With just hours left before the trade deadline, the Utah Archers traded a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Maryland Whipsnakes for Jackson Morrill.
After Utah placed Matt Moore on injured reserve on Tuesday morning, the Archers quickly acquired an offensive player to fill the hole created by Moore's absence.
Importantly, Utah acquired the California Redwoods' 2025 third-round pick in a 2024 draft-day trade, meaning the club still has four picks in 2025. Additionally, by trading their own third-round pick instead of California, the Archers now own the better of those two third-round picks with Woods currently outside the Cash App Playoff picture.
Archers manager Chris Bates said last week that he didn't feel the team needed all five of its 2025 picks.
“We don't need five guys (in 2025),” he said. “When you look at the value of next year's draft, it's nothing compared to what we had this year.”
Morrill hasn't played for the Whipsnakes for health reasons since late June, when several new faces on Maryland's offensive line emerged, but the Yale and Denver product has thrived when given the chance throughout his four-year career.
Morrill averaged more than two points per game in each of his four seasons, but played just four games at Maryland after the Whips acquired him in a similar late-season trade last summer. Now he's getting his chance in the Archers' offense, which will be riding high heading into Homecoming Weekend and looking to win the 2024 Cash App Championship.
As for Morrill's role with the Archers, he will likely fill in for either Ryan O'Gavin or Dyson Williams on the 19-man roster this weekend. With Moore out, a strong dodge threat is gone, so Morrill is expected to help mitigate the impact of Moore's absence as a better threat at creating offense for himself and others than O'Gavin or Williams.
In fact, in 2023, Morrill scored five goals against the Archers, winning the short-stick matchup and punishing Utah's pick-switch.
