Draft

The draft happens once a year, at the start of the offseason, right after the championship game. It has seven rounds. Teams pick in order of how their season went: the worst regular season record first, then the playoff teams by how far they got, and the champion last.

Every prospect runs a combine first, and the page lists it beside each pick: the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill and shuttle, plus the scouts' grade. Scouts can misjudge a prospect by a few points, so a high grade is a good guess and not a promise. Steals and busts are part of the draft.

Each team has a draft style that stays the same from year to year, shown with its class grades: best player available, need first, athletes and youth. A team that fills needs first can pass on a better player at another position.

The draft airs like a game. It starts when the season rolls over, the picks appear one at a time over about 30 minutes, and the page refreshes itself while it runs. A pick that has not aired is shown nowhere, not even in the player list on the compare page, so nobody learns a team's pick early.

When the last pick is in, every team gets a class grade: A, B+, B, C+, C, D and F. It compares the scouting grades of the players a team took with what the same slots usually bring. An A means 2 grade points or more above that on average, and an F means more than 2 below. The number in brackets is that gap.

Drafted players join their team's training camp, where the cut to the season roster is made (see the training camp guide). A free agent that no team signs enters the next draft.

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