Utah 2027

[Aston]

past reports: (2018) End of the Wynn Era?, (2020) Draft Results, (2020) Bees Report, (2021) Utah Herald, (2022) Bumbling Bees, (2023) Ulmanac, (2024), (2025), (2026) Bees Knees

2027 | UTAH PELICANS?

<div style='margin: 0 auto; color: #ccc; width: 300px; text-align: right; border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;'><img style='margin:0 auto; display: block' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xwE0rBDpg1Y/SSlUmv9FWMI/AAAAAAAACKw/j34OPSvzeEc/s400/funny-birds-big-mouth-pelican.jpg' /> <p style='font-size: 130%'> haters gonna hate</p> </div>
A look back at our talent-accumulation efforts in the past five seasons...

<h2 style='color:#264; text-decoration: underline'>2023 Draft Review</h2>1.13 - S Mitchell Prescott 35/77 &raquo; 73/73 (CB)
Risky position switch (warnings from mike went unheeded). I missed on some better guys, but Prescott has held down a big-time need position capably.

2.9 - G Mo Giles 29/48 &raquo; 64/64
All-league 1st team in 2026. I panned this pick early, but G would be a huge hole right now without him.

2.32 - WR Ray Mansker 15/26 &raquo; 38/38
Mansker's spent a few years in the background, but I'm thinking now it's time to turn him loose and see what we have here.

3.21 - CB Jamal Rau 19/47 &raquo; 38/38
Shipped off to Morgantown immediately for a 7th, he's looking like a capable backup corner there. Has some strong safety in him, too.

5.25 - WR Winston Reynolds 26/45 &raquo; 39/39
Eventually traded (2026) to St. Paul. Became the fairly solid, all-around WR that isn't anything special, but a good 4th option.

7.15 - S Derek Hines 8/30 &raquo; 38/38
Traded to Washington in 2025. Solid backup FS/SS and even started a year for them. Quality depth, starter in a pinch type stuff.

UDFAs
CB Jared Cuevas 23/29 &raquo; 44/44
P Eugene Compton 59/67 &raquo; 60/60

Cuevas has a few really impressive skills (PR/BnR), but he's not good enough to be PR1 and his M2M holds him back from more time at corner. Compton turned in four good seasons of punting for us, and is a free agent currently.

Verdict:
A few high investments at the top that are part of the talent core for better or for worse; all 6 draft picks still in the league. Not a bad haul.

<h2 style='color:#264; text-decoration: underline'>2024 Draft Review</h2>3.11 - S J.B. Bynaker 11/36 &raquo; 39/46
We usually like to headline our classes with a later pick, but even for us this was pushing it. Bynaker has basically never gotten time yet, so we don't know what he is.

4.09 - T Rich Ansell 12/36 &raquo; 38/45
Traded to Port City in 2025, and started all 16 games in 2026. He's looking good, and would've made an even better guard.

5.09 - RB Ryan Green 26/38 &raquo; 39/43
Green is a restricted free agent and coming up on his second contract. 144 carries for 702 yards in 2026 in his first real playing time, and the leading candidate -- unless we bring in someone else -- to replace Earnest Giang.

5.31 - LB Doug Alfred 14/26 &raquo; ?
No idea if he's in the league anymore. Caught on in Dakota and had climbed fairly impressively, but even the Totems cut him.

6.31 - DE Marvin Lyons 15/22 &raquo; ?
Never made the team.

7.14 - TE Ty Knight 17/37 &raquo; ?
Never made the team.

7.31 - WR Geoff Leinaweaver 13/20 &raquo; 21/22
Something bad must've happened to Geoff in 26 TC, because his BPR bar used to be much higher (in the 80s). Didn't make final cuts, but caught on in Charlotte.

UDFAs
P Buddy Lorenz - 48/70 &raquo; 55/55

Lorenz is with Gainesville and couldn't beat out Eugene Compton here...making 2024 an empty year on the UDFA front.

Verdict: A pretty forgettable year, in quality and quantity -- but the 2-of-7 picks that stuck around are solid for the low investment (3rd/5th round).

<h2 style='color:#264; text-decoration: underline'>2025 Draft Review</h2>1.17 - S Wally Burgess 33/70 &raquo; 71/71
Impeccable in coverage and an STs ace. Weirdly we thought he might even be better, but can't complain. He's just about a perfect free safety.

1.24 - T Artie Samuels 25/43 &raquo; 51/51
Utah gave its 2026 1st & 2nd to select Samuels; with that in mind, he's pretty disappointing. He has a ways to climb (and might not) to justify that level of investment, but it was the right need filled at the right time.

2.11 - RB Nate Washington 27/40 &raquo; 39/39
Washington's an athletic, breakaway/elusive back who ended up being pretty productive in San Francisco. Succession plan for Giang, but eventually we gave that job solely to Ryan Green and a much cheaper 20-rated breakaway back.

4.2 - WR Chester Haddix 20/45 &raquo; 44/46
Our draft notes had him as a 'dropper', 'marginal receiver / decent KR'. Haddix, needless to say, has exceeded his expectations. Strong push for PT coming? He split time at WR3 after Foley's injury.

4.32 - TE Derek Wheeler 20/52 &raquo; 32/41
A decent backup and a versatile, but not explosive receiver (GD/RR guy). Given to Punxsutawney. We traded depth for depth, acquiring backup DT Doug Hopkins in the deal.

5.8 - DE Phillip Parrish 19/35 &raquo; ??
Utah traded a future 4th in-division for Parrish, gambling that he would help turn over the DE depth chart. It didn't work out, and Parrish never made the team.

5.18 - G Marc McDonald 14/34 &raquo; ??
Didn't make the team.

7.26 - S Lester Harding 14/27 &raquo; 31/31
Traded to Charlotte. Looks like a liability as a starter. Backup SS...I don't know. His cover skills are pretty wanting.

UDFAs
We struck out completely on LFA, period, in 2025.

Verdict: A few good players here, but pretty high investments which demand high returns. Haddix in the 4th was a really good find.

<h2 style='color:#264; text-decoration: underline'>2026 Draft Review</h2>2.6 - TE Edwin Blades 20/36 &raquo; 28/43
Blades became a part-time TE2 later in the year. Our other guy is the run blocker we want in 2TE sets, but Blades is a lethal receiver and showed it in the playoffs.

2.16 - LT Max Reese 23/58 &raquo; 33/59
Reese participated in 83 plays in his rookie year. Looks like a #3, potential future starting tackle, but the issue is experience right now. Big summer league candidate.

4.09 - WLB Ike Arias 18/21 &raquo; 25/28
A long term project at 3-4 WLB. Probably will never be the caliber of Melnick or O'Donnell.

5.1 - CB Grady Hett 19/41 &raquo; 25/42
Hett is a good-looking prospect that we think we trust more as a corner than Cuevas, and earned a start in the Backups Game vs Denver in week 17. Very, very raw, but he has some solid backup CB potential in him.

5.32 - S Butch McKinnon 8/33 &raquo; 12/38
Butch is a run stopping SS and keeping him was charity...but it's always easy to overlook creepers who haven't unmasked yet. If he climbs enough, his coverage will be capable.

6.21 - CB Scottie Finley 15/21 &raquo; 22/27
This precocious rookie logged over 200 plays and became one of our most relied-upon backup corners, especially in coverage. Could be our best steal in years, maybe ever...but a little early to say.

6.32 - LB Norbert Grice 12/32 &raquo; ??
Never made the team.

7.12 - T/G Mo Mahoney 16/25 &raquo; ??
Never made the team.

UDFAs:
QB Brent Patten, WR Wade Morton, RB Gilbert Money, and DE Bryant Hendrickson form the largest UDFA crop in a while. These are some crappy looking mofos, except for Morton, who looks like he could actually start challenging for PT right away.

Verdict: 6 of 8 picks still on the roster -- is this the strongest Bees class in years, or is it just early? Hard to tell, yet.

Overall: We feel pretty decent about this series of drafts, although it isn't game-breaking by any means. The outgoing talent flow (age, retirement) is greater than the incoming, but they're OK. If those two late corners from 2026 (and WR Wade Morton) pan out, it will be a critical class for managing the talent turnover in Utah.

2027 Outlook:
Wide, wide open. Nothing's off the table. 44 under contract, 8 RFAs, and 50.65 in cap room, and some expensive re-signings on the table. Bout time to cap out Randy Boone again, for perhaps the last time. A diverse FA pool that could cause some spending for the first time in years. And a few positions where trading for veteran talent would make sense right now.

Looking forward to the offseason, and trying to stay competitive!

<div style='margin: 0 auto; color: #ccc; width: 450px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px;'><img style='width: 390px; margin:0 auto; display: block' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mWRRmSvfUBI/Td9e7CyUBMI/AAAAAAAAD_A/YFiyfHTWafo/s1600/img-bear_and_pelican.jpg' /> <p style='font-size: 100%'> <em>The delicate relationship between Utah and the Denver Grizzlies, longtime division and playoff rivals.</em></p> </div>

[Guest]

I approve of all this Pelican stuff. Even for the New Orleans "Hornets."

Poor LB Doug Alfred didn't get picked up by anyone else? I was going to keep him and dump Preston Janis but it turned out Janis was going to be my new position leader.

[Aston]

<h2 style='color:#a94; text-decoration: underline'>2027 Draft</h2>A very unconventional Utah draft, as we strayed out of our 6-8 man class range and went for volume late, even as we were missing on guys. Nothing like more marginal players to make up for the ones you didn't get!

1.17 - DE Ted Kau 14/41
13%; 2 ex
Kau is the headliner for the '27 class, and while he's extremely raw, we expect him to follow in Emmanuel Logan's footsteps as our #1 DE of the future. We have wanted to get younger for years now at this position, with the Logan-Bello-Tyler situation. Finally, an opportunity to do it.

1.31 - RB Michael Glenn 24/38
29%; 3ex
Glenn has only to fill the shoes of Earnest Giang &mdash; provided he wins the opening-day job. He is unusually not pro-ready for a college back, and that was a draw. At 5'9, 216, he looks like he has the athleticism and receiving skills of a smaller back &mdash; and probably won't be asked to carry the load.

2.13 - S Bobby Plantilla 15/26
34%; 4ex
S and CB are the two most overstocked positions on the Pelicans roster...so it's likely that Plantilla ends up at corner, his more natural position. It will present a roster dilemma, but we haven't been happy with our nickel corner play for years, either.

2.21 - DE Byron LaPorte 15/45
4%; 1ex
If we have something in LaPorte, it'll be a very exciting turnaround on the DE position in one swoop. He's another extremely raw prospect, but on the Utah roster, these guys will have plenty of time to develop. We can see him manning the 3-4 RDE in the future.

4.31 - WR Antonio Champion 14/25
15%; 3ex
Looking like a serious dud of a pick. We're throwing every marginal resource we can at the WR situation, with Foley's age and devastating injury. This looks like an extremely not-up-to-par mid round WR for Utah, which saw solid success with Chester Haddix and Winston Reynolds in recent years.

5.24 - TE Kennedy Wheeler 16/24
33%; 4ex
Wheeler is a real longshot here. What we're hoping for is a ST player, in which case he brings somewhat solid receiving capability to the table and adequate insurance for another one of our TEs crashing. Heavy longshot, though.

5.31 - WR Justin Rivera 13/28
17%; 2ex
Rivera came very close to being selected at 4.31 in our 3-man queue (we'd get all three eventually), but Champion was a last-second switch. With Rivera on the board a round later, we decided to hedge our bets and grab both.

6.24 - C Courtney Bartley 12/22
33%; 4ex
Bartley will actually probably be the second C on the roster. He doesn't look very good at all -- but we wanted to add a center at some point in the draft too much to pass him up. He was the other one we were eyeing at 4.31.

7.23 - DT Jared Grauer 11/31
20%; 2ex
Grauer is a late dart we threw at shoring up the DT position, which we expect to accommodate with our spare DEs. These plans have a way of not always working out, and Jerald Berrios -- the incumbent starter -- could be wanting more money than we're willing to pay him. We'd love for this rookie to come in and show him up.

7.31 - LB Ron Mawae 14/42
25%; 3ex
Uh, our scouts hated this no-combine guy in the private workout, and we just had to throw a big "FU" their way. Gotta say, he looks every bit the VO they claimed. But, go big or go home, right? Let's say the scouts were completely wrong; then he's extraordinary...right? right?

7.32 - G Jerald Henry 21/51
20%; 2ex
An overrated guard that looks "solid" nonetheless. That usually doesn't pass the selection bar at Utah, but we would have been running dangerously low on G otherwise. For a 7th, Henry looked like a bargain and might turn out to be a solid player. With what we expected would be solid overall ratings, didn't think he'd be available in free agency &mdash; some team was going to offer him premium money. We probably won't sign him until injuries dictate the need &mdash; and hold onto him for insurance.

[Aston]

Season Preview

Another opening day is here, and another Utah/Phoenix matchup in store. Utah has owned this matchup in recent years, and will try to continue that streak for as long as we can manage.

Nothing is ever set in stone with a coach as fickle as UTA has, but at a glance, what looks like the opening day starters...

QB Randy Boone
RB Ryan Green
FB Mario Evanswhite
TE Mario Bradford
WR Bryan Sidharta
WR Hunter Vandersommen
C Stephen Wells
G Mo Giles, Mo Marchant
T Artie Samuels, Geoff Keisel
P/K Troy Parrish, Courtney Ellison
LDE Emmanuel Logan
RDE Rondell Tyler
NT Jerald Berrios
ILB Dan Harper
ILB Troy Conant
OLB Norbert Slaten
OLB Matthew O'Donnell
CB Quinn Robinette
CB Mitchell Prescott
S Brent Driscoll
S Wally Burgess
PR Stephen Easton
KR Chester Haddix

Not many changes here from last year. The noticeable difference is the departure of Utah sackmaster-general Carlos Melnick, whose 6-year run in the Salt Lake was brilliant. His shoes are now filled by longtime understudy Matthew O'Donnell.

At guard, Mo Marchant earned the starting job late last season over incumbent Jared Craig. Craig is sidelined by injury and Marchant will keep getting those snaps for now, but it's a close one.

Logjam at receiver, but Hunter Vandersommen, now entering his 8th year in the team, will get first crack at replacing the venerable Alvin Foley.

The final spot of contention, at nickel, is going to cause some headache. Stephen Easton is the incumbent and the favorite, but Jared Cuevas in particular is going to be breathing down his neck on that one.

[Aston]

Utah announces an opening-day-weekend acquisition of DT Harris Wheeler from Boston, who arrives with a 5-year deal. This marks the end of the road for nose tackle Jerald Berrios, who before his age decline was never fully entrusted with the NT job. He's now viewed as someone on the last legs of his career.

At one point Utah were content to slide Rondell Tyler over to nose again, as it did for most of last season, and start Ted Kau at LDE with Logan at right side.

The Wheeler trade allows the FNG to start immediately at nose, and keep the rookie defensive ends relegated to learning duty. With the importance of the 3-4 LDE to the pass rush, it's good to be able to keep veteran Emmanuel Logan there.

[Aston]

Early season report:
The Pelicans are humming at 4-1, looking quite like the Utah teams of old on offense. Despite the absence of Alvin Foley, and for parts of the year, Hunter Vandersommen, Randy is posting one of his more successful seasons statistically.

Utah has re-discovered its ground game, and though the names and carry splits are different, the output is looking fairly similar. Defensively, though, it's another story. These are not the great Bees defenses of the past. Utah ranks 29th in the league in PR%. Carlos Melnick is sitting on South Maryland's roster, shaking his head.

Unmasking
It's not like unmasking is a secret or anything, but it's still a bit shocking to see how much, in some cases, you cannot trust a guy's bars.

Here's Randy's post cut-test looks as a fully-developed, year-6 player in 2023, before camp, and how he looks now, in the 2027 regular season, as a year-10 player.



A gain of nearly 10 points OVR, and drastic changes in a number of bars. Possible that there is some vol at play, too, I suppose, because there was never any indication that his screen bar was coming up like this.

[Aston]

A look back: the Fletcher trade

Colin Fletcher supplied the 'WR' in Utah's QB/WR/WR for years and was one of our more celebrated draft selections in the first round, and his trade to New Orleans last season was a big move.

One year on, was it worth it? I'm starting to think it was a lose-lose.

We missed Fletcher's explosive ability last year. And though they are getting approximately equal, we still miss Fletcher's ST ability and more importantly, the incredible cohesion he'd now have in Randy's receiving corps. I don't believe there'd be much to stop 10th-year Boone, 11th-year Foley, 8th-year Fletcher, and 7th-year TE Mario Bradford in the Utah passing game....but instead, we have to throw out a second-year player on the field.

In time, Sid is going to be good. But he's going to make his cohesion impact on the team after Randy retires (probably), and as far as his relative youth, we had our up-and-coming WRs in-house already, in Ray Mankser and Chester Haddix and even Wade Morton. And New Orleans has to deal with similar cohesion effects with Fletcher.

Our passing cohesion is 'good' this year at 78. It could have been 'amazing.'

So, oof -- that's one major move I think I'd like to have back.

[Aston]

2027 Recap: 15-1



Utah finishes with the league's best record, most points scored, and fewest points allowed. Although this is the weakest team we have fielded in years, it's also one of our most successful regular seasons.

The Run Game
Feel very good about the 1-2 punch we have here. Green runs very well and doesn't fumble, though he can't stay on the field. Glenn was a high investment, and very raw.

Receiving Corps
The answer so far to 'life after Foley' has been to lean on Hunter Vandersommen, who had a great 2027. Vandersommen is nearly as old as Foley, though, so we're going to need to find some real answers, soon.

Sidharta so far has not shown himself to be a gamebreaker. Hopefully that changes some as he gets more cohesion. Really like what I'm seeing out of Haddix to date, and Wade Morton is another guy who's working his way up the chain as a reserve.

We haven't found a way to get the ball to our TEs, though, even without Foley and Giang. A little concerning. Our TEs are our biggest playmaking threats.

Defense
Utah notched 51 sacks this season, which is the highest the league has seen since Yuma got 59 in 2021.

Mathew O'Donnell easily slides into the WLB role he inherits from Carlos Melnick and turns in a 17.0-sack season. What's more, his backup, 2nd-year Ike Arias, gets 9.5 of his own. Endurance schmendurance. He also leads the team in tackles.

I think we're pretty pleased with the season we got out of Boston import Harris Wheeler at DT. Especially as, looking back, we really had nobody else there.

In the secondary, rookie dime-back Bobby Plantilla leads the team in picks with 5. We are very, very, very excited about this guy. He might have even earned himself the nickel role heading into the playoffs.