Madden NFL 17 News Post

Undrafted Free Agents Change the Game, But Not As Much in Madden

12:18 PM - May 18, 2016 by RaychelSnr

Quick, name the best undrafted free agent you've ever signed in Madden who turned out to be a superstar with a greater than 90ovr rating.

While most all undrafted players who sign contracts will never amount to more than a transient practice squad member, sometimes franchises hit pay-dirt on undrafted free agents.

Take these names: John Randle, Kurt Warner, Warren Moon, Wes Welker, Tony Romo.

This year's undrafted free agent class includes names like Trevone Boykin, Jack Allen, Devon Cajuste, Darius Latham, Jeremy Cash, and Brian Poole.

Somewhere, one of these undrafted players (or another not listed) will make a big impact on the league. And yet, it feels as if this crucial aspect of roster building just has never really been represented well in Madden NFL.

I can remember a couple of times I found some real value in this period -- but it feels like its never been represented as well as it could in the Madden NFL series.

As a former GM puts it, "The John Randle time" is a crucial time for franchises to choose paths which may alter a team's course for years:

Quote:


	"We�re talking about players like quarterbacks Trevone Boykin and Jake Coker in Seattle and Arizona, respectively; linebacker Jeremy Cash in Carolina and Gronk's little brother, fullback Glenn Gronkowski, in Buffalo. Each NFL team has filled out its roster by signing approximately 25 of these undrafted free agents to minimum-salary deals with modest signing bonuses, mostly in the $5,000-to-$10,000 range. These players are true underdogs who must compete with veterans in minicamps and OTAs as they prepare for training camp and battles for roster spots."

So what about you? Do you have any stories of picking up undrafted free agents who turned out to be superstars? What do you think Madden could do to represent 'John Randle Time' better for franchises?

Game: Madden NFL 17Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 17 - View All

Member Comments

# 21 Kwarren3 @ 05/18/16 07:05 PM

I always check free agency after the draft for several things: really fast WR's/HB's, fast LB's, Tall WR with decent catch, and strong DT's. It's always fun to have 1 or 2 developmental guys on the roster. I wish I would have grabbed a screenshot of transactions to prove it, but somehow an 84 overall OLB went undrafted in my Vikings franchise. It was in my 5th season so I already had Barr into high 90's, Kendricks in high 80's and had drafted a guy the year before. But of course I signed him anyway.

# 22 MAGboyswifT27 @ 05/18/16 07:17 PM

I never thought about this concept while playing Madden. It'd be very interesting for EA to get deep into the NFL world. It could be possible in the future...

# 23 Aggies7 @ 05/18/16 09:13 PM

I would love to see a UDFA pool as a stage after the draft. Obviously low rated players but have a few with Superstar progression. Everyone once in awhile you hit the lottery with a 60 overall with Superstar progression. But then again that would lead to the need for practice squads and a progression system for them

# 24 garnettfan @ 05/18/16 10:33 PM

thats because they go by numeric ratings instead of potential,skill set,system fit,and player drive thats why i never like the numbers rating

# 25 garnettfan @ 05/18/16 10:34 PM

thats because they go by numeric ratings instead of potential,skill set,system fit,and player drive thats why i never like the numbers rating

# 26 NeuroDuck @ 05/18/16 11:57 PM

I found a rookie DT that was 80 overall in free agency. I think he is now 83-84 and pretty decent.

# 27 rangerrick012 @ 05/19/16 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HenryClay1844


	Does any game represent this well? Does any game represent the draft bust well either? Look at the Leicester City team and Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. I guarantee you if you went to FIFA 13 and signed Mahrez from Le Harve you couldn't make him a superstar. Do your first round draft picks ever bust in Madden? I've haven't played it in years.

Nfl head Coach 09 as others have said represented this perfectly. If you franchise heads never played that game it's definitely worth the $5 or so it must be by now to pick it up. A hidden gem of last gen.

# 28 khaliib @ 05/19/16 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HenryClay1844


	Does any game represent this well? Does any game represent the draft bust well either? Look at the Leicester City team and Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. I guarantee you if you went to FIFA 13 and signed Mahrez from Le Harve you couldn't make him a superstar. Do your first round draft picks ever bust in Madden? I've haven't played it in years.

There are a lot of mechanisms being utilized inside of CFM, but so many people become fixated on nitpicking the game, there by, becoming stuck in the mud year after year, no matter what is implemented/done or the efforts devs extend to the community.

This mindset is cancerous and you can easily find yourself being stuck in the same pit if not careful.

With that, there is a "Bust" factor that generates in draft classes.
Many of the players from "Major" schools run this risk vs those from smaller schools as higher draft grades are given to them over those from small schools, just like in real life.

But again, if you allow yourself to get stuck in the mud pit, you won't find yourself coming across such info even though it's available.

Another example is the Player OVR.

Even though it's only used for Depth Chart and Contracts (as been the case for years), it's still being reference as the overarching representing mechanism of how good/bad a player is.

We're given Player Types which note the major positional ratings needed to fit that player type, but it seems that many have not been able to move past the functionality of the OVR and start to actually scout players positional ratings to fit the Player Type to what they would like to achieve.

In the end, I would suggest finding posters who are more geared towards taking what's available and finding ways to increase your gaming experience vs those that tend to only note what they perceive to be wrong with the game.

You can easily spot the difference by the tone of most of their post.

As far the OP, with the "tiered" system impacting skills etc..., hopefully finding a guy to provide an aspect your team may be lacking I depth wise vs just the OVR, may make it a little more relevant than in past releases.

The key to that relevancy though will be driven by how the default roster is structured.

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