Madden 20 Draft Tips

[Shosum13]

Quote: Originally Posted by JoshC1977

Be mindful of traits when assessing a future role for a player Now, as being discussed in a different thread, traits are not scoutable. Traits I'm referring to are things like Swim Move, Big Hitter, Play Ball in Air, etc. Guys...these matter. Now, when you select a player, you won't see all his traits (you won't see them all until after the draft is over). But these should be considered in guiding your development plan for a player post-draft. I drafted an 80 OVR DT (yeah....he's good....) with 85 FMV and 71 PMV. He's got speed, accel, and strength. But, he had Bull Rush and not Swim Move. This is a fun narrative, a guy with the tools, but not one with a counter-move; not going to lie, it hurts a bit. So, you have to decide what to do. Do you build up his PMV (limiting his OVR increase for a while - which could matter if you have a SS/X-factor guy and need him to hit an OVR threshold for the next ability) or do you stick with speed rusher paradigm with the skill move limitation? Play Ball in Air - another key one. Guys with the aggressive trait are flat out going to go for the ball more....for better and worse. Have an understanding of the kind of player they are and scheme accordingly and don't overlook changing positions as a way of working through any limitations. Anyways....that's some of my thoughts...LOVE this thread idea....

Really good post you hit on some great points that will probably give some people things to think about they wouldn’t have before. To your point of physical abilities this is something I pay big attention to when drafting especially because as you stated it isn’t common to get upgrades to these. What physical abilities I focus on really depends on position, and sometimes what archetype they are or role I have in mind for them. Just some examples for skill positions I usually pay close attention to spd, acc, and agi, then for WR and CB I’ll also pay attention to their vert jump. For OL I pay attention to a combination of athleticism and strength if I plan to use them at tackle and for guard I mostly focus on strength. For pass rushers it really depends on what type of rusher, for power rushers I will look closer at strength, for speed rushers I look at mostly athleticism if I’m going to use them as a specialized rusher but if I need someone to be an every down DE I’ll also look at strength.

Probably the most overlooked aspect of your post though is the quoted portion of it above, I know that I can be guilty myself of not paying very close attention to their traits. They all play a pretty big role, and a big one is a QB’s sense pressure trait. This could make it tough to play with a QB depending on what trait they have. For example a QB with the Paranoid trait will get the pressure inaccurate feedback triggered more easily and often.

[JoshC1977]

Quote: Originally Posted by Shosum13

Really good post you hit on some great points that will probably give some people things to think about they wouldn’t have before.

I appreciate that - that's what I really wanted to do. I wanted to move beyond the more basic logic or how to "game the system" and more into the realm of how to assess players and what to look for.

I mean, it is 2020 and there are people that still legitimately worry about OVR like it matters. That's insane!!! This game is WAY more in-depth than that and I think many folks just don't understand that. Even looking at one or two individual ratings to assess why something happened doesn't paint a complete picture....not by a long shot.

Madden doesn't hold your hand though, you HAVE to really dig into individual ratings, archetypes, traits, and how they tie into your team's scheme and your own specific play calling tendencies and player matchups.

Quote: Originally Posted by Shosum13

Probably the most overlooked aspect of your post though is the quoted portion of it above, I know that I can be guilty myself of not paying very close attention to their traits. They all play a pretty big role, and a big one is a QB’s sense pressure trait. This could make it tough to play with a QB depending on what trait they have. For example a QB with the Paranoid trait will get the pressure inaccurate feedback triggered more easily and often.

I just recently started really focusing on traits myself....moreso in connection with free agency but also with respect to the roles I give to players and how I develop them. I mean, I think many of us know that they matter but we tend to overlook that sometimes one trait can greatly transform the effectiveness of a player (for better or worse).

[PhillyPhanatic14]

Quote: Originally Posted by JoshC1977

I mean, it is 2020 and there are people that still legitimately worry about OVR like it matters. That's insane!!! This game is WAY more in-depth than that and I think many folks just don't understand that. Even looking at one or two individual ratings to assess why something happened doesn't paint a complete picture....not by a long shot.

100% with this. I love finding UDFA's that have good physical stats and low overalls. They're easy to develop and very productive.

I found a WR that was low 90's on speed, accel, agility in my first offseason after the draft, but he had an OVR in the low 60's. Been developing him as my 4th WR for some time and training him up for a few seasons. Now in his 3rd season he is my slot WR, rated in the mid 70's but he has improved in route running & has 94 speed. He just had a game with 120 yds and 2 tds.

Dude is a stud and I'd rather play him than someone like Tyreke Hill who is aging and a proven player. It's just more fun for me developing guys than playing with guys that are already good.

[moTIGS]

I’ve had a decent amount of success recently by largely ignoring players with initial projections of rounds 2-5 in my scouting. Instead, I try to quickly narrow in on one guy for my top pick and then find low-round/undrafted guys with higher projected draft slots. I’d been expending a lot of scouting resources on guys who inevitably weren’t available when I wanted to take them, so figured I’d shift resources to the guys I knew wouldn’t get taken as early, and it’s paid off.

My approach: Throughout the season, scout the first trait for all prospects projected to go undrafted, starting with OL, DL, and LB. When I find a guy with a good first trait, I then fully scout them. For HB, WR, and DB, I hold off on scouting until the other positions are covered so I can use the combine to first weed out players lacking the requisite athleticism.

This tends to give me a lot of guys with nice draft projections who will almost always be available well into the draft. If I can, I also try to acquire extra late picks to target these guys, which ups the odds of landing one with hidden development.

My most recent draft (I’m not an OVR chaser, but that’s the only number I have handy at the moment):

1: QB 72 OVR (best QB in the draft, started with a first round grade and was the only guy I wanted here, so I lucked out that he fell to 32)
3: FS 71 OVR (undrafted projection who had mediocre traits, but he had elite combine numbers so I fully scouted him during free agency; ended up a 2nd round true value, and he’s been moved to corner)
5: DT 68 OVR (undrafted projection with good speed rush traits on scouting and a second round true value)
6: LT 69 OVR (undrafted projection with good traits and a 1/2 true value; not an ideal player because he’s run block heavy, but for a backup? Not bad at all.)
7: RT 64 OVR (undrafted/4. Turned out to be another tackle who’s mediocre as a pass blocker, but he has hidden development so could grow pretty quickly)
7: OLB 65 OVR (undrafted/5 as a coverage middle linebacker; great athlete with good coverage abilities and OK against the run; gained four points in OVR when moving from MLB to OLB)
7: SS 67 OVR (undrafted/4th, I think; coverage stats are trash, but he has great pursuit, hit power, tackle type stats, and I plan on him being a special teams guy. Not that those roles seem to matter that much in this game)
7: MLB 59 OVR (undrafted/7th and the only disappointment in this draft, though as the last pick in the draft I didn’t really care; signed the other guys I was considering here as UDFA anyway)

So in a draft where I only had two picks in the top half of the draft, I came away with seven guys who will likely be on my roster for several years. Only one who I know will start, but having these other guys as backups and potential spot starters helps make it easier to go all in with free agents if I need to. And it also allows for using picks to trade up to target guys in the first I really want.