Talent DNA by Bill Orr← Analysis

How to use Talent DNA

From export to
recruitment insight.

A practical six-step workflow for creating a fair cohort, reading the profile and identifying players worth deeper review.

Typical workflowUploadFilterAnalyseValidate

The workflow

Six steps. Better context.

Talent DNA helps structure a recruitment conversation. It does not replace tactical judgement, video review, medical information or live scouting.

01

Prepare the Wyscout export

Run a player search in Wyscout for your selected season and export it as .xlsx or .csv. It is best to include all positions so Talent DNA can create every positional cohort from the same file. Keep Player and Minutes played; include Position and Age so every cohort filter is available.

More performance columns produce a richer role profile.
02

Upload it securely

Drop the export onto the Talent DNA upload area or choose it from your device. The file is read inside your browser and is never uploaded to Talent DNA.

Any missing or unusual columns are reported immediately.
03

Define a fair cohort

Set minimum and maximum minutes, age range and positional group. These filters determine which peers are used for every percentile and Rating.

Use a focused positional group and a meaningful minutes threshold.
04

Read the overview

Select a player to see their identity card, core radar, strongest traits, relative weaknesses and cohort distribution. The cohort definition sits directly beneath the Rating.

Treat the Rating as context for investigation—not a final verdict.
05

Explore the percentiles

Open Percentiles for the full role-specific profile and specialist radars. Expand or collapse categories to focus on the parts of the role you are assessing.

Hover the question marks and profile rows for metric details.
06

Compare and rate

Use Comparison to rank one metric across the cohort. Open Rating to rank the filtered group by Rating, minutes or market value, then select another player for review.

Validate statistical outliers with live or video scouting.

Reading the output

What the numbers mean

83rd percentile

The player’s raw value is equal to or higher than 83% of valid players in the active cohort.

Rating 72

The rounded average of the player’s available core metric percentiles for the current role and cohort.

n = 28

Twenty-eight players remain after the active minutes, age and position filters.

Good practice

Before making a recommendation

  1. 01Confirm the cohort reflects the real recruitment brief.
  2. 02Check that the player has enough minutes and valid data.
  3. 03Review raw values alongside percentiles.
  4. 04Use video to understand role, team style and game state.
  5. 05Record risks and counter-evidence, not only strengths.
Bill Orr

About the creator

Built by Bill Orr.
Free for the football community.

Talent DNA was created to make Wyscout exports easier to explore, explain and share. Use it freely, keep the attribution, and follow development on @TheBillOrr.

Ready to start?

Build your first recruitment board.

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