Okay, so I’ve been seeing a lot of these AI mock drafts popping up for the 2024 NFL season, and I got curious. Could AI really predict something as chaotic as the NFL draft? I decided to give it a shot myself, and, well, it was a bit of a journey.
Getting Started (and Getting Confused)
First, I needed an AI. I’m no coder, so I looked for some readily available tools. I stumbled upon a few websites and platforms that claimed to do AI-powered mock drafts. Most of them were pretty simple – you put in some basic parameters (like which team you want to focus on, maybe some positional needs), and it spits out a prediction.
I started playing around with these. I entered, “My team, the, uh… let’s say the ‘Fighting Squirrels’,” (don’t judge, I was making it up!), needed a quarterback and a wide receiver, badly.” I hit enter, and waited.
The First Few Attempts…
The results? Let’s just say they were…interesting. One tool gave me a quarterback who, according to my quick Google search, was a projected undrafted free agent. Another gave me a wide receiver who was actually a tight end in college. Okay, so maybe these free tools weren’t exactly cutting-edge.
I realized I needed to get a bit more serious. I dug around, found some forums discussing this kind of thing, and someone mentioned using a specific sports data platform (I won’t name names, no free ads here!) and pairing it with a more general-purpose AI model. Sounded complicated, but I was determined.
Diving Deeper (and Feeling Smarter)
This was definitely more involved. I had to sign up for a trial of the sports data platform, which gave me access to a ton of stats, player profiles, scouting reports – way more information than I knew what to do with. Then, I had to figure out how to get this data into the AI model. It involved exporting files, converting formats… honestly, I felt like a real tech whiz for a few minutes there (even if I was mostly just following instructions).
I spent a good chunk of time tweaking the parameters. Instead of just saying “quarterback needed,” I was inputting things like “need a QB with a strong arm, good pocket presence, and a history of accurate deep throws.” I felt like a real general manager!
The “Final” Mock Draft
Finally, I ran the model. This time, the results were much more reasonable. The AI suggested a quarterback who was actually projected to go in the first or second round, and the wide receiver was, well, a wide receiver! It even gave me a breakdown of why it chose those players, based on the data I fed it.
Here’s what the mock draft looked like (simplified, of course):
- Round 1, Pick 12: QB – John “The Cannon” Doe (From a big-name college)
- Round 2, Pick 44: WR – Speedy McFastington (Another solid college player)
- Round 3, Pick 76:…and add other players that fill in other positions.
My Takeaways
So, can AI do a mock draft? Sort of. The free tools are fun, but not super reliable. With more effort and the right tools, you can get a much more realistic prediction, but it still felt like… well, a prediction. There’s no way to account for the human element, the last-minute trades, the surprise picks that nobody saw coming.
It was a cool experiment, though! I learned a lot about how these AI models work, and it definitely made me think about the draft in a different way. Would I rely on this to win my fantasy league? Probably not. But it was a fun way to spend a few hours, and I feel a little bit smarter now. Maybe next year, I’ll try predicting the entire draft!