5 players who should have been on Madden 18 cover
By John Buhler
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is on the cover of Madden 18. Here are five other players that should have been on the cover of Madden 18.
On Friday, EA Sports released the cover of the latest edition most popular and successful video game franchise Madden. Madden NFL 18 will be known to the world as the G.O.A.T. edition, as it will feature five-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback of the New England Patriots Tom Brady.
Brady will be the oldest athlete featured on the cover of Madden, as he will be 40 during the 2017 NFL season. Given that he’s been a star quarterback in the league since the early 2000s, it’s strange that Brady has never graced the cover of Madden before.
Loved by some and hated by others, maybe EA Sports could have gone in another direction with who to place on the cover of Madden 18? Obviously, they would have to re-brand it from the G.O.A.T. edition, but here are five players that could have made sense on this year’s cover of Madden.
Julian Edelman
Wide Receiver, New England Patriots
The Patriots already had a player on the cover of Madden last year. Madden NFL 17 featured the larger-than-life tight end Rob Gronkowski. While he will be enshrined in Canton one day, 2017 was not a good year for the Gronk. He played in only eight games, catching 25 balls for 540 yards and three touchdowns. The Madden Curse is still very much a real thing.
That’s why it makes no sense for New England to even think about putting its greatest player of all time on the cover of Madden 18! A 40-year-old quarterback, what could go wrong? If EA Sports wants to spread the Patriots love around, then why not put popular slot receiver Julian Edelman on the cover?
Edelman has never made a Pro Bowl, but did make the biggest catch in Patriots history in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons in Houston. 2016 was one of his best seasons as a pro. Edelman played in all 16 regular season games, collecting 98 catches for a career-high 1,106 yards and three touchdowns.
Given that he is the most recognizable wide receiver for the Patriots because of that bushy beard of his, EA Sports would be able to push Madden 18 decently with Edelman on the cover. People still bought the version with Cleveland Browns’ Peyton Hillis on the cover. The New England region would absolutely buy the you-know-what out of Madden 18 with Edelman on the cover.