Lately I have been reading about how players weight fluctuates and how it can be manipulated with position changes. I've changed players around the depth chart before, but not with the intent of having them gain/lose weight. Gonna try it with some of my draftees and figured I'd share the progress, or lack thereof.

Buddy Revell https://theefl.myfootballnow.com/player/4201

Drafted as a LB out of Maryland, he enters camp at 6'1" 246 lbs. I am moving him to RDE, grooming him to take over for 11 year vet Bobby Curry.

Craig Mattey https://theefl.myfootballnow.com/player/4085

Mattey was a WR at UNLV but he has max strength and strong run blocking, not to mention he's already 204 lbs, a little heavy for WR so I'm moving him to TE.

Jerry Steiner https://theefl.myfootballnow.com/player/4122

Steiner played CB at Weber St. but he isn't all that fast and has almost no coverage skills. Normally I would just cut this guy now and move on, but why not experiment first? About the only things he has going for him are tackle ability, stripping the ball and pass rush so I'm going to see if he can add some weight to his 209 lb frame and become a DE.

Just for what it maybe worth, in other leagues in the past, I have had some success in drafting LBS that were a bit heavy (260ish +++) and beefing them up into good D-lineman. However, they had decent D-line skills to start with that had to help. ( str., pass rush, tackle, etc.)

I often move guys around, also. The last couple seasons, I have moved a couple fast TE's to RB's. It takes about 1/2 to 3/4 of a season, but once they get there, they do well if they have the right attributes. The 2 I've converted started slowly as their weight came down. One thing to remember, as their weight goes down, their SP and ACC improve (and visa versa).

I was looking at your guy Mattey. Once he gets to weight, I think he would make a good FB too. Good run blocking, and decent catch and route.

I just drafted James Carraway. He is 6'3" 289 lbs RDE. If I move him to a LB position, he loses about 14 lbs, because cover skills are incredible! M2M 98/Zone 80/Tackle Ability 84/Strength 86. Only downfall is: Max Speed 71/Acceleration 66. According to my info, Carraway would gain about 3 points if he loses the 14 pts.
On the other hand, if I play him at CB, he will lose close to 100 lbs and, theoretically, gain 20 pts, right? However, I'm thinking if a player loses a 100 lbs, it would be detrimental to his health and ratings, right?
Or I could have him gain 11 lbs and play him at DT. He would be slower but he would be a great run stopper.
Maybe he's too tall to play CB or LB?
I've never tried this before so I'm asking all the MFN gurus out there for some advice, please.
Thanks

To start; most of the players I draft go through massive weight changes. Especially the later round picks. I will touch on your questions and to go into my strategy along with what part of algorithm I am using to manipulate outcomes. There’s probably many strategies out there guys use.

First, Experience plays a roll so I would find out which position he’d get the most snaps at despite possible speed deficiencies due to being too heavy or too light at that immediate time .

Second, If the player is not max attributes yet, then I let his skill deficiencies dictate which position to switch to. Like play him at DL till he’s gets into the 250-260 pound range then switch to LB as his cover skills mature. (We do have position blocks in this league…this is new to me so their are certain restrictions active here..I just don’t what they are)

Note. This same LB I might make into a DB at some point, and oddly enough as he ages the switching back to DL may take place just to extend the threshold of when physical attributes begin to decline.

Strategy: Your defensive game plan dictates the plays call depending what the offense calls. These plays have very specific roles and responsibilities which may require different ratings and weight ranges. Like If my SLB never covers then he doesn’t need coverage skills. Or on the other side of the ball, If my RB never pass blocks and so on…

I love speed but my schemes have a place for a player like this. The interesting part is…what random roll did this player get when concerning weight change. This is what would limit him from playing DB and LB. Generally you can get a feel of his trending weight after training camp.

Note. For camp, I will switch a guy to the lightest position to get the max weight loss advantage and lose out on experience . Thats if weight is that much of a concern at the moment.

Don’t forget that the position he holds at camp will get the best benefits at position experience. Also, the position he’s getting snaps at he will gain additional experience and there. To a limited extent His coaches grow his skill ratings.

Next: Weight has effects on health two ways: endurance and injury. Smaller guys are supposed to be more injury prone and bigger guys have lower endurance. Being really tired, being currently injured, and the Conditioning rating plays a minor role in how injuries happen.

Note: i pay minor attention to players health (only like effects on speed. Bad leg injury for a DB) in this league because the injury level is low here.

Next: This goes to others things I found not to matter much…and that is height. There is calculations in the passing code but I don’t see it being anything to look at heavily. Also there may be nothing coded in that scenario yet though logically you think it’s valuable.

Next: As for determining the future speed rating (and also the acceleration rating changes a bit), from what I seen the numbers change 1 point for every 7 pounds. IMO This is an average perhaps not 100% accurate.

I like to think of max speed at say 276. That is 84. At 300 it’s 80 and your guy is a 71. To me, it’s like he’s faster than 78-80% of players and n his weight class. That is my general threshold for LB and DB speed for specialize roles.

This is where the fun comes in. A bad roll(his frame limits him from gaining or losing a lot of weight) and He may end up being a versatile DL or a real heavy LB. OR My bets are he could make it to a Safety s weight. If he has good B&R , I could use him in nickle dime situations and a FS. Though it could take 2.5-3 years to complete that massive of weight change. Risky imo but I like risks!

My MLB is stuck at 253lbs, it’s a little heavy despite his 87 speed or whatever it is. He’s at WLB right now. A current LB and S have had massive weight change successes but they are specialists. A general rule you can get 50 pounds of change. 100 is rare but I am pretty sure I have a lot of 75s

Side note: Honestly, I think a players weight should be locked, or rarely change. and certain physical characteristics should matter more because in reality I am just predicting future numbers. It’s an odd thing to game but this is literally my draft strategy especially in weak drafts or later rounds. Not everyone likes to do math and they shouldn’t have to.

Final, I always evaluate players at what weight in pounds they’ll trend to. A wr at 217 at the draft is way different than one at 181. Both will be 198 eventually but the 217 will be faster. This is rolled pre-generation: where a player is garnering his Weight in pounds, and then there’s another roll for how much his weight in pounds will change over time. I think this is based his, hidden,’what JDB calls “frame”rating

To me, For DL I like 100s for pass rush and run defense so perhaps I can’t use your guy on the DL, But he sounds good enough there. As a LB I think that’s a better bet for me but like the said I want him at DB so he think this would come down to a win now or tank scenario.’cause if you cut him I would pick him up, depending his B&R, as My LB depth has plenty of reserves that could let him develop if needed. We have been in win mode almost every season. Well…try to make the playoffs and be competitive, but…. We only make it to the playoffs and I don’t scout games or nothing. So you get what you give.

On the other hand, I have a LB that did everything quickly and he’s been at SLB and now WLB. I thought of moving him to DB and still might do it. IMO, this stuff is so situational. Another LB started at a similar weight as your guy, but no pass rush or run defense so we will not start him on DL. So we made him LB and in one seasons Easily reached weight and 75 or 77 speed. But your guy sounds more well rounded. My guy a bit more athletic. Still similar; I think my guy stared at 298 pounds now 253. Hopefully he loses 10 more pounds this year but idk.

These are all examples of guys I wasn’t sure if the predicted weight changes would pan out. Feels like most do especially if they are within two positions weight ranges. Three is pretty common but I have no data to back that up. If you look at it this way DT,DE,MLB,OLB,S,CB. Jumping from DT to CB and is rare but seen it. They just may have been a light DT and end up a slightly heavier CB.

Personally, this seasons draft, for some reason I was unable to navigate the old and new sites war room. So all my guys are auto drafted. Can’t wait to see who the CPU picked. Probably change position…good luck applying this strategy as I can’t think of not doing it for talent acquisitions.

Thanks! So much good info here.

Thanks again for giving me tips on this subject and taking the time to do it. I look forward to giving this info a try. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!!! GL this season, Merry Christmas, and have a fantastic New Year!!!

Thanks, Anytime! I amgoing to see if I can get a RB to G. Enjoy the holiday!