Five Critical Tips for Drafting Against the CPU In Madden NFL 16's Draft Champions Mode

Draft Champions is Madden NFL 16's big new addition off the field, and with it comes an entire new set of strategies to sift through for maximum success. The following five tips are vital to making the best team possible against the CPU. I’ve found the user head-to-head drafts are a different animal entirely, so those will be covered in a separate post.

It’s important to remember that the CPU gauntlet in Draft Champions is comprised of 3-minute-quarter games. Because of this, balanced offense is extremely difficult. It’s important then, that we:

1. Focus primarily on passing and stopping the pass.

This is important in the NFL in general, but even more so in Draft Champions, with its limited possessions. Focusing on the running game could be a good counter-strategy in head to head to try to keep the ball away from the pass-heavy teams, but against the CPU we want to dictate strategy to take advantage of the way CPU teams are composed, which typically finds them specializing as we do instead of creating balanced teams.

2. Grab the first Quarterback you come across.

Simply put, you do not want to pass up a quarterback in the hopes a better one will come along in the legends round. With 22 possible positions and only 3 legends cards in that round, the odds of getting a quarterback are not in your favor. So, unless the first one you come across is someone who absolutely does not fit what you want to do (say, Ryan Tannehill for a team that wants to take a ton of shots downfield), take that first Quarterback and be secure that the position is taken care of. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE A SECOND QUARTERBACK, EVER.

3. Do not take a running back before the legends round.

The stock running backs are typically pretty good in Draft Champions. Sure, they aren’t as sexy as some of the top backs in the game, but unless you draft a great receiving back and plan to use him a lot in the passing game, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to use a valuable draft pick on a position that is negated by Draft Champions’ timing rules. Now, if you’ve followed our drafting tips and are happy with your team when the legends round comes along, feel free to take a guy like LaDanian Tomlinson or Christian Okoye. They’re icing on the cake.

4. Don’t be scared to play guys out of position, especially on the offensive line or in the secondary.

You’ll want to stock up on offensive lineman to help your replacement-level running back find holes or to give you receivers a chance to get open downfield. Don’t shy away from drafting two left tackles. Play one at right tackle and give yourself more talent on the line. You’ll want 3 or 4 offensive lineman to mess around with as part of your “best 5,” and it really doesn’t matter which combination of lineman you get, as they’ll likely be better than the stock talent your team starts with.

The same goes for the secondary, where it makes sense to grab multiple safeties and corners in an effort to flood the field with above-replacement-level talent in the defensive backfield. In situations where the CPU team is built with 3 talented receivers, that extra free safety that can cover the slot or that extra strong safety that can cover from the Linebacker position can be life-savers.

5. Select at least 3 pass receivers.

Ideally, you want 3 above-replacement-level passing options out there at all times, making receiving tight ends highly valuable with this drafting strategy, as they can complement good wide receivers on the outside as a sort of hybrid-slot option. Having a guy like Jimmy Graham next to Calvin Johnson with AJ Green on the opposite side and Cam Newton or Teddy Bridgewater being able to take their pick of a matchup will destroy most defenses you’ll face regardless of whether or not you’re playing another user or the CPU. By maximizing your efforts toward passing the ball you can control the clock with West-Coast-style short passing, or you can push the ball downfield, and most teams you’ll face in Draft Champions simply won’t be able to cover everyone at all times (unless they are following these tips and have a formidable defensive backfield, too).

Of course, luck plays a huge part in what happens in a Draft Champions draft, and it just may happen that you mostly get defensive players (stock up on that D-Line!), but you can make the best of your choices with a little bit of creativity and a willingness to put the best talent on the field, regardless of position.