Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
The arrival of Madden NFL 22 means the opening of the floodgates for casual and competitive communities as players hunt for the best rosters and players to use.
Besides notables like Ultimate Team and solo affairs like Face of the Franchise, this year's release from EA Sports offers up notable upgrades to modes like Franchise and gameplay enhancements that will make online play even more appealing.
While it's incredibly fun to seek out theworstteams for franchise rebuilds, it's also time to start looking at some of the most dominant rosters, particularly for online play.
With an assist from the game's official player ratings, here's a look at the teams with the most dominant rosters and player ratings.
Kansas City Chiefs
Start with the most obvious, right?
Patrick Mahomes is one of five players this year in the 99 Club, and besides the obvious stuff, he's got a 97 rating in throw power, letting him fit the ball into tight spaces. He's got 81 speed too, meaning he's a big problem for defenses when he decides to tuck it and go.
Star tight end Travis Kelce is another one of the five with a near-perfect overall rating, and star wideout Tyreek Hill—equipped with 99 speed and acceleration—is just behind those two at a 98.
The Chiefs aren't just an offensive fireworks show either. Safety Tyrann Mathieu checks in with a 95 overall, and defensive lineman Chris Jones sits comfortably at a 90.
Like last year, the Mahomes-led Chiefs are a robust team to use, online or otherwise. Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game, especially dangerous online because of how he can move, and his two best weapons can get shifted all over formations to create mismatches.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Can't mention one without the other, right?
Tom Brady might not have a rating as high as Mahomes, but a 97 isn't anything to turn the nose up at. He's quite a bit slower of course (59 speed rating), but it just changes the type of offense players can run while dicing up defenses.
And dice they will with big-bodied target Mike Evans sitting on a 91 overall rating and speedster Chris Godwin at an 87. It's almost easy to forget Antonio Brown is in Tampa Bay with his 86 rating too—the same value given to tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Keep in mind Brady's got three elite overall ratings in front of him along the offensive line, too:
- LG Ali Marpet: 90
- C Ryan Jensen: 89
- RT Tristan Wirfs: 89
None of this has even touched on the defense, which puts up a mean pass rush thanks to Shaquil Barrett, who has the same 88 overall as defensive lineman Vita Vea. Star linebacker Lavonte David, by the way, has the team's highest overall at 93.
This offseason, Tampa Bay underwent an "embarrassment of riches" journey while keeping the Super Bowl-winning roster together for another run, something that will clearly translate to the digital field, too.
Green Bay Packers
It's a little suspect that league MVP Aaron Rodgers didn't land in the 99 Club either, but when looking for dominant rosters to run with, it's a little hard to complain about his 96.
This is especially the case when considering his top wideout, Davante Adams, is part of that club and he's got one of the league's best running backs with Aaron Jones (91). Up front in the trenches, a solid line gets a foundational block with left tackle David Bakhtiari (96) and left guard Elgton Jenkins quietly has an 86 rating.
Also quiet is the amount of talent on Green Bay's defense. Some notable overall ratings:
- CB Jaire Alexander: 95
- SS Adrian Amos: 89
- DT Kenny Clark: 89
- LOLB Za'Darius Smith: 89
That's two premium positions, an interior pass-rusher and an edge-rusher who can move all over formations. Or written another way, deadly.
While one could always have some fun "rebuilding" the Packers in a franchise mode around Jordan Love, the existing roster has the look of a squad that will be competitive for the game's life cycle.
Dallas Cowboys
The deadliness of the Dallas Cowboys roster only figures to kick up a notch from here.
Star quarterback Dak Prescott checks in with only an 87 overall rating. That's presumably a reaction to his missing so much time last year with an injury, and it will increase quickly—we're talking about the guy who threw for 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 2019. Oh, and he's got a wicked 82 speed rating.
Prescott users get to pepper Amari Cooper (92), Michael Gallup (82) and CeeDee Lamb (81) with targets when not handing off to Ezekiel Elliott (88) behind a line boasting Zack Martin (team-best 98 overall rating) Tyron Smith (91) and La'el Collins (87).
While the defense isn't nearly as bloated with huge overall ratings, DeMarcus Lawrence (87 overall) is one of the game's best edge-rushers. Safety Malik Hooker with his 89 speed rating and linebacker Jaylon Smith with his 87 make for superb players who can roam to make big plays. The unit's overall ratings will jump across the board if things improve compared to last year's miserable season (they should).
Barring something unexpected, an already-great roster in Dallas should only become more dangerous in time for Madden users.
