Madden 20 Draft Tips

[PhillyPhanatic14]

Couldn't find another thread like this. Would love to hear everyone's tips for finding good rookies from the draft and post-draft FA. Here's a few things I do:

• Look for linemen in the 3rd-6th round. There always seems to be a 1st round talent at one of the 5 positions that is projected to go in these rounds.
• Focus on UDFA's in the first week of preseason. I've found a few WR's & RB's with Hidden Dev Traits who are UDFA's. I usually sort by Practice Squad Eligible and then by speed. They always have low OVR's in the high 50's or low 60's, but they're fun to develop. You can also find good DT's, Safeties, and sometimes Corners that are mid-upper 60's that go undrafted.

What are some helpful things that you guys do in the draft?

[Shamhat1915]

I subscribe to the philosophy of draft best player available, regardless of need. And to some extent regardless of projected draft round. Drafting best player available has been instrumental to me staying under the cap in my franchises. I mean, all within reason, of course.

And draft for the future. Know your team. Know who's contracts are up in the next season or two and plan on possible replacements. I'm consistently turning over my roster in regards to number 2 corners or linebackers because I drafted their replacement a year or two ahead of time to develop them knowing the contracts were expiring. With contract demands being far more realistic this year, it's imperative to get those cheap contracts for several years, especially if you have a stud quarterback demanding $30+ million per year. You can always find solid replacements.

And most important for me: know what you want at the positions. If you know what you want, you can have a low-rated player be a key cog for you because he does exactly what he needs to for your system.

For instance: I like speed on my offense. I run kind of a college-style offense with my team, emphasizing speed in space. Playing the games I struggle with throwing and completing deep passes. Always have. So I utilize a short to mid-range passing game and lots of stretch and toss running plays. I'll look at receivers with the deep threat scheme because they usually have speed, then I'll look at any with a really good 40, 3 cone and 20 yard shuttle so I can see who might have the agility to be threats in my offense. And looking at the top three attributes, I don't need to see deep route running or spec catch in their because they aren't key aspects for my offense. I took a receiver in the fifth round who had 7th round talent before. He was a 58 overall, but had 94 speed, 88 acceleration, 89 agility, 77 catch, 79 short route running. His spec catch, medium route running, deep route running, release, a bunch of his other ratings were all in the high fifties, low sixties. But I used him as a screen receiver or running jet sweeps, and he was a beast.

[OhMrHanky]

I like to look through all positions and see which position has the most depth or most 1st round targets. Then, scout at least the first rating for them and probably into the 2nd and 3rd rd targets just to see what’s there. With so much talent at a position, I’m more likely to get one of them with the last pick in the first rd, and/or find a gem to draft, later.

As another mentioned, often I may pick the best available with 1st pick if I don’t need anything in particular. If this player stands out, great. If not, and I really don’t need him, I’ll trade him next year or 2 to move up in the draft. I did this recently with a TE I got stuck with. I had already traded up in the draft, but got screwed on 2 possible CBs I wanted. The TE really was the best available and looked like he could be a stud. He was a solid TE, but I already had Hooper at my number 1 spot. My number 2 doesn’t get much action. So, the next season, I traded him and my number 1 to move up to top 10 pick and get someone worthwhile that season.

U do have to watch out sometimes and take someone earlier than you’d like if he might be gone. I’ve take a player or 2 a few rounds earlier than necessary because I absolutely had to have another CB or something. And, there was only one that I liked that I could get with last pick in any round.

It is interesting to try and figure out whether the cpu will draft one of your gems. I’ve seen 1st round talent, but 5th rd projected go early and I’ve seen them go late. I enjoy that game of trying to wait as long as possible to get more bang for your buck and trying to figure whether the cpu knows he’s good or not. Lol.

I’ve started to trade during the draft these days as well, which is kind of fun and makes me actually watch the draft as well. I had a situation recently where I felt the need to get a new RB. Freeman is 32, now, in my CFM, and he’s def regressing, but he’s still good enough, actually. But, I’d like to get a new guy in there and get him some reps behind freeman and smith. Anyways, I see 2 guys I like. One is a big back, but he’s actually really fast, elusive, and agile. I’ve always liked ‘odd’ players that often don’t fit their scheme so to speak. This guy sounds like a bruiser at 6’0” 235 lbs. But, he’s got 4.42 40. Lol. And, the other guy is prob better. He’s smaller, but more elusive and also fast. They’re both 1st rd potential, but the little guy is supposedly early 1st. Well, it’s hard to tell when they’ll get drafted because of the projected and actual talent and there’s a few other RBs and the cpu often doesn’t draft RBs in the first rd, I’ve noticed. Well, I decided to wait till pick 10. If neither was taken, I’d trade for that pick to get one of them. Or, I’d wait tilll one got picked and take the other. I like mini games like that. Lol. But, I ended up getting a little antsy. No RB was taken with the first 8 picks. At pick 9, I just got this feeling they would take my guy! So, I traded and took the big guy. Lol. I’m glad I did. He’s going to take a little time to get some better jukes and/or stiff arm and trucking. He’s in the high 70s in all those. He’s got 92 speed, though!! Lol. He looks like a truck, though. I love it! I let the cpu auto upgrade instead of me forcing what I want to make it more ‘realistic,’ but I really hope he develops a wicked stiff arm even though he’s technically an elusive back. Turns out the other guy didn’t get drafted till 2nd round, I believe. So, I actually did overreach just a bit. Not based on his ability, but I prob could’ve picked him at the end of the first. Lol. So, u never know.


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[reyes the roof]

I try to enter the draft not needing any starters. If CB is my biggest need I still want to at least have a stop gap signed so that I don’t NEED any of my picks to be a starter day one. If they’re better than the stop gap I’ll start them, but I want to put myself in a position where I don’t need to reach for a player. I’ve noticed that if I prioritize strength it seems to make it easy to find a hidden development O lineman.

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by reyes the roof

I try to enter the draft not needing any starters. If CB is my biggest need I still want to at least have a stop gap signed so that I don’t NEED any of my picks to be a starter day one. If they’re better than the stop gap I’ll start them, but I want to put myself in a position where I don’t need to reach for a player. I’ve noticed that if I prioritize strength it seems to make it easy to find a hidden development O lineman.

That's a good point, Reyes.

I like to use FA to grab 73-75 OVR guys who can either start as stopgaps at positions where I have a weakness or who can get outplayed for a starting spot by a rookie, should I happen to draft that position.

[Ren The Conqueror]

Quote: Originally Posted by reyes the roof

I try to enter the draft not needing any starters. If CB is my biggest need I still want to at least have a stop gap signed so that I don’t NEED any of my picks to be a starter day one. If they’re better than the stop gap I’ll start them, but I want to put myself in a position where I don’t need to reach for a player. I’ve noticed that if I prioritize strength it seems to make it easy to find a hidden development O lineman.

“If you draft for need, you get fired” - multiple GMs and HCs

[Shosum13]

I try to make it a point to draft best available rather than based on need. Obviously within reason, for example if I already have a franchise QB under contract for a few more years I won't take a QB. really with most positions if I already have a franchise player at that position that's going to be around for more than a year or two I'll pass up the best player for the next best player on my board. Once it gets to the 3rd or 4th round I'll start to lean a little bit more towards need to fill out the depth on my roster.

In my online league I just had an interesting draft where I had to remind myself to stick with best player available. I had the 10th pick in the draft and while I needed OL help, more specifically interior OL help I was going to wait until the 2nd round because there were quite a few nice gaurd prospects that would probably be there in the 2nd.

Well the draft starts and I watch in horror as my entire draft board gets taken right in front of my pick. My biggest needs were a difference making edge rusher, a CB, and an OLB. This draft was actually loaded at the top at CB with 4 prospects that I valued as top 10 worthy and 2 edge rushers. Well being the 10th pick I put 8 guys on my board assuming at least one would be there. Well all 8 guys got taken with the 9 picks in front of me.

I ended up taking the best player available which was actually a big strong RT who is 78 ovr and star dev already with 90 strength and both RBK and PBK ratings at 80. Big and strong enough to move in to the interior to gaurd to fill a need since both of my starters are already 28 with overalls in the mid 70's. The 2nd round comes around and the same thing happens, all of OLB's and edge rushers on my board get picked so I end up taking a RB who's already a 71 ovr with star dev and pretty quick. While RB wasn't a huge need because I already have an x factor franchise back, my RB2 spot has been a revolving door of stop gap veterans so this solidifies that spot.

Drafting against 31 other users and not the CPU is no joke, you really need to stick to your gameplan. In my online league especially nothing good has ever come when I've reached based on need in the first 2 or 3 rounds. My draft classes have just been much better overall since I started weighing best available more heavily in my early round choices.

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[JoshC1977]

Oh...there are SO many layers....I started drafting a long inclusive list...but instead, I want to focus on one topic - Scheme fits.

Player archetypes are critical to how the player plays on the field. It isn't just some label applied for XP gains....it matters, and it matters a lot. It's not so much about the effectiveness of their game, but rather how they play. Here's the thing: drafting nothing but scheme fit players is a lot like 'drafting for need'....it's a great way to get fired. This all took me a while to figure out, but there are a number of things to consider.

Physical abilities help define the upside of a player for a particular archetype
Let's use an obvious example. Would you draft a deep threat WR that runs a 4.55 40? Probably not. You want him to go deep and well, that lack of speed is going to limit him.

Physical abilities (strength, speed, agility, acceleration) are rarely upgraded, so they serve as "governors" that dictate the ultimate effectiveness of a player in a particular archetype. So, you have to take that into account. If I am looking for an Agile O-lineman, I am looking at his 3-cone/shuttle numbers (and 40 yd to a degree). If they are poor, he's going to have a tough time getting out in front, no matter how skilled he is with his finesse block ratings. A Man corner with poor agility is going to have a tough time making good cuts (even when his MCV rating is high). So, be mindful of the physical traits of players.

Amongst early round picks, a high grade for a non-archetype skill can often mean a highly diverse player
Example: If you find a physically skilled speed receiver with a high CTH grade, you might have a guy with multiple archetypes in close proximity (often meaning an elite player).

How many Pro Bowl caliber players are one-dimensional? Very few. Great players do many things well and this is what we want in the early phases of the draft. Think about it...if a guy is a particular archetype while having a non-archetype skill as his best, that means the rest of his archetype skills have to be pretty darn solid. At worst, he's a multi-dimensional player. At best, he's a potential stud.

High grades in some physical skills can also be indicative of this (i.e. high STR for an edge rusher).

The best 'project players' are often those non-scheme fit players that have the physical traits of the archetype you want.
Example: A Power o-lineman with good agility and accel can be transformed into an Agile archetype.

These types of guys are fantastic, because you can develop their skill based ratings...and, because they start as another archetype, they can wind-up being more well-rounded players, boosting their flexibility on the field. It might take time to build them, but if you're patient, the rewards can pay off.

On the flip side, don't shy away from mid round guys who are "pure archetype" players. A high accel speed rusher with decent FMV can be a nice dime rusher once developed. A slow power back with STR (along with TRK/SFA) can fill that PWHB sub position nicely; even if he has a low OVR.

Don't overlook size relative to the player's archetype.
While size doesn't matter much from a physics perspective in-game, it does seem to have at least some indication of a player's skillset. The main example for me is RB. If you find an early-round grade elusive back with size, he'll often have solid STR/TRK/SFA...being a more well-rounded back. For mid-round guys, a 230 lb elusive back is probably a cross between elusive and power paradigms (Spencer Ware comes to mind as a real-life example)...likely a decent utility guy (but not a future starter). Tall WRs who still have some speed (sub-4.55) can be deadly due to their longer strides.

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....