Madden 21: Best teams to rebuild in franchise mode
By Lance Liebl
The Patriots don’t rebuild, they retool
Tom Brady gone. Gronk came out of retirement to join Tom in Tampa Bay. They also lost:
- LB Kyle Van Noy
- WR Phillip Dorsett
- LB Jamie Collins
- DT Danny Shelton
The loss of Brady means an uncertain future for the Patriots and its offense, who brought in QB Cam Newton (78 OVR 84 Speed) on a one-year deal to replace him. Cam has struggled with injuries and accuracy since the 2015 Super Bowl appearance, so while he may still be a good play in Madden 21, he’s not the future.
In Madden 21, the Patriots offense could be a blank slate. You can draft new players at whatever position on offense you choose, including QB. And with the moves they’ve made, the Patriots always have a good amount of draft picks.
The offensive skill players have decent ratings, but there’s no one that excites you without Tom Brady being the one throwing the ball to them. The following are your best offensive players, all of which could be replaced:
- WR Julian Edelman – 87 OVR (actually, keep Edelman… he’s Mr. Patriot now)
- HB James White – 82 OVR
- HB Sony Michel – 80 OVR
- WR Mohamed Sanu Sr. – 79 OVR
- WR Marqise Lee – 77 OVR
- HB Rex Burkhead – 75 OVR
A top need for the Patriots is a TE, with the best player that have at the position being Devin Asiasi (69 OVR). The offensive line is actually in amazing shape, with all starters coming in rated over 76, anchored by RG Shaq Mason (86 OVR), LG Joe Thuney (85 OVR) and C David Andrews (84 OVR). This is the best offensive line you’re going to find for a rebuild, and will actually make the Patriots rebuild go quicker.
Defense is another place that doesn’t need to be messed with. Even though the Patriots lost some big players on defense in Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins, they’re still stacked on defense:
- CB Stephon Gilmore (99 OVR)
- FS Devin McCourty (92 OVR)
- MLB Dont’a Hightower (88 OVR)
- CB Jason McCourty (85 OVR)
- CB Jonathan Jones (83 OVR)
- SS Patrick Chung (83 OVR)
- CB JC Jackson (82 OVR)
- RE Lawrence Guy (81 OVR)
- LE John Simon (80 OVR)
There are numerous other defensive players that are intriguing and have some nice combination of speed and coverage skills.
A lot of the work is already done here. That’s why the Patriots in Madden 21 aren’t necessarily a rebuild — they’re a retooling. The Pats could still win the division with what they have because I’ll never bet against Bill Belichick. But it’s not every season you have the chance to replace arguably the best QB of all-time, have little to be excited for in skill position players on offense, but have the rest of your team playoff-worthy.