Okay, so I’ve been diving deep into the world of NFL lately, and I got this idea to build my own mock draft simulator. I’m calling it the “NFL Mock Draft Creator” – pretty original, huh? I wanted to see if I could actually put together something that would let me play GM for a day.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed data. You can’t really do a mock draft without knowing about the players, right? So, I spent a good chunk of time just gathering information. I mean, I was looking at player stats, college performance, team needs – the whole nine yards. It was a bit overwhelming, to be honest, lots and lots of spreadsheets.
The Build
I started messing around with some basic coding stuff. Nothing too fancy, just trying to create a simple interface where I could select teams and players. I wanted something that felt intuitive, you know? Like, even if you weren’t a coding whiz, you could still use it.
I used some basic ways to structure the draft order. I went the simple route – just the standard order based on last season’s records. No trades, no complicated scenarios, just straight-up picking.
Adding Some “Smarts”
This is where it got a bit tricky. I wanted the simulator to have some level of “intelligence.” Like, it shouldn’t let you pick a quarterback for a team that already has a superstar QB. It should, based on needs, be able to pick for the CPU. So, I started putting in some rules, some basic “if-then” statements. For example, “if team needs a wide receiver, and this highly-rated wide receiver is available, pick him.”
Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
Lots of trial and error here. I ran the simulator, like, a million times. Sometimes it would do something completely bonkers, like having a team draft five quarterbacks in a row. Back to the drawing board! I had to tweak the rules, fix the bugs, and keep refining the logic.
My Draft Results
- First few picks: I keep getting some good players.
- Rounds 3 and 4: Starting to get a little trickier.
- End of Draft: Feeling pretty proud, finished up with something that, kind of looks like, you know, a normal mock draft.
Still a Work in Progress
It’s nowhere near perfect. It’s still pretty basic, but it’s functional. It’s cool to see how the choices I make affect the rest of the draft. I am going to try to make it a little more advanced, maybe add some player rankings, some team strategy profiles. But for now, it’s a fun little project that lets me pretend I’m running an NFL team. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll actually make it smart enough to predict the real draft!