Okay, shower me with wisdom. :D

Seriously though, I grabbed TE Leon Arana with my 1st Round Pick in the Top 10 of the Draft. I'm very confused as to how he lasted that long. I'll get to why in a moment.

So first let me ask, is TE 'Devalued' in this Game? Do they just not due much due to Game Design?

Now, on to WHY I'm confused about his Drop.

Conditioning: 15 Position EXP: 23
Max Speed: 98 Max Acceleration: 100
Strength: 99 Intelligence: 98
Discipline: 99 Pass Catching: 36/100
B&R Avoidance: 25/99 Route Running: 36/100
Pass Rec Courage: 98 Break Tackle: 80/100
Ball Carrying: 67/99 Avoid Fumble: 74/98
Run Blocking: 25/99 Pass Blocking: 25/99
Long Snapping: 15

So some obvious flaws... Conditioning 15, Long Snapping 15. Maybe I underestimate the ability of Conditioning, but I would assume this guy will still impact 20+ Plays a game? Obviously, he won't be my Long Snapper.

The things I'm looking at is his Dynamic STR/Speed Mix. As a Rookie he'll be hitting the field with 98 Speed, 100 Acceleration, 99 Strength. Add to that 98 Intelligence and 99 Discipline, with 98 Pass Rec Courage and he has the 'Intangibles'. Yet he STILL brings more as a Rookie in his 80/100 Break Tackle Ability.

So Day 1 he has Speed, Acceleration, Strength, Intelligence, Discipline and Pass Rec Courage all over 95 (well, 98 actually) and brings 80 Break Tackle Ability.

But then there is the Future as well.

Catching and Route Running, needed for a Down Field TE, CAN reach 100, as can his already established Break Tackle.

Ball Carrying and Avoid Fumble can reach 99 and 98.

Run Block and Pass Block can reach 99 each.

B&R Avoidance (what is this, by the way?) can reach 99.

The kid is Rated as being able to be a 90+ at 4 Different Positions (TE, FB, LG and LT) and 80+ at a Total of 9 (RG, RT, RB, C, WR).

It seems the only thing he's not able to Play at an 80+ on Offense is QB.

He just seems, to a first time player, to be a Special and Unique Player.

So... where did I go wrong in viewing him as a First Time Player? What are your thoughts on Leon Aranza, his Potential and his Versatility?

Don't be confused, going 8th pick overall really isn't that much of a drop. He's a stud for sure, but when teams have needs and can get a stud for those needs, guys like this can drop slightly. He wasn't going to be available long, you just happened to be the lucky recipient. Good luck this season.

Also, all players are out shape, he'll get his conditioning up in the pre-season. Don't sweat it, you got a killer TE!!

Yeah, I really liked the guy but needed a defensive back far more even if his overall was lower than that TE.

Thanks for the responses!

Glad to know I wasn't over looking something obvious that was going to kill this prospect. :D

If it makes you feel any better, I would have taken him with my pick but you took him the pick before me. Good pick...

The key to his overall development is NOT to play him very much, especially against San Diego.
;-)

Good luck with him.

We just faced off in Pre-Season.

Leon only had 1 Catch for 13 Yards but then I think it was his only Target.

I watched the game so I could try to see how the numbers translate to the system. It was looking like I had a huge pass rush going, especially at RDE, even though I couldn't close for sacks. Is this a by-product of decent Defensive Lineman or do you have lesser quality OL in terms of Strength? In the end, they did the job by keeping your QBs standing, but it seemed they were always rushed.