(12-17-2019, 03:23 PM)pirkster Wrote:

(06-03-2019, 07:26 PM)Bullseye Wrote: (Emphasis added)

I had to return to this post because of a recent development I had playing the game.

Ordinarily, I avoid the red scores, too.

However, in a most recent draft, my entire draft board had been taken and I was on the clock at the bottom of the 5th round.

There was a receiver projected to an early 3rd round grade, but who, after scouting had a red score of a 5th round grade. 

When I looked, he had the fastest 40 time of all of the receivers, with a 4.27, so I drafted him.

Taking him at the bottom of the 5th made him a "good pick" in terms of overall value, as determined by the game.

Trying him out in preseason was amazing.  His 4.27 40 speed translated into a 96 speed rating, which made him the fastest receiver on the Jaguars roster-two faster than Chark, who has a 94 speed rating. 

He has been unstoppable in preseason-even getting deep separation on go routes-so much so I am looking to trade away or cut Marqise Lee.

**Note: these comments apply to Madden 20, where some of the comments above by me were from the previous year's version**

Oh, yes you certainly get good value out of a red score player!

The drawback is that these players will show very slow progression over their career.  So, they can make a great short term fit.

One thing I've noticed is that it's much harder to plug in non-scheme fit guys than in the past.  A fantastic player out of position won't progress as well as they should if they aren't a fit.  So, I look for crossover players who are initially non fit who change to a fit player after you change their position.

A couple examples... an agility fit on the OL can change to another agility fit (I usually move RT into the interior line that are also agility fit in my playbook.)  Also in my playbook, LE and DT are both run stoppers, so they can swap positions without losing scheme fit.  Ditto all three LB positions, a draft light in any of these positions I can move players in these silos around to strengthen a weak draft/roster without losing scheme fit.  I recently moved a non-fit physical WR to vertical threat TE to make a non-fit player a scheme fit at the new position.

I did notice that scheme fit players seem to raise their play and the team's play on Madden 20 moreso, and is a bigger impact more than changing playbooks up than in past years.  If you're rebuilding a team or insist on a certain playbook - I find fitting players to scheme is paramount to anything else.  Sure, if you build up a superstar into the 90s they will fit anything well enough.  But season over season you'll have to replace them eventually with a fit.  So, if you prefer a playbook as a coach your first priority is to swap out non fits for fits as soon as possible.  The biggest advantage to scheme fit is that they get more progression/training boost, where non fits get zero coaching boost bonus above normal training.

On the player replacement topic, I've noticed that unfortunately you don't get the value you used to in trade, even for top players.  Which, I guess makes it more realistic than in the past.  I'm a heavy trader when players get to their third contract (usually around age 30, 31 unless it's a QB I don't think I can immediately replace and/or they are not losing rating due to age yet, QBs can go to 34 or so) and I've run into situations where I hit the pick limit.  Your trades get rejected if you reach the yearly maximum.  I typically have the max number of picks every other year.  At the end of drafts, I find sometimes my board is empty of draft worthy players by the sixth round.  Trading sixth and seventh round players can sometimes get you fifth rounders in future drafts.  So, I tend to hit my max often - which limits me when I get into the season and prefer to trade starters looking for an expensive extension who have a backup starter in waiting behind them.  I unfortunately have to let them walk at the end of season if I'm at the max number of draft picks.  Sometimes I'll have to cut a good old player in cutdowns so a player I just drafted will get experience and develop faster - works out in the long run for that player's advanced progression.

As in real life, with me running the Jaguars draft, I have found drafting a credible, game changing TE to be a tough find.  Usually, the TEs I am in a position to draft have high ratings, but pedestrian speed.  If I stick to scheme fit players, they typically make little to no impact.  The one time there was a potential impact TE, there was an impact player along the line that was better.

Most recently, I found a solution.  In the drafts, there is no shortage of big receivers in the 3rd rounds range around 6-4, 235 lbs or so.  I scouted them, found one that ran at a sub 4.5 range and converted him to TE.  I made him my 2nd TE behind Oliver, who developed nicely over 3 seasons.  It opened a whole new world.  Aspects of the offense I never used-targets on specific plays, or actual plays themselves-now became available.  While he needed a little development, he has been nothing but a matchup nightmare for defenses.  Not ten games into the season, he has already scored 13 TDs, including four in his first reg season game.  For the first time using Jaguars personnel red zone passing has been a viable option.  The flat in the stick plays is now an option in the red zone, as is play action.  Red zone or not, the 3 TE set jet plays are unstoppable without a dominant pass rusher exploiting my tackles.

Of all of the possible position switches you could do, I would highly recommend the big receiver to TE.  Conversely, in all of my years of playing Madden games, I have never seen a pass rushing OLB make a successful transition to putting his hand on the ground.

---