JRT2006's Madden Scouting Tool

[JRT2006]

Quote:

Draft Results: So I had my plan going into the draft, I knmew what my needs were, and my big board evaluated the players for value(scheme fit). I am stuck with pick 26 in the draft, damn I hate the wait, but I'm a fan of finding talent late in the rounds. Round 1, Pick 26 - Five picks to go and the computer drafts my targeted players ( I swear Madden has code built into the draft forcing you to consider a trade up each round as they always seem to draft a guy I scouted a few picks ahead of me). Cornerback wasn't a glaring hole for my team, I had two starters, one with experience and one with 2 years under his belt. Both fit my scheme well, then I have a a 3rd corner who just finished his rookie year and in time could develop into a major asset for the team. My 4th corner was a nickel at best and not even close to fitting my scheme, and behind him was emptiness. So I need a cornerback, I just didnt want to reach for one. If a corner with talent who fit my team fell into my lap, I would suggest picking him at that point. With my targets off the board, Samuel Ajala fell was sitting right there. Ajala was my 4th ranked player and 2nd ranked cornerback. I selected him and plan to put him through the ringer in the offseason with hopes he can take that nickel spot or more. OVERALL RATING = 81 Round 2 Pick 26 - With my 2nd pick, I intended on drafting a LG I had my eyes set on. He wasn't projected to get picked until Round 3 around Pick 11 and it wasn't necessary that I draft him either as the position was filled and I was only looking for good value at the spot, but my board had him rated #36 behind a lot of players projected to go in the later rounds. Van Harper was his name, and Pick 25 he was selected by the Cowboys. Looking at his overall on the Cowboys roster, he is an 83. Disappointed, if it was a glaring need, I may have traded ahead to grab him, but he wasn't and i let him slip through. So with my 26th pick, i couldnt locate any good talent on my board, at this position, every one was rated low or projected in the later rounds. I traded back my pick to who else but the Raiders, in Return i received a 2016 Rd 2, and 2015 Rd 4 and 5 Pick 6. Round 3 Pick 26 - After a long wait and lots of tracking of selections, it was my turn to pick again. Sitting there, not selected yet was Kadaryl Hendrix, a DT ranked #6 on my big board. he was a projected early 4th rounder, so it wasnt too much of a reach selecting him here at 26 in the 3rd. Dontari Poe needs a break every now and then, and with my current squad, giving him a break was a risk. Hendrix fits the team well and should provide good relief when Poe sits a play out. OVERALL RATING = 68 Round 4 Pick 6 (via Oakland) - I'm on the board again after a quick break. looking at my players, i dont have any high valued 4th rounders to select from. According to Maddens projections, they wouldnt be reaches, but according to my Big Board, they would be. Running out of time, my decision to trade further back to gather more late round talent can't be completed. i had to make a decision and make one quick. I scroll through my board, I notice not many Rt's on the board and decide to make a jump for my #36 player, passing about 15 rows worth of talent because I was afraid of reaching for a potential bust. Brad Ryan will provide depth behind Stephenson at RT as he had nobody to shadow him. Ryan was projected to go early 5th, and I snatched him up early. Will it pay off? OVERALL = 63 Round 4 Pick 26 - Its getting closer to my 5th round pick in which I intend to use on this #1 Big Board ranked LOLB. I considered for a moment using this pick on him just to make sure he isnt stolen from beneath my nose by a computer GM as the tendencies have been there, but then I realized "I have Oaklands early 5th too!" So I give a quick glance at my board and recall my statement earlier about keeping 6 CB's on the roster, and if the value is there, i wouldnt mind drafting my 6th CB as well. My #8th Ranked player and #3 ranked CB Shawn McFadden was available and too good pass up. I selected him and continue to build my secondary in the Pass Heavy AFC West. OVERALL = 71 Round 5 Pick 6 (via Oakland) - I decided to use this pick on my #1 Ranked LOLB. The player fits a glaring need with the uncertainty in Hali's future and Houston's contract, he has great value and is expected to go off the board around my next pick. I can't risk passing him up with this #6 pick and missing on a potential star and savior of my OLB position. Rico Gomez, an OLB from Missouri (fitting), is selected and I am sitting nervous waiting to see what he is like. OVERALL = 63 Round 5 Pick 26 - This is where we start digging deep into the draft board. This is where skill comes in and hard decisions are made. You have a line of players scattered throughout, some fit needs, some are just valuable. You must make your decision and you've only got 90 seconds to do so. I scanned my board, and a halfback was sitting there. he was projected to go in the early 4th round so i knew something was keeping him back. Somewhere he has a flaw and could be a bust, but its the end of the 5th round and you must take chances. I like Knile Davis, he provides a good change of pace for Charles and can wear a defense down. But he doesn't match my needs in a running back and if I can find a back who does that could take his spot, i don't mind letting him walk when his Rookie Contract is expired. DeAnthony Thomas was drafted last year, but I have different plans for him. Dontre Flowers is a receiving back used to the west coast system, his football awareness is lacking, but his talent is average and can be improved. OVERALL = 64 Round 6 Pick 26 - Two players in the lead on my board, one is a Free Safety which i remember saying I could use but am not desperate for. he is projected to go in the 6th so this is a great spot to grab him. The other is a West Coast quarterback, which i also wanted to draft to play the #3 role until I can dump the overpaid Chase Daniel. He is projected as a 7th rounder. These players were neck and neck as far as value determined, .2 points seperated them. I decided to go with the Free Safety, assuming I have to keep Chase around until I don't get a cap penalty for releasing him, this Free Safety proved to be more valuable and there is always the chance the quarterback may fall to me in the 7th. OVERALL = 65 Round 7 Pick 26 - My quarterback is off the board, the Vikings grabbed him with the 19th pick in the 7th round. He is an overall 61 for the vikings, not telling how he could have panned out for my system which he likely fits a lot better. One position I haven't been able to land through the entire draft was Wide Receiver. I gave it the best value designator, so its no wonder none of them fell to my spot with their decreased value on my board. here in the 7th, 3 wide receivers sit, but one in particular is 4 and 6 spots ahead of the others. The second player to be drafted by KC from Texas (we like our Texas boys), Paris French, the west coast route runner is selected. he intends to push for a spot on the field and has a good chance of doing so with the limited talent behind Bowe. OVERALL = 69

Notes from the draft:
-I think I mistakenly placed letters grades on the wrong player, unfortunately I think that player may have been the LOLB I had at #1. Comparing his grades during the draft (after I drafted him but before the draft was over) a lot of his grades were not the same as what i had recorded on the tool. Also, I had an LOLB with no grades, I had typed his name and projected round in, but there were no grades. So i think I made a mistake there. Sadly, the player I had blank was selected shortly after my LOLB, and Shefter had loads to say about him.

-After the draft was over, i was comparing the ratings with the grades scores I had, I made some adjustments (mainly lowering some slightly and some a lot). I then generated a new board with the new grades, the board looks a lot better as far as rankings go now. Not sure if I wouldve had a better draft, but I may have taken a different approach.

-This was my first draft scouting less than 9 attributes for some positions and scouting more for others. I scored big on CB's in this draft and I scouting 12 of their attributes. A lot of the other players, I did average to bad. You don't need to, but I'm liking the 9 attribute rule more and more. I may scout extra only for players in which I need an immediate starter in, but try to keep the minimum at 9

-I need to think of a strategy that allows me to have more of a selection each round. The end of the 2nd round, I had hardly any players projected to go in the 3rd and my options were to reach large for a player (need or not) or trade back. I need to think of a strategy to create more drafting options per round.

[BeantowneS]

You have put a lot of time into this and it is greatly appreciated. I had great sucess with a test run last night. Found two 4th round gems and a 7th on a dummy run. Gonna give it a try on my Texas rebuild. Thanks again.

Sent from my GT-I9295 using Tapatalk

[JRT2006]

Quote: Originally Posted by BeantowneS

You have put a lot of time into this and it is greatly appreciated. I had great sucess with a test run last night. Found two 4th round gems and a 7th on a dummy run. Gonna give it a try on my Texas rebuild. Thanks again. Sent from my GT-I9295 using Tapatalk

Any specific draft strategy you used?
I was going the whole "must fit personnel and team scheme" route, but in the end that leaves me scouting a majority of 4-7th round players and a lot of Undrafted projections too.

I'm thinking in the earlier rounds, where guys will be higher overalls regardless of team fit, I'm going to ignore the player type and scheme (for the most part). If I run an Attacking 3-4, I will scout anyone in a 3-4 base. Running a west coast, I'll scout anyone not in a run heavy system. This should allow me to find the best talent that isnt a team fit in the first 2 or three rounds, and I wont be left picking through low round prospects in the early rounds of the draft.

I'm also going to aim for close to 9 scouted prospects per round, or if I pick early or late in a rate, withing 10 spots of my pick. This should give me more available options

[KingFry]

Loving this tool so far. Haven't got a test run in(will soon), but it's organizing my thoughts etc and lets me know what I need to scout(always forget...)

Only problem is I want to list like 5 things a 5 lol

[burth179]

Quote: Originally Posted by JRT2006

Any specific draft strategy you used? I was going the whole "must fit personnel and team scheme" route, but in the end that leaves me scouting a majority of 4-7th round players and a lot of Undrafted projections too. I'm thinking in the earlier rounds, where guys will be higher overalls regardless of team fit, I'm going to ignore the player type and scheme (for the most part). If I run an Attacking 3-4, I will scout anyone in a 3-4 base. Running a west coast, I'll scout anyone not in a run heavy system. This should allow me to find the best talent that isnt a team fit in the first 2 or three rounds, and I wont be left picking through low round prospects in the early rounds of the draft. I'm also going to aim for close to 9 scouted prospects per round, or if I pick early or late in a rate, withing 10 spots of my pick. This should give me more available options

I used to scout for scheme specific but I found some of the same issues you had although one of my 3 drafts I did well but the other 2 drafts though were average-not that good, so I tweaked my philosophy and will see how this will work.

I'd say first pick 10-12 positions (or if you want to do less) that you need and only scout those, maybe you can add positions if you have extra points at the end.

Pick the 1-3 key skill attributes for each of those position that would fit your scheme, and probably one key physical attribute, depending on the position.

Most key skills I would say have to be at least a 'B' (maybe a 'C'), and with an 'A' (or maybe 'B') in the key physical stat (speed or strength, I do acceleration for 3-4 OLB). You will be scouting every player in the position of need (at least one attribute maybe 2).

But basically as soon as you see something below what I've stated above in a key attribute you move on and forget about him. So basically you scout the key attributes only first, and only fully scout the guys that meet the criteria in the key attributes. So far I've found a pretty good mix of guys spread throughout the rounds (although a little top heavy, but not overly so. If I'm on to something it seems like rounds 3-5 have a lot of potential in this draft. Maybe a bit light by the time I get to 6th/7th round though, but I did find some in that range too)

This strategy probably only works with the double scout points and a good coach, although I'm almost done and still have about 1/3 of my points to spare, I don't expect to run out of points or anything and should even have some to spare at the end and may be able to unlock some of the top guys potential. Or alternatively, I may scout some of those perfect scheme fit guys that didn't make the initial cut, to see what they look like in other areas and maybe can make up for a few deficiencies add them to my list.

I may also plan on dropping from 9 to 6 attributes for a lot of positions, because it seems like a lot of positions we only have 6 or so attributes where players actually have A's/B's/C's in. I'm still sort of undecided on this, as it may just be an issue with some of the attributes I am scouting (safeties and tight ends are tricky for me because a 'C' for some of their attributes is actually good, so it throws off their OVR grade on your board in relation to players at other positions). I may just change a few of attributes I am targeting in the future instead. But long story short I've found that certain positions may be over or under valued by the software if 2 or 3 of their attributes are all 'C's and possibly 'D's. I figure if I limit to 6 it may put everyone on a more even level, but again I don't know and I initially planned for 9 so I may just go back to 9 and next year change it up a bit.

But anyway, then at the end if the grades are close at draft time, I plan on going with a player that is a direct scheme fit over one that is not. But I am only going to use that as sort of a tiebreaker. Because the I figure the attributes of the player are more important than whatever system they played in college. It's nice to get the extra XP for a scheme fit, but ultimately I think I'd rather have the player's with the optimum attributes to fit your scheme rather than the player who played in your scheme in college.

I will let you know how this works I plan on drafting tonight.

[Captain Slayer]

One of the things I am struggling with is the grade value assignments being equal across positions and attributes. This has already been mentioned, but for example, I consider a TE with "B" speed to be of equal (or near equal) value of a WR with "A" speed. Lots of WR's out there with "A" speed. It's their combination of other skills that make them great players (size, agility, jumping, hands). Likewise, a TE with "B" speed is a great start, but without other skills, he is just a fast player.... and likely plays for the Raiders.

I almost think we would need to compile a grade/value ranking system by position, further broken down by trait. For example, perhaps a "B" rating in speed for a TE equates to a score of 86 and an A score equates to a 92 or 93. A TE with 90+ speed is very rare and very difficult to stop, assuming he can actually catch or move (agility).

Same thing for LB's. B speed is actually really good. Maybe it's not "A" value good, but it also shouldn't be on equal footing ratings wise with "B" speed for a DB.

Just some food for thought. I am going to play around with the program this weekend, maybe sim a few seasons and try some different settings to see if I can help refine this awesome tool!

[burth179]

Quote: Originally Posted by Captain Slayer

One of the things I am struggling with is the grade value assignments being equal across positions and attributes. This has already been mentioned, but for example, I consider a TE with "B" speed to be of equal (or near equal) value of a WR with "A" speed. Lots of WR's out there with "A" speed. It's their combination of other skills that make them great players (size, agility, jumping, hands). Likewise, a TE with "B" speed is a great start, but without other skills, he is just a fast player.... and likely plays for the Raiders. I almost think we would need to compile a grade/value ranking system by position, further broken down by trait. For example, perhaps a "B" rating in speed for a TE equates to a score of 86 and an A score equates to a 92 or 93. A TE with 90+ speed is very rare and very difficult to stop, assuming he can actually catch or move (agility). Same thing for LB's. B speed is actually really good. Maybe it's not "A" value good, but it also shouldn't be on equal footing ratings wise with "B" speed for a DB. Just some food for thought. I am going to play around with the program this weekend, maybe sim a few seasons and try some different settings to see if I can help refine this awesome tool!

That's a good idea, might be a lot of work to implement because you would almost need a separate lookup function for each individual attribute for each position.

EDIT - Although come to think of it, I haven't had too many good safeties or tight ends come through my first few drafts that I noticed (and the one safety I did get that was a superstar had attributes better than all the safeties I have scouted this draft). So maybe it's just more of a "Safeties and Tight Ends suck" in these draft classes issue more than anything else?

An alternative would be to basically weed out the prospects who don't meet the physical requirements yourself, and only use the tool to measure comparative skills. Scout to figure if he's good enough for your physically, and then use this for skills type of thing.

Another thing I was thinking was instead of doing the whole '5', '3', '2' weighting system, give every position 100 points (or some number) to divide amongst all attributes. Basically customizing the weight of attributes to whatever you set (a zero would blank out the column), but still keeping everything even. That was just a thought I had.

I used to do VB/Excel stuff but haven't done it in years so it would probably take me forever to figure out how to adjust it myself. (But I can offer some suggestions lol)

[SuperSeahawks]

This is an amazing tool! Great for GMs like myself. It's good to have a way to analyze and rank all of your prospects, not just by position. Thank you for the work that you put into it JRT!