Madden 24 Drafting Guide: How to find stars in the draft

If you love to play Madden 24 franchise mode, one of the most crucial things is to draft top young players every offseason. Compared to previous Madden editions, the scouting system is much more sophisticated right now, and we will talk about it more in our Madden 24 drafting guide.

We’ll talk about how to scout players through the season, how to spot the best players, and last but not least, how to work the draft via trades.

This guide will be separated into multiple different parts so that you can get a good grasp of it. We’re sure that our guide will help and you will implement everything you learn here.

Madden 24 Drafting Guide: How to scout players through the season

First of all, you need to set your priorities. You have to know what your team needs. For instance, if you have a young quarterback already on your roster, don’t draft a QB, especially not in the early rounds of the NFL Draft. It’s vital to prioritize a specific position your team is thinnest at. Whether it’s a monster pass rusher or a lockdown cornerback if a specific player is going to improve your team immediately, do not hesitate to select him.

As we mentioned earlier, the scouting system is improved in Madden 24. First, you need to know how to hire scouts. Scouting plays a massive part in franchise mode, particularly if you’re going through a rebuild. If you have set your eyes on a certain player, make sure he is 100% scouted in order to determine what his overall rating will be.

Note that every player in the draft will start with “Projection”. It projects where the player will end after the draft, but it does nothing to do with his overall rating. After the player is 100% scouted, you will know better about his overall rating because his “Talent” rating will appear.

Still, bear in mind that this “Talent” rating will reveal nothing more than the player’s overall rating. The seven different “Talent” ratings are explained below:

• Top 5: 76+ Overall
• Round 1: 74-76 Overall
• Round 1-2: 72-73 Overall
• Round 2-3: 69-71 Overall
• Round 3-4: 68-69 Overall
• Day 3: 65-67 Overall
• UDFA: 64 and below Overall

Although the difference between a Round 3-4 prospect and a Round 1-2 prospect might sound big. In reality, it isn’t. For instance, you spot a wide receiver with 95 speed, but he is among Round 3-4 prospects. On the other hand, another receiver is in the Round 1-2 group but has 90 speed. Normally, you’d go with the former one and select a player from another position in earlier rounds of the draft.

How to spot the best players

We continue our Madden 24 drafting guide with the inevitable individual rating. Every Madden fan knows that speed is the most important individual rating for each position. The 40-yard dash and speed ratings will determine the speed of any player in the draft. In Madden 24, we have two different 40-yard dash times: Combine and Pro Day.

Thanks to the 40-yard dash ratings, you will get a better idea of speed, even though it will not help you predict an overall rating.

The next is the 3-cone drill. It will help to determine the player’s acceleration and agility ratings. What everyone needs to know on a practical level is explained here in a simple way.

For example, a player has 90 acceleration and 90 agility. That player will always record a 3-cone drill time of around 6.90 seconds. Of course, a player with 99 acceleration and 99 agility will have a much better 3-cone drill time (around 6.47 seconds).

Now, the 20-yard shuttle takes agility and change of direction into account, but it’s very similar to a 3-cone drill. That said, a player with 99 agility and a change of direction rating will need 3.81-3.82 seconds to finish a 20-yard shuttle. A combination of a 20-yard shuttle and a 3-cone drill is important. Let’s say you’re scouting a player with the best result in a 20-yard shuttle, but he is 10th in a 3-cone drill. That means he will have more agility and less acceleration.

Let’s continue our Madden 24 drafting guide with vertical jump and jump rating. The vertical jump is directly related to the jump rating of your player. This is crucial when selecting wide receivers or defensive backs in the Madden 24 draft. Here is what you can expect when players go through the combine:

• 43 inches or more = 99 jump
• 42-42.9 inches = 97-98 jump
• 40-41.9 inches = 93-96 jump
• 38-40 inches = 90-93 jump
• 37-37.9 inches = 88-89 jump
• 35-36.9 inches = 85-87 jump
• 32.5-34.9 inches = 80-84 jump

Another thing you must take into consideration when spotting the best players in the draft is strength and bench press.

Let’s say a player with 85 Strength will do between 29 and 33 bench press reps. If a player does 45 or 46 bench press reps, you know he will have 99 Strength. This is important for multiple positions, mainly for offensive and defensive linemen.

How to work the draft via trades

We conclude our Madden 24 drafting guide with this section. Never be scared of switching your draft position. After a thorough scouting and research, you can predict which players will go higher and lower in the draft. It’s pretty much about the feeling and your interest in a certain player/position.

When it comes to trades for draft picks, if your franchise is going through a rebuild, you’d trade your star players for future picks. That way you’ll get picks in the early rounds, and you’ll be ready to successfully begin a rebuild.

Following the draft, you can check if your player(s) have Superstar or X-Factor traits. Here, you can see which players have these traits in Madden 24.