Burn put out two great articles about impact players in PML so continuing on that, I’ve joined him to produce a list of one person per team that can blossom into superstardom in PML. PML is an alternate reality where anyone can thrive (unless you’re a slow skill position player) so this is just our best guesses of who will become a household name in this reality.
AFC North:
Bengals:
Burn: CB DJ Turner 73 (Star) – Turner is 6 feet, 97 speed, 98 acceleration, with 91 jumping. He is the perfect corner who with little to no help from Goose should quickly turn into a superstar.
JC: LE Myles Murphy 72 – A rookie edge with speed off the edge and not a severe lack of strength, if he’s developed properly he can be a superstar edge rusher that contains Lamar in those tight battles.
Browns:
Burn: ROLB Jeremiah Owusu – Koramoah 79 (Star) – A 89 speed, 92 acceleration, 85 hitpower linebacker is every player’s dream. Mali will be able to user him on every down and rack up the stats.
JC: ROLB Jeremiah Owusu – Koramoah 79 (Star) – Fast and hard hitting user linebacker that already has a great start. He should be in the running for awards if he’s used well and it’s hard to screw up a player like this.
Ravens:
Burn: *HB Keaton Mitchell 64 (Normal) – We all know how Mitchell’s PML counterpart became a superstar and Arod has the perfect chance to do the same here.
JC: ROLB Odafe Oweh 75 – Arod is going to need a good pass rush this cycle and the only ‘weankess’ of these Ravens is on the defense line but Oweh has all the tools as we saw las cycle if he gets going. Just AR him up and let him eat opposing tackles.
Steelers:
Burn: WR Calvin Austin 70 (Normal) – 95 speed, 96 acceleration is not found in many players. The Steelers have better overall wide receivers but Austin’s speed warrants a place in the starting lineup and he is young enough to build into the perfect slot superstar.
JC: TE Darnell Washington 69 – He’s super tall, solidly fast, can jump and can block. He may have a tough time getting involved with Friermuth already being young and solid but Washington has so much potential, you can’t waste it.
AFC East:
Bills:
Burn: CB Kaiir Elam 76 (Star): Elam is the fastest player on the Bills roster and is in a prime spot to stay that way when he becomes the teams elite starting corner for the rest of the cycle.
JC: HB James Cook 76- Cook is finally getting the solo lead role in real life and he should have it in PML as well. He’s pretty fast, a solid receiving back and I’m positive he’ll get that heavy usage to turn into a superstar
Dolphins:
Burn: HB De’von Achane 76 (Star): Forget about Mostert, Achane should get the start immediately. With teams keying in on the Dolphins passing game, Achane should get tons of yards and potentially a breakout within the first few weeks of the season.
JC: HB De’von Achane 76- 95 speed rookie running back is always going to succeed in PML but especially when he has 98 and 99 speed Hill and Waddle to make sure the defense is playing soft coverage and taking players out of the box. Genuine MVP candidate.
Jets:
Burn: CB Jarrick Bernard – Converse 66 (Normal) – 6 ‘1, 93 speed, 93 acceleration, with 95 jumping are some serious physical attributes on a rookie player. He is very raw in the coverage department but he should be a starting player, and a potential defensive player of the year candidate.
JC: WR Mecole Hardman – He may be only 5’10 but we know how greeny loves his speed and he’s still only 25 so he’ll last the whole cycle and I think he becomes a focal point alongside Garrett Wilson the same way Greeny had Pitts, JT, and Thorton all rolling with the Falcons.
Patriots:
Burn: WR Tyquan Thonton 70 (Normal) – 6’2, 96 speed, 91 acceleration is about as good as it gets for younger players. With alittle force feeding, he will be a superstar by the end of the season
JC: WR Tyquan Thorton 70- Extremely fast and a good height, he’ll probably be WR1 right away with how weak this WR group is, especially for madden with those speeds in the 80s. SPdot is a good user and he turned 59 overall Gee Scott into a genuine superstar so I have now doubt Thorton will follow suit.
AFC West:
Broncos:
Burn: WR Marvin Mims 74 (Star) -He comes out of the gate as an almost complete receiver. DK will start him from day one and have him as his next superstar wide receiver before the midpoint of the season.
JC: ROLB Baron Browning 75 – Browning comes in with a solid base of pass rush ability, block shed, and speed off the edge to turn into a superstar to fill the gap that Bradley Chubb has left. He’s still young so AR to fill him out and then DK just has to put him in the right spot to eat, and we know DK will.
Chargers:
Burn: WR Derius Davis 69 (Normal) – Davis is the fastest receiver on the team and should start in the slot from day one. He is a fast shifty guy who could turn into the ultimate slot monster.
JC: MLB Kenneth Murray Jr 74 – It’s a shame he hasn’t turned into a monster in real life because every year in Madden he does and it makes sense. With 87 speed, 90 acceleration, and still being young he is prime to be that lurker in the middle.
Chiefs:
Burn: CB Darius Rush 69 (Normal) – 6’2 93 speed, 93 acceleration with decent coverage skills is a day 1 starter with the chance to become a superstar quite quickly. He is just a few games away from a breakout.
JC: WR Kadarius Toney 81 – It’s strange that Madden thought Toney was good enough to be an 81 off the bat but it’s a huge head start for Patrick Mahomes’s WR1 with no competition because of the lack of speed out there. Kelce will eat some targets but I’d be surprised if Matigy isn’t locked in on getting Toney to superstar fast.
Raiders:
Burn: CB Jakorian Bennett 71(Normal) – 5 ’11, 96 speed, 97 acceleration, with 94 jumping mixed with decent man coverages. Teams will test him given his zone coverage but I feel they are going to regret that choice, which will accelerate his superstar status.
JC: MLB Divine Deablo 73 – Mike is known for his defense for a reason, the Raiders are weak at linebacker in the ratings category but with Deablo as the user, I guarantee he’s going to have a great statline and even could be in the running for awards.
AFC South:
Colts:
Burn: SS Nick Cross 71 (Normal) – He isn’t quite heavy enough to be a sub linebacker, however, don’t count him out just yet. He is one of the fastest safeties in the game with good zone coverage. Given the right amount of help, he can turn into a superstar quickly.
JC: LE Kwity Paye 77 (Star)- He’s already the highest overall edge rusher on the team but as the former Colts user I know he can be as good of an edge rusher as anyone in PML as he has a great balance of speed and strength to blow up the pass and run.
Jaguars:
Burn: *LOLB Yasir Abdullah 68 (Normal) – 90 speed, 95 acceleration as a user linebacker will be good enough to cover anywhere on the field. Teams will test him and fail, which will lead to a breakout and potentially a defensive rookie of the year award.
JC: MLB Chad Muma- I can’t even remember how often Muma made a play against me last cycle, he’s sneaky fast with 85 speed, 89 acceleration, and 93 jumping he’ll pick you off out of nowhere or shoot a gap you don’t expect him to shoot. He is a perfect developmental user
Titans:
Burn: TE Chigoziem Okonkwo 71 (Star) – You don’t see many breakouts for tight ends, however, not many tight ends are 6’1 88speed and 91 acceleration. With teams keying in on the run to stop Henry, Okonkwo is prime for a breakout year.
JC: CB Caleb Farley- He’s still young and he’s 6’2 with 95 speed, a perfect PML corner to shut down any tall and fast receiver that gets thrown at him, might struggle guarding short routes before he develops but there’s no doubt he’ll be a factor all cycle and stop vertical passing.
Texans:
Burn: ROLB Christian Harris 68 (Normal) – Last cycle Harris was taken from normal to superstar and I believe that is exactly what can happen again. 90 speed, 93 acceleration will allow him to guard even the fastest running backs and tight ends all over the field.
JC: MLB Henry To’oto’o 66- Knowing how good Ke is at developing I can see the athletic rookie blossoming and turning into a premier inside linebacker for the Texans being maxed out as far as AR will take him and being a contender for defensive awards.
