[Hammock Parties]

Looks like developing a team is going to be a LOT harder.

Dev traits

In terms of XP and progression, Normal is the new Slow, Quick is the new Normal, Star is the new Quick and Superstar is still Superstar. But this isn't the case for the draft classes themselves. From what I've observed, the following is the approximate breakdown of dev traits in a generated class of rookies:

Around 35-50 Quick dev players (mainly in round 1)

Around 10-15 Star dev players

Up to about 5 Superstar dev players

Everyone else Normal dev (approx. 150-170 players)

So this is the equivalent of the majority of the draft class having Slow dev in previous years. I actually think this is a good move as it will reward good play with more changes to dynamic dev at the end of the season, but I would also argue it makes getting young players of even greater significance: a 21 year old has 5 years to get himself from normal dev to something with a chance of progression, while a 24 year old has a very short window.

It's also going to make devving late round prospects harder, as they will need to be playing in order to get a dev trait and progress properly. The age old tactic of drafting young, athletic middle and late rounders and 'redshirting' them will be less effective this year.

Scouting dev traits is harder

As you'll see when I release the new version of the scouting dev traits infographic, it's now a lot harder to predict dev traits using draft stories. The stories are more varied (with fewer Madden News items and more Tweets) and there are now no guaranteed dev stories. Your Heisman winners, All Star MVPs, Sons of Coaches and Rugby Converts are no longer guaranteed superstars. And many of the previously very positive stories (such as good performances at the combine or Pro Day) sometimes result in a reduction of dev trait, rather than an increase.

My working theory (which I need more time and data to validate) is that some stories result in a 'dice roll' for development, which has different odds of landing on a good/bad trait depending on the nature and positivity of the story. Other stories will still be only for 'colour' and have no effect on dev. Watch this space on this one, but it's fair to say that my infographic is going to be less useful this year!

Scheme fit is king

Needing to find players that fit your scheme is going to make scouting very interesting. You may find that you're waiting several years for a good prospect who's a good scheme fit at a certain position, and having to fit square pegs into round holes in the interim, to the detriment of your team.

But there's also opportunity: if you are using a scheme that results in you needing players of an archetype that few other teams utilise, you can pick up draft bargains due to less demand for those players. Additionally, if you're smart enough to know the attributes and traits that make a player effective in a scheme that isn't their default archetype, then you can draft the right conversion prospects that your rivals might miss.

Combine is king for O line

With all the new blocking attributes, it's getting harder to predict how good offensive linemen will be. This means the combine (particularly bench press) is paramount for these guys. I'd even go as far as to say it's not worth unlocking more than one skill on any O lineman until after the combine, such is the importance of the bench skill (look for guys with at least 30 reps).

Broad Jump... What does it do?

Speaking of the combine, I can now confirm categorically that the Broad Jump does.... absolutely nothing. EA have claimed in the past that it factors into STR and AGI ratings, but this is false. It does nothing to any physical attribute. 40 time indicates speed, 3 cone indicates acceleration, shuttle indicates agility, vertical indicates jump and bench indicates strength, but the broad is utterly pointless.

You'll be glad to know I won't need you to capture it in the new version of the scouting tool.

Red diamonds

By virtue of being able to edit draft classes, I've now finally confirmed exactly what the red diamonds mean. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's tied directly to OVR, and where a player ranks within the class in terms of Madden's true talent evaluation. A player's talent grade won't drop from early to middle or late within rounds, but will drop a whole round if they get a red diamond (e.g. from 1E to 2E, or 3L to 5L).

The overall ratings associated with a talent grade will vary by class, but they will be something along the lines of:

1st round talent: >77 OVR

2nd round talent: 75-76 OVR

3rd round talent: 74 OVR

4th round talent: 73 OVR

5th round talent: 71-72 OVR

6th round talent: 70 OVR

7th round talent: 69 OVR

Undrafted talent: <69 OVR

As I said, this will vary by class. I did some analysis on draft classes in M18 and there's a fair amount of variance in quality, particularly in rounds 1 and 2, but things tend to converge after that and it's much of a muchness. So a 2M talent grade on a 1M projection could be disastrous in one class, but a chance to nab a bargain in another. Keep track of the quality of players in the first round, as this will indicate the trend for the talent ratings of red diamonds.

Quarterbacks

With all the new QB attributes, it's likely they're going to be the hardest position to scout. The result of the extra attributes is also that there are bigger differences between their abilities in different schemes, so scheme fit is paramount for QBs (I would argue your QB's abilities should dictate the scheme for the rest of your offense). I haven't done too much research on QBs yet, but they look like they could be quite tough to scout thanks to all the extra attributes.

The 4-3 Run Stopper DE to DT convert tactic is dead(ish)

My favourite draft tactic of moving a big, strong run stopper DE to DT may be dead, as they've nerfed the run stopping DEs now. Such a shame (for me, selfishly). I used to pick up projected undrafted dudes in the middle and late rounds and convert them to ~78 OVR DTs. But looks like that won't be possible any more.