11-01-2016, 12:59 PM
|
#9
|
|
Rookie
|
Re: My 2017 "Real" NFL Draft (Full 7 rounds)
So I'm not going to completely personalize the ratings and I'm going to try to keep the game balance in place (if I make one player Superstar development, another player will lose his superstar development trait--+/- maybe 1 or 2 extra dev traits). There will definitely be players I personally like who still come out to be duds.
But my main reason is for an added layer of realism (Jonathan Allen, for example, is an Aaron Donald clone [with reductions in speed/heavy reductions in pursuit and slight improvements in strength and finesse moves]) rather than sticking with the random ratings/traits some of these players are assigned in game. I.e. if a team is landing D'Onta Foreman, I want them to get a powerful back who won't blow you away with his speed, but who will be tough to bring down a la Brandon Jacobs.
I have struggled with the fact that these changes are happening after a team drafts a player (i.e. if they drafted a guy hoping for him to a 3-4 Pass Rusher and the player I mapped them to is more of a 4-3 cover guy, I'm literally 'adjusting' their draft even if I'm not changing the position or general overall talent of the player), but that's where some of the slighter changes are being made, especially with later round picks. I.e. Phazahn Odom is an exceptionally poor blocker and is more a lanky, receiving tight end, but if the guy the Packers drafted is a blocking TE, I'll adjust his ratings accordingly to keep Phazahn still feeling like himself but to also help the Packers meet their team need/match what they were trying to draft for.
Also, with the dev trait note, I'm trying to avoid superstar potential with most players and there are some players who will obviously be rated higher regardless of where they were selected. With the ratings I've used thus far, there have been some 'gems', including Quin Blanding who came in at 79 overall after being picked up in the 3rd round with Quick development (his original player came in at 76 with normal dev). I.e. the general 'scatterplot' of ratings throughout the draft won't tilt towards the front-end of the draft (first round picks aren't going to all be higher rated than fourth round picks, etc.).
And there will be some randomness to dev trait dispersal (though it's heavily going to be based on my opinion of how a player has been trending). I.e. running backs trending down like Jalen Hurd and Tarean Folston will get "Slow" development while running backs trending up like Brian Hill and Joe Williams will get "Quick" development. Players who have been absolutely killing it like Jonathan Allen and Jabrill Peppers are likely to get "Superstar" development. Even late rounders like Rashard Fant and Josey Jewell have shots at "Quick" or "Superstar" development because they've been climbing draft boards. But to add another layer of 'realism', as the draft is in the future, I have no problem projecting that my Madden version of Jabrill will get injured leading up to the draft and fall down draft boards or that Deshaun Watson will be benched in favor of Kelly Bryant after a string of shocking interception-plagued games or that Alex Anzalone recorded consecutive defensive touchdowns in three straight games and saw his stock skyrocket, etc. (not saying I did this, but it's something I'm thinking about incorporating to explain certain players dropping to later than one would expect or being selected earlier than expected).
I'm also making it a thing to avoid (with minimal exceptions) deviating from a draft pick's overall rating by more than 5 points. I.e. no matter how badly I'd love to make Brady Gustafson a gem with a 78 overall rating, if the draft pick he's mapped to came in at 62 overall, the top I'll have his overall rating come out to is 67.
Additionally, for players like Jabrill Peppers, Greg Ward Jr., Anthony Jennings, Janarion Grant, Carroll Phillips, etc. who can play multiple positions, I like tweaking their ratings to reflect their abilities as a passer/rusher/receiver/versatile defender/return specialist/two-way player.
|
|
|
