The Madden 23 cycle is less than 2 days away and every team has high hopes of competing for a Super Bowl title. The optisism is what makes PML great, especially for long shots like Wumbo, HD, Burn, and Vet. Can any of these teams defy the odds and enter the prestigious group of PML Super Bowl winners?
Every team hopes to put themselves in a position to not only compete, but hold their spot in the Premier Madden League. What is a teams realistic ceiling in season 1? How good can each team be with their current roster, user, and divisional foes? Or how badly can things fall apart?
Lets dive into the AFC East
Jets: Fallen
Patriots: Nef
Bills: Tbandit
Dolphins: Que
New York Jets
Ceiling: 10-7, make playoffs
It is no secret that the NYJ roster is a low end team out the gate. Sure they have the foundation for future dominance as illustrated in the Madden 22 cycle, but it wont be an easy road. Fallen will spend the season developing Z.Wilson, G.Wilson, Hall, & Gardner while taking advantage of the AFC North matchups, (2) games against the Patriots and stealing at least 50% of his games vs Mia & Buf. This is one of the questionable ceilings in PML this year.
Floor: 6-11, miss playoffs
This roster is not playoff ready. Fallen struggles to keep up with the Bills, Dolphins, and the NFC North matchups and sits on the bottom of the AFC. A roster once known for young speedsters takes a hit with the loss of Cashman and Guidry leaving Fallen in a difficult position to keep up with the quick Mia and Buf rosters. Z.Wilsons progression doesn’t go as planned and his potential status as a superstar is now in doubt.
New England Patriots
Ceiling: 5-12, miss playoffs
The Patriots clean up on the AFC North, but struggle with divisional games and NFC North matchups. Nef spends the season pouring content into the core players and receives dev games for targeted guys. The Patriots spend the season preparing for a competitive season 2 and they figure out ways to match the speed inside the division.
Floor: 2-15, miss playoffs
The Patriots becomes the new Arod from Madden 22 cycle. They take on their favorite hometown team, but at what cost? Nef quickly learns Mac Jones isnt the answer and uses a top 3 pick on the QB of the future. Not only will the coach be at a disadvantage vs the other users, but the Patriots are one of the bottom CFM teams and it will be a difficult road a head to matchup with the teams and users in this division.
Buffalo Bills
Ceiling: 13-4, reach AFC Championship
Tbandit taking the Buffalo Bills gives me Bubba/2022 vibes. A solid user having one of the best CFM rosters in the game. Superstars, speed and young talent everywhere- a dream scenario for Tbandit. With that said, they have the star power and the user to make a deep run in the playoffs. Josh Allen will play at an MVP level and rookie ball carrier James Cook develops into a superstar and wins rookie of the year as teams emphasize stopping the pass. Lookout the the Bills this season!
Floor: 10-6, lose wildcard
The Bills have a difficult schedule, there is no way to sugar coat it. The AFC east becomes a triple death match and no teams really separate themselves from the pack. The Bills sneak into the playoffs only to lose to a top seeded division winner. The Bills hype train takes a major blow and question marks surround the team assignment. To sum it up, with this roster and user, its AFC championship or bust for the Buffalo Bills this season.
Miami Dolphins
Ceiling: 10-6, make playoffs
Que gets his chance to silence the critics who say he played in a “timeshare” division last season. He comes out the gate firing on all cylinders with speedy wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as the NYJ and NE defensive backs struggle to keep up 4 times a season. Hill and Waddle instantly become the best WR duo in the league and the Dolphins do enough to secure a wildcard spot. The big question is, can Que answer the other burning question and win a round 1 playoff game?
Floor: 7-10, miss playoffs
It would be weird to see Que not in the playoffs, but that might be a very realistic scenario season 1 with the schedule and youth of his roster. The Dolphins can and will be competitive in almost every game they play, but is the roster where it needs to be to keep up with the schedule ahead of them? Que has already put Tua on the block, so we have big question marks surrounding the QB position with the organization.
