Out with the Old & in with the New: Comparison of Generated Rookies to IRL Players
Should you be stockpiling picks in your Madden 18 CFM?
With the recent release of the new Madden, the CFM community seems divided. Many like the improved gameplay, but many dislike the lack of change within Connected Franchise. One of the few changes made to CFM this year was changing up the rookie generation by increasing the number of mid-late round sleepers. For 32-man leagues like Madden Scrubs and Madden Bros that average 8–10 seasons every Madden, this could be a major problem.
So we compared the attribute data on 5 seasons worth of generated rookies to our current NFL stars, and here’s what we found.
Looking at this chart, the main physical attributes are very similar. Understandable, since at the time you reach the NFL, increasing your physical limitations is very unlikely, and if do increase them, it will be minimal. I had hope after seeing this. Rookies only seem to have a slight edge when it comes to jumping.
So let’s move in to positions.
Wide Receivers
Let’s start with the main 32-man cheese, wide receivers. As usual, speed in Madden is lethal. In Madden 16 we had generated rookies that were 6'5 with 97 jumping and 97 speed (Eric Nunley the GOAT for you Scrubs members), but their skills needed to be developed, and it was expensive. In Madden 17 we still had the insane speed, but their skills were far less expensive, and typically lower than the average NFL receiver, minus one or two gems.
In Madden 18 we still have the insane speed, but a new problem has developed…
This is concerning. While physically the averages look nice, minus the rookies still have the edge in jumping, the skills attributes are all within 1–2 points. The NFL players data that includes future HoF receivers like Julio Jones, OBJ, AJ Green, and Antonio Brown are still on par with the generated rookies. With age affecting xp costs, you can expect around the top 25% of current NFL receivers to still be on teams’ starting depth chart, with the rest moving to the bench or free agency.
Cornerbacks
Let’s analyze their counterparts, the cornerbacks.
The trend continues. While physical attributes are similar, the skill attributes are also similar. Guys who spent years in the NFL honing their skills are easily matched by the average generated rookies. Why start at 26–27-year-old CB at CB2 or CB3 when you can take the average rookie and plug them in there while dev costs are cheaper? Likely to see IRL CBs riding the bench a couple of seasons in.
Quarterbacks
Following the trend, QBs are the same way. Average accuracy is still spot on, even though it is extremely rare to come out and perform with the same skill as QBs who have been in the league for years.
While having breakaway rookies is great, I believe this issue ruins the immersive experience for many solo CFM players. You takeover the Texans because you’re a die hard fan, but by season 4 you can hardly recognize majority of the players on your team, unless you purposely go out of your way to limit yourself to majority IRL players.
Generated rookies are the route to go, and will likely consume a league’s non-elite players within 2–3 seasons. Those average 26-year-old players with 3–4 years of development under their belts are easily replaced by 22-year-old average generated rookies drafted in the later rounds, or picked up in free agency during preseason.
To make matters worse, while the physical averages show generated rookies are on par with IRL players, the standouts in those rookies are unreal.
Currently in the NFL there are 11 receivers with 95 speed or higher, and only 2 that are 97 or higher. In the 5 drafts that this data is compiled from, there are 41 receivers with 95 speed or higher, and 15 of those are 97 speed or higher. To counter those 41 receivers Madden gave us 7 CBs with 95 speed or higher.
Move over, John Ross.
