Regular Season Record and Result: 5-5, lost in Quarterfinals to Whipsnakes
Draft Picks: 1.3, 2.3, 3.3, 4.3
Notable Free Agents:
Justin Anderson, M
Jesse Bernhardt, D
Mac Costin, M
Dylan Gergar, A/M
Nick Grill, LSM/D
Will Haus, SSDM
Eric Law, A
Mike Manley, D
Owen McElroy, G
Eli Salama, LSM/D
Alex Smith, SSDM
Greg Weyl, D
Logan Wisnauskas, A (PUP List)
SEASON RECAP:
Denver took big strides forward in a year where they really had nowhere to go but up. Coming off a 1-9 season in 2023, the Outlaws drafted Brennan O’Neill first overall, but also added draft picks Graham Bundy Jr, Jake Piseno, Josh Zawada, and Luke Wierman. Post draft, they added Dalton Young. That formed the young core, along with defensive stalwarts like JT Giles-Harris and Ryan Terefenko, that took the Outlaws to a 5-5 record and a playoff appearance. Denver was playing for the #2 seed and the Western Conference title in the last week of the regular season, a testament to the turnaround.
As can happen with a team this inexperienced, performances were a bit up and down. In week 2, the Outlaws saw first overall pick O’Neill at the peak of his powers, erasing a big second half deficit against the defending champion Archers and winning the game in OT. Luke Wierman at the faceoff spot was key, O’Neill’s play was best described as Anish Schroff on the broadcast who exclaimed “Goliath is online.” Suddenly Denver looked ahead of schedule, ready to take on all comers, loaded with young talent ready to take the league by storm.
A few weeks later, Denver lost to New York 17-4. O’Neill was invisible, as the league’s top team erased the star rookie while running up the score. Denver looked overmatched and overwhelmed.
It’s what happens with this many rookies. Being consistent week to week in the PLL is hard, because so much player work during the week happens on an individual basis. Team practice is the night before the game for about 90 minutes, all other work happens for the player on their own. Rookies learning how to manage that situation, a situation they’ve never had before because it’s been team sports and team practice all the time, can make for inconsistency.
The Outlaws beat the Archers this, but lost to the Atlas. The Outlaws losses this year came against the Chaos, Atlas, Cannons, Archers, and Whips. Four of those teams are in the semifinals. Denver spent this year closing the gap, developing the young core, and getting themselves positioned to be very dangerous in 2025.
OFFSEASON PLAN:
The veteran presence that returns for this team is a story to watch this offseason. The Outlaws had five players chosen as captains this year, four of them are on that list of free agents. Eric Law is 33, Mike Manley is 36, Jesse Bernhardt is 34. Will Haus, another leader and still a very good SSDM, is 31. None of this is to say this team is aging, the furthest thing from it. They are, if anything, an exceptionally young roster. Over 80 points this year came from rookies, while players like Ryan Terefenko, JT Giles-Harris, and Jake Piseno are defensive cornerstone players still early in their careers.
The question for the Outlaws this offseason is, how confident can we be that these young stars are ready to lead on their own? Do they have the experience needed for a deep postseason run? There’s value in having players in the locker room who have won titles before; players like Eric Law are invaluable to a young offense who hasn’t won a title yet.
For all intents and purposes, that’s the only question this offseason. Do the aging vets have another run in them, or will retirement hit this locker room hard? The young core and the stars are there on both ends of the field. This year’s rookie Outlaw class was outstanding, they have young stars at just about every spot on the field. When it comes to primary weapons and marquee talent, the Outlaws are stocked. No need to get aggressive in free agency there. Experience that can lead this group deep into the playoffs will be critical for them. If these aging vets decide to hang it up, finding a veteran free agent who has won, and is ok with taking a secondary on field role in favor of being a locker room leader, will be important.
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