Madden is one of the most popular sports games on the market, and the franchise mode becomes more fun every year, the more upgrades EA makes to the game mode. The best part about franchise mode is starting your team with a fantasy draft and building your team any way you want to. One of the keys to the game is drafting a young team so you can keep your core players together for a long time. Rookies and guys in their second or third years with higher development traits tend to be some of the best players in the game in the long run. With that being said, let’s look at five rookies that have the potential to become 99 overalls.
Saquon Barkley
Barkley is going to be a lot of fun to use, I would bet he ends up as the highest rated rookie in the class, starting off around an 83 or 84 overall with superstar development. He will definitely have a lot of highly rated traits, and while most people don’t run the ball a lot playing Madden, you might want to do some more of it with Barkley on your team. He also isn’t a bad pass catcher, so try setting up some screens with him. Barkley will also have a great speed and strength rating which will make him that much more fun to use.
Quenton Nelson
Nelson could be an anchor on your offensive line for 15 seasons. If Barkley somehow doesn’t end up as the highest, it will be Quenton Nelson. He’ll probably have the best stats out of any rookie, with all his blocking stats probably in the low 80’s. He’ll have a great strength rating, and he’ll be very easy to run behind and he’ll be a solid pass blocker. He will probably have superstar development too, so it’ll be very easy to upgrade him, especially in his first few seasons.
Josh Allen
This might be the toughest guy to develop on the list. It’s hard to tell what EA is going to put his development trait at, it might vary off of when he gets drafted. His accuracy ratings are going to be pretty low to start, but if you start him from day one and surround him with good receivers, you’ll be off to a good start. For the first few games, only throw underneath passes and try to break off RAC yards. The stats might not look pretty, but it’s all about gaining XP. Try to break a few records with him, get as much XP as possible so you can upgrade his accuracy. By year two or three, he’ll be an elite quarterback. The biggest reason to be excited about Allen is his arm strength, it should be similar to Pat Mahomes’ 97 rating.
Bradley Chubb
Chubb is the best pass rusher in the class. He proved it during his final year at NC State, now teams and scouts are drooling over him, you should be too. He’s drawn comparisons to last year’s first overall pick Myles Garrett, who started Madden 18 rated at 83 overall with superstar development. Chubb will have great intangible ratings, along with his skills. He should develop quickly and smoothly, especially if you make sure to use him specifically when you’re on defense.
Tremaine Edmunds
This young linebacker is going to be very interesting. His ratings might be a little low to start, but he has a lot of potential. He doesn’t turn 20 until a week after the NFL Draft, so there’s a lot of time to work with him. He’s big, strong and a great tackler, but his awareness and play IQ ratings might be low to start. Luckily, these are the easiest fixes in Madden, and Edmunds has the potential to be a great player for a long time.
DJ Chark
Who? Unless you’re a draft buff or an LSU fan, you might not have heard of this speedy receiver. Chark set the mark at the combine this year with his 4.32 40 yard dash. While that wasn’t close to enough to beat John Ross and the all-time record of 4.22 from last year, this should be enough to give Chark at least a 95-speed rating. This will make him very easy to use, especially on streaks and screens where he can get into open space. If his catch rating is even somewhat decent, Chark will be a fun player to use.
