Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

[DrDoctor]

I have simmed probably about 30 seasons so far, and have combed through each draft class as I have gone.

I thought I would share my opinions on the strengths/weaknesses of the new generated class system. In general, I think it's mostly a solid function of the game and I prefer it over the custom handcrafted classes from the previous few Maddens. It makes online leagues way more interesting as there are no draft guides to cheat from, and it makes any stud you find very special cause you'll never see that player again in any other franchise.

On to my observations...

QB: Possibly the best position in terms of quality and variation. True studs exist, but you won't see one every year. Good mix of pocket and mobile guys. Well done position.

HB: My least favorite position. You will never find any true physical studs. STR is broken for the position. In the current NFL roster you will find many HB's with 75+ STR.. some well over 80STR even. It's rare to see an HB in a generated class that has 70STR.. in fact, I'm not sure I've seen it. 69STR may be the max. While there are decent and serviceable HB's that come out, the generating formula keeps there from being any true studs. You won't find the next AP, Shady, or Jamaal Charles. 10 years into your franchise most starting HB's will be pretty vanilla, from a physical standpoint (OVR means nothing to me when it comes to HB).

WR: Decent all around. True year one studs are rare, but they do occur. A good mix of serviceable high intangible guys, plus raw physical players. STR is an issue here, as well. You won't find a WR with 70STR, even though plenty of NFL roster guys will. And lots of generated CB's have high STR. Why is the max STR for WR 69, while CB seems to be around 85?

TE: Similar to HB. You can find serviceable guys, but don't expect to find the next Gronk or Jimmy Graham. Mostly vanilla stuff here.

OL/DL/LB: Mostly well done. You can find studs that come with different strengths. Strong guys, fast guys, smart guys, total package freak guys, etc. This accounts for a lot of players, so I'm glad these positions are dialed in well.

CB: Perhaps the most high powered position. Almost every class you can find a handful of future studs. Some need some grooming, some don't. But there's always a good amount of highly physical CB in every class. Again, not sure why CB's get up to 85STR when WR's get 20 below that.

S: A bit vanilla. Don't expect to find crazy physical players here. But overall pretty decent.

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Again, overall I think EA did a good job with this. I was worried that it would be a lot more broken than it is. Here's hoping that next year they will tweak some of this and make it even better.

One Last Random Thought: This will sound silly to some of you, but one of my biggest issues with the generated classes are the dreadlocks. For one, they are on SO many players this year. Which honestly, isn't a huge deal. I just wish EA would include player photos of guys with dreads and attach dreads only to those players. There is only one player photo used that has a dude with dreads... and typically that player model doesn't actually have dreads in-game! It really kills the suspension of disbelief. EA, add some more player photos with dreads and make it consistent that only those guys will have them in-game!

[seahawks13]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

How does strength play in for WR? Doesn't the rating of release matter versus the rating of press? When talking WR vs CB?

Also strength for the HB? Does it help break tackles? I have a RB that I have maxed out at Trucking and has the every Trait and he seems to run people over often.

I'm just curious. I've done about 12 drafts and found the same things as you. I've had a tough time finding any truly elite TE's and LB's with high speed have been rare. I mostly like speed for my players and they have definitely toned this down this year. HB's almost all come in around high 80's to low 90's on SPD and ACC. Same with WR's.

There are a lot of good CB's. But after the update....it's nearly impossible to get a CB up into a high rating. Zone and Man coverage are 5-6K to once you get in the high 80's to low 90's even with Superstar development.

[DrDoctor]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I am not sure exactly what STR does for RB's.. but when guys like AP and Eddie Lacy have 80-90STR, you assume it has some bearing? Or perhaps it doesn't, which is why none of the guys in the draft classes have above 69? Be interested to see some testing on STR and how it works in different positions.

Agreed about the SPD/ACC of HB's too. I'm not sure you will find an RB that is 94SPD or higher. That, coupled, with the low STR, just makes for a bunch of vanilla HB's whose only true differences are their intangibles.

I've found plenty of fast WR's, though. There's way more speedy CBs.. but there's always one or two wideouts that are between 97-99SPD... and then a handful who are 94-96.

[Sheba2011]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

While it does seem to be rare I have found a few AP type RB's in draft classes, not so much his stature but all around beast of RB's. They were actually the only ones that I ever saw taken in the top 10 of the draft. But I have found plenty of Stevan Ridley/Knowshown Moreno types guys that might never put up 2000 yards in a season but will be good 1000 yard backs for multiple seasons.

[tharding16]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I have the same general findings as you after ~10 classes. I did find a stud HB though. Heisman Winner. Had to take him in the Top 10 but he has 95 or 96 speed/acc and all of his intangibles are pretty great now after 3 years. He is sitting at a 95. Won SB MVP last year. All around stud.

I also got a great tight end but it took some game prep and I agree they are pretty hard to find. I like that kind of though, TE is such a dynamic position these days, its a rare skillset to be Jimmy or Gronk, it should be difficult to get player like that IMO.

As for the Linebackers/Tights being slow. I don't really have a problem with that. Linebackers and Tight Ends are slower than WR/HB/CBs (in almost all cases). Linebackers already track down fast wide receivers too often IMO. I think making most linebackers with B or C speed makes the game more playable. They shouldn't be running down a fast WR or RB on a regular basis anyway.

I have had an easy time drafting LBs that have quickly become 90+ but I think that is due to scheme more than anything. I have had an incredibly hard time finding LBs that have good pass rush attributes though.

Overall this is my favourite the draft has ever been in Madden. I do wish they didnt wear goofy equipment (every player wearing REVOs) but its a small price to pay. I hope in the future they give us hard measurables from the combine to make it more realistic though.

[Hawks11]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

Easiest to find:

QB
WR
OL
CB

Hardest to find:
HB
TE
MLB
S

[Nuke LaLoosh]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I continue to restart my franchise before really making any progress but one franchise I did make it a couple years in. First draft class had a WR projected 13th. I scouted him heavily. 6'6", 239lbs. Spd, acc, both in the 90s. Superstar progression. Traded up to pick #7 to get him. Guy was a beast. No dreads either.

[the veteran]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

Great analysis! Very well written, good job.

[saybur]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I've had similar findings after a bunch of drafts.

The low Str for HB and TE.

HB's seem to come out with about 65 Carrying on average, which seems really low. Seems odd.

There are very few OLB's with pass rushing skills, and even fewer who are of good size for a 3-4. I haven't seen any over ~245 lbs. If you want to find an Aldon Smith you have to get a 4-3 Speed Rushing DE and convert him to OLB, which I guess is how a lot of 3-4 OLB's come up anyway.

TE's are all about the same. I've found many Superstar TE's, some very athletic, but I haven't scouted a single one yet that has an A for catch, CIT, route running or spectacular catch. Also haven't scouted one with above a C for any blocking skill.

For some reason 4-3 DT's are never over 295 lbs. Most are in the 270-285 range, which is crazy low for NFL average. Also with DT, there seems to be a lot of Strength missing, especially noticeable on 3-4 NT's. Most have B Strength, and the ones with A's are all on the low end(~89). Maybe that one is just bad luck as I haven't paid as much attention to it until recently switching a team to 3-4.

Like others have mentioned, there are a ton of great CB's. This could be good tho since they changed the cost of coverage skills to make it very hard to improve them.

A few positions I can count on finding gems in later rounds, seriously almost every draft. QB, TE, OL, WR, CB.

Safety does seem to lack polished players. I see a lot of them with good physical skills but very few who come out with even decent intangibles. This could be the luck of the draw again, but when I have found safeties with decent intangibles, they always have slow development. Anyone else noticed that?

My biggest gripe is probably the visuals on the drafted players. Dreads are a noted issue. The shoulder pads being larger than normal, even tho it says they're scaled down all the way. A lot of guys come out looking ridiculous. Athletic freaks who have huge bellies, scrawny legs, stuff like that.

Overall I'm happy with the system. Probably only because I put up with M25 drafts for so long haha

[Datninja619]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I'm enjoying the draft classs, I think there is a few areas they can hopefully patch though. Many of which you guys listed. In about 7-8 drafts between two franchises, I've CB heavy draft classes. Talking 10 1st and early 2nd.
Another year had about 6 OLB projecting from highest top 3 and 6, and the others to mid 2nd.
Same with WR.

But Man when it comes to DE. I always see an abundance of 4-3 DEs.

[mavfan21]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I totally agree. The HB's and TE's need a little love, as do safeties.

There needs to be more "stars" in every few drafts.

The silver lining is that it is pretty easy to use XP to make a stud, the downside is the CPU doesn't often do this so I go in at the end of a season and help it out.

[WBG1984]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I have simmed probably about 30 seasons so far, and have combed through each draft class as I have gone.

I thought I would share my opinions on the strengths/weaknesses of the new generated class system. In general, I think it's mostly a solid function of the game and I prefer it over the custom handcrafted classes from the previous few Maddens. It makes online leagues way more interesting as there are no draft guides to cheat from, and it makes any stud you find very special cause you'll never see that player again in any other franchise.

On to my observations...

QB: Possibly the best position in terms of quality and variation. True studs exist, but you won't see one every year. Good mix of pocket and mobile guys. Well done position.

HB: My least favorite position. You will never find any true physical studs. STR is broken for the position. In the current NFL roster you will find many HB's with 75+ STR.. some well over 80STR even. It's rare to see an HB in a generated class that has 70STR.. in fact, I'm not sure I've seen it. 69STR may be the max. While there are decent and serviceable HB's that come out, the generating formula keeps there from being any true studs. You won't find the next AP, Shady, or Jamaal Charles. 10 years into your franchise most starting HB's will be pretty vanilla, from a physical standpoint (OVR means nothing to me when it comes to HB).

WR: Decent all around. True year one studs are rare, but they do occur. A good mix of serviceable high intangible guys, plus raw physical players. STR is an issue here, as well. You won't find a WR with 70STR, even though plenty of NFL roster guys will. And lots of generated CB's have high STR. Why is the max STR for WR 69, while CB seems to be around 85?

TE: Similar to HB. You can find serviceable guys, but don't expect to find the next Gronk or Jimmy Graham. Mostly vanilla stuff here.

OL/DL/LB: Mostly well done. You can find studs that come with different strengths. Strong guys, fast guys, smart guys, total package freak guys, etc. This accounts for a lot of players, so I'm glad these positions are dialed in well.

CB: Perhaps the most high powered position. Almost every class you can find a handful of future studs. Some need some grooming, some don't. But there's always a good amount of highly physical CB in every class. Again, not sure why CB's get up to 85STR when WR's get 20 below that.

S: A bit vanilla. Don't expect to find crazy physical players here. But overall pretty decent.

Great analysis. I've noticed similar aspects to the draft as you mentioned. It seems EA wanted to put more emphasis on scouting and producing fewer gems at certain positions.

I also noticed that CB's don't have high TAK ratings anymore in the draft. In the past, there were some CB's in the draft that made great safeties because of their high TAK, COV, BLK Shed and athletic attributes. And add in the fact that EA inserted certain drops in attributes when you switch a player to another position.

However, there are still gems at every position, even at safety, some are just really hard to find than others. I found a physical freak at strong safety, 6'3, 205 pounds, 90 SPD, 92 ACC, 89 AGI, 89 JMP, 84 STR, 75 CTH, 71 BLK Shed. His TAK is 67, the only draw back, but it can be improved rapidly because of their low cost XP. His skill set is reminiscent to Sean Taylor.

I also have three starting LB's, all have 90+ speed and jump ratings. Their ACC and AGI are in the high 80's, low 90's. Strong, solid COV skills too.

I also found a HB in another draft that had a 79 STR rating. His SPD and ACC ratings are all in the mid to high 80's, his AGI though is an 82. A classic power RB.

The trick to find these gems is to save your franchise before your final preseason game, sim it, then go to the regular season. Then make a separate save, but make sure not to oversave the original file. Then sim straight to the draft. Once there, go to the draft room and sim to the end of the draft. Then look at every roster and position you desire to see if that draft produced any star players in certain positions you desire because of need or want to develop for the future.

If you don't find them right away, go back to the preseason file, load it and restart the process. If you have the time and patience of course. Just a tip.

Now, even doing that, I have yet to find a near stud TE without it being required for him to do some game prep. That may be the hardest to find of all positions. But every other position, even safety, there are gems.

[Calinks]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

Has any of this been improved through updates? The dread thing is annoying, I think they should let us alter any physical appearance of any rookie to suit our tastes besides things that affect the game like height or weight.

I wish they also said the names of the players like NBA 2K does.

I wish there were a few more mega star game changing players now and then. They did a pretty good job of this but I think they could have dialed it up one more notch so we can get those super players.

[cusefan74]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

I am loving the draft classes and not knowing what they are. It just makes scouting so much more important.

Also I think it's funny everyone complaining about the dreads in the game this year. I mean a couple of years ago everyone was complaining because there wasn't any dreads in the game. Of course leave it to EA not only to add them, but to go way overboard with them like they did.

[il blood il]

Re: Madden 15 Draft Class Analysis

Alot of you guys are saying that TEs are the hardest position to find a stud...my opinion is that its all about how you use your TE...

For instance, i drafted a TE that is a 66 normal dev (not a stud right?) well hes 6'7 267lbs (gronk clone)..nobody can cover that size of a human being..

i have him for 6 seasons now and the worse he has done is 1367 yards...hes a pass only te all his blocking stats are terrible, awareness too

6 seasons in and hes now a superstar dev and a 93