10 dropped Latavius Murray, handcuff to an injury prone RB who had no path to relevancy at the time, it could have been an understandable move- except no player filled his roster spot for over a week, well after Pawnee scooped him up and eventually turned him into the lynchpin of a deal for Antonio Brown.
• 9/11 dropped Bradley Chubb, again, for no reason. Patience would have been rewarded here, as after five quiet weeks he's been a stud in five of seven games since.
• 9/19 added Josh Bynes to replace a struggling Deone Bucannon; Bynes was an ace until his season ended due to a week 12 thumb injury
• 10/25 dropped Peyton Barber despite him holding a bellcow role, and adds no one. Pawnee adds him at no cost, he scores 9+ in five of next six games
• 11/1 adds Josh Adams, who develops into solid RB2 immediately following the trade deadline and with the team well out of contention
• 12/2 Adds Jatavis Brown to replace injured Bynes, signing a legit LB2 out of the playoff picture

KEY INJURIES:

• 10/2 Lost Terrance Mitchell, who had been beasting through three and a half games
• 11/29 Lost Josh Bynes, who had been an under heralded force and a defensive mainstay

OUTPUT BY WEEK:

1. 249 (1st) win over PRH (172)
2. 237 (2nd) win over NYF (224)
3. 135 (14th) loss to BKB (169)
4. 173 (13th) loss to PAW (203)
5. 196 (9th) loss to SAV (266)
6. 186 (12th) loss to SPC (244)
7. 140 (13th) loss to PHX (192)
8. 211 (6th) loss to BIN (213)
9. 143 (14th) loss to CVH (146)
10. 224 (5th) win over HVM (169)
11. 198 (9th) loss to HCM (223)
12. 207 (5th) loss to ORG (228)
13. 173 (11th) win over MMC (168)

WHAT IF:
Better luck with player matchups would have been huge, as the team left big points on the bench in weeks 3, 4, 5 and 6. Meanwhile, weeks 8 and 9 were both decided by less than three points, and through a twist of fate, both losses. Week 8 was on reversal, while week 9's loss hinged on a multitude of bye weeks- trading some inert assets at 90 cents on the dollar for active players would might been a huge difference. The team's passive approach to trading (seemingly waiting for deals to come to them) hurt their ability to net value- investing roster spots in growth assets (instead wasting them outright or holding two QBs) could have developed into difference makers.

THE FUTURE:
The Grabber's ability to cultivate a defense on the cheap is a skill that should put them in the running every year; However their short term biases for hot hands and reluctance to hold on to late blooming value has kept them from the conversation for a long time. Looking for future upside (especially in bench spots) rather than immediate dividends next year would bode well for the team's chances of developing instead of disintegrating. (2017 was much the same, a 2-1 start segueing into a 1-6 run, followed by a 2-1 finish.)