Ratings scale with price unless their performance justifies their outrageous price like Bo Jackson:

Strong Buy – Top Recommendation. A game changer or budget beast

Buy

Hold – Try out and see if the card works for you before deciding whether to sell

Sell

Strong Sell – Sell immediately upon pull and don’t look back.

 

95 overall WR Jordy Nelson – Most Missed

Absolutely, no doubt about it beautiful receiving stats across the board. 99 route running with 96 release and 98 catch in traffic? 3^rd down converter murderer. His spec catch at 93 seems a little low for what he did for the Packers offense down the field but the card might have been too high of an overall at that point.

Run block at 67 is competitive and his speed of 92 is on the lower end of acceptable. He’ll be a very consistent WR for you best slotted in the…slot. Depending on what his price gets down to, I see him being an underrated star that won’t make the big flashy play for you but will make it when you need it to keep your drive chugging along.

Rating: Buy

94 Overall LE Cameron Wake – Workout Warrior

Eww. 85 speed and 80 blockshed. Terrible for a LE in a 4-3 or 3-4. Fortunately this guy can be an interior pass rusher for you on 3^rd and long. His 98 power move will do very well on the inside. Like I heard vegetables do very well for your insides, not that I’d know. But still, he’s too expensive for such a niche roll that others can fill for a fraction of the cost.

Rating: Strong Sell

94 overall FS Tyrann Mathieu

94 speed with 97 acceleration, 97 agility and 94 zone coverage. WOW. But to throw some cold water on our dicks, we must temper ourselves because his play rec is only 87, he’s 5’9, his blockshed is 59 and he plays mostly corner IRL. If that play rec was low to mid 90’s he’d be a great route jumper. This guy is still going to fly all over the field for you. But he’s not great in over the top coverage in cover 2 or 3 like I like to play my FS and he will be spec catched over by bigger WRs like Johnson or Jackson. As a FS, he’s best used in an occasional man coverage role but mostly near the line of scrimmage. So you’d want your SS back deep in a cover 3, ideally someone like George Iloka.

But using Tyrann as a speed user player isn’t such a bad idea either, I’d just be concerned with his height and low-ish jumping because it limits your ability to go up and get picks. Calvin Johnson and Sean Taylor are still the gold standard for that purpose.

Rating: Hold/sell

93 overall WR Steve Smith – Most Vocal

A 5’9 WR needs to be outstanding in something to be useable. Unfortunately Steve Smith is just outstanding in shit. So wipe your boots off and pick up Amari Cooper while selling Smith. How are you going to use a short receiver with low route running? If he had 97 speed that would be one thing, but 93 just won’t beat guys on the streak. He’s far too expensive for his bad mix of stats. 72 release means he’ll get shoved over in press. His only redeeming attribute is 98 CIT which isn’t that rare for WR cards nowadays. Anything this Smith can do, other cards can do better.

Rating: Strong Sell

93 Overall FS Eric Weddle – Best Beard

Intriguing play rec and zone coverage stats at 93 and 92. Really good blockshed and pursuit to help against the run. Unfortunately I don’t love his speed at 88 and height at 5’11. His speed especially ruins his card when you compare him to 92 Glover Quin who beats him in just about every important coverage category. The 4 points in speed that Quin has over him is very important as a FS needs to get to the sideline to help against bombs and needs the speed to chase down ball carriers running freely to the end zone. Speed is just too important at the position to get away with something I wouldn’t look fondly on if even an LB had it.

Rating: Sell

92 Overall TE Travis Kelce – Best TD Celebrations

This might be my next TE. Not a ton of upgrades over his captain card but still enough of them to make a difference. He’s a nice mix of blocking and receiving. Your opponent won’t know whether you are running or passing by having him in there disguising your offense like the fog on a London morning.

Still not as potent of a weapon as Hines Ward at TE, Kelce’s run block might make up for it if you are in a run first scheme. Having 11 more points in run block will really help seal the edge. Or edge the seal as I do when we’re doing it together. Of course if you are more 50/50 run/pass with other very good WRs already, it’s hard not to recommend Ward over him at the spot even with Hines costing twice as much. But having both Hines and Kelce on the field on one side at TE and WR will make your opponent have to respect the run while you play action with their heart and hit them deep against the one on one coverage on the other side of the field with your streaking bomb artists Brandon Marshall and OBJ.

Rating: Buy

91 Overall TE Jordan Reed – Best Redzone Target

A TE more slanted to the receiving part of the spectrum over the Kelce above. 88 Speed on a TE is very nice along with the 93 route running. His run block is very low at 66 giving you no reason to run him over a much cheaper 89 overall Michael Floyd who is the same height, much faster, better run block and overall is just a better card than Jordan Reed.

Rating: Sell

91 overall FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix – Best Field Presence

Plus 1 in just about every attribute over his 89 Thanksgiving version. Except Hit Power, +6 there. I never heard anything remarkable about his Thanksgiving card but this one seems like a very solid FS. 6’1 with 92 speed is very good. Good play rec and zone coverage. Okay man coverage at 80 means he can stick on TEs and RBs fairly well even though corner routes will eat his lunch. 68 block shed might be a little low with all the good blocking WRs we’re getting now, but try him out for yourself since this card should be cheaper than his rare-ish Thanksgiving version. With the added hit power and all around quality of this card, he could be a solid defender in many different schemes. A Jack of all Trades.

Rating: Hold

90 overall HB DeAngelo Williams – Best Hair (Troy P Tribute of course)

93 speed with 97 acceleration is a solid foundation to build an RB. But like a house in the suburbs with a solid foundation, there isn’t the woodwork or marble columns on this thing to make you wow. Everything else is low 90’s and having elusiveness over trucking is a problem for me. He’s a starter home for a young professional. A solid back to hang your hat on and call home until you get the killer job with the high salary to really upgrade to something in the nice part of town.

Rating: Sell

90 Overall WR Victor Cruz – Best Dressed

Seeing the stats on this card I can only imagine my reaction is the same as the girls who saw me in high school. Ironic that the best dressed winner is the ugliest of all cards stats wise. Too expensive to redeem itself as a budget player.

Rating: Strong sell

90 Overall MLB Deone Bucannon – Most Changed

I figured Caitlyn Jenner would win this award too but luckily for us MUT players Deone won it. But my god, the play rec and speed combo on this thing means he’ll be all over the place for you. Like Han in the Millennium Falcon, he’ll always be in the right place at the right time. Great user but can also be left to his own devices in coverage. His man coverage is shit at 70 but his speed will help him on long drags like RuPaul. Blockshedding and pursuit is a little low for a traditional run stuffer but far more runs this year test the outside than the inside so his speed will help stop the run more than his blockshed. He won’t need to shed blocks that don’t touch him. I wish his jump was a little better and he’s only 6’1 but those are minor concerns for what this card brings you. The standout stud from this promotional group of cards.

Rating: STRONG BUY

89 overall WR Jarvis Landry – Best Hands

I’m not exactly sure what 100 catching does as the only time my WRs are catching the rock is when the spec catch comes into play or the catch in traffic does. But Jarvis has okay other stats. 90 speed is low for this time of year and 92 route running won’t get you separation as the DBs will stick on him like a fallen tree branch. His low after the catch stats like juke and elusiveness means he won’t be great for catching a ball short and picking up the first on his own. But his price might fall through like my business ventures so he could be worth it if he’s like 10k. I don’t see it getting there any time soon though.

Rating: Strong Sell

89 Overall ROLB Jared Allen – Best Personality

I sure hope he has good personality because this is an ugly card. A 3-4 pass rusher due to his terrible zone coverage. Has great play rec and power moves but his low speed will have him beat to the sidelines by both RBs and scrambling QBs. And 83 blockshed means he’s not a factor in the run game either.

Rating: Strong Sell

89 Overall CB Desmond Trufant – Mr. Invisible

Like I said above, 92 speed is on the low end of acceptable for this time in MUT. But he’ll be a great man corner as long as he isn’t against the Tavon Austin types. 95 man with 96 agility means he’ll go pee with a lot of WRs. 93 zone and 85 play rec is low but not horrendous. Especially for his price.  6’0 isn’t bad but 54 blockshed is. Not someone you want at the nickel or Dime. Depending on your coins, this could be a real good mid-tier corner for you.

I had it pointed out to me by fixyourgameEA on the muthead forums that Trufant’s lack of press is a hindrance to his man coverage. I didn’t make that point but I should have. Be wary when pressing with this card.

Rating: Buy

88 Overall LT Terron Armstead – Best Protector

This card is worse than his 83 in a bunch of categories. His upgrades came in Strength, Awareness and pass block. His run block and pass block are 90 and 93. Solid stats for his price. But are they enough to upgrade you from his 83 card? Value-wise, no. Overall this is still a pretty good card, it just isn’t a great upgrade like we had hoped from his 83 card. But best protector needed better pass block and since it’s only about 5 categories that make up an o-linemen’s overall, what can we expect when they upgrade 3 of them? (obviously to not downgrade the others gutfoxx)

Rating: Buy – His price is pretty low

88 Overall CB Byron Jones – Best hops

I was hoping this would go to my friend farmer John as his hops are the best. Sells them to brewery’s all over the place. But Farmer John’s field is not a football one so we’ll settle with Byron. 92 speed along with his 100 jump which was rightly deserved because he set the combine record for broad jump.

More athlete than corner, Byron is an interesting case study on what can be done with high physical stats. His coverage stats limit his card but if one of you trys him, let me know how he plays. I just wish the speed was a little higher so we can have a metaphorical “combine hero” before the actual sets come out this year.

Rating: Hold and let me know how he plays

88 Overall La’el Collins – Best Pancakes

He’s cheap like I like my dates. I don’t spring for the expensive fruits. He’s got great impact block and run block. But how is he going to use that impact block when he can’t find anyone with his low awareness? So don’t run plays with a pulling guard if he’s there because he’s more likely to Forest Gump his way through the tunnel than find an opponent to block. His run block is high enough that he’ll be killer on inside zones but his pass block is too low. He’s too one dimensional for me but his redeeming value is inside zones so he isn’t worthless.

Rating: Sell unless your scheme is inside zone and straight ahead runs.

88 Overall WR Dorial Green-Beckham

This card is a BEAST. 6’5 with 96 spec catch going for mid-20k coins? Great combo of speed, CIT and run block. This is an amazing budget beast on a similar level with Amari Cooper. Get this card ASAP.

Rating: STRONG BUY

86 Overall QB Matt Hasselbeck – Most likely to become a coach

New Elite exchange player! Or CPU QB in player lock challenges with his 100 awareness.

Rating: Strong Exchange

85 Overall Drew Stanton – Best Team Spirit

Another great elite exchange player. But other than that I think his lack of throw power and mobility hurts his otherwise decent accuracy stats. Although he’s got high acceleration which plays a big part in escaping the pocket so that doesn’t hurt. Overall he’s solid as a pocket passer on a budget.  You can definitely do worse. But for just 11k or so you can get 90 Winston with his 98 throw power and chuck long bombs to DGB all day.

Rating: Sell or Exchange

 

That’s it, let me know what you guys think on some of these guys in the comments.

Ratings scale with players rated based on price unless their performance justifies their outrageous price like Bo Jackson:

 

Strong Buy – Top Recommendation. A game changer or budget beast

Buy

Hold – Try out and see if the card works for you before deciding whether to sell

Sell

Strong Sell – Sell immediately upon pull and don’t look back.

 

MLB Ryan Shazier 94 overall review (Set hero)

Speed is the name of the game here. Unmatched speed that will stay relevant as a user until Madden 17. A user dream he’ll be the gold standard user that we will compare all else to.

As to his user stats, 94 speed, 93 acceleration, 98 jumping, 92 block shedding, 95 hit power with poor to decent catching stats means he will be all over the field for you. He’s faster than many of the WR’s you’ll face. Crossing routes? Cross them off.

And outside of usering, he’s not bad letting him drift on his own. 86 play rec is admittibly poor but 95 pursuit means he’s taking the right angle. 78 Zone means he won’t be as close to the opponents receiving targets as you’d like but he’s still a body in the middle of the field to fly to the ball once needed.

And finally for the rest of the bad, 89 agility is good but not great for usering because you need to bait one way then quickly cut the other.

Rating: Strong buy

HB J.J. Watt (48 hour limited edition) – 90 overall

Half back J.J. Watt out of position is a tank in Madden form. Basically changing strategies of the opponents the way tanks changed WWII strategies. It’s where we got the term blitz from. His biggest downside is his lack of speed and blocking ability. Is EA saying JJ can’t pick up a blitzing LB? Well that’s what they are saying with his 45 pass block. You know what I say? Well you don’t because you’re distracted by my spit in your face.

But on to what you are going to use him for, short yardage FB dives and HB isos and zones. Boasting a unique skill set with his height, weight and trucking ability, you have to be concerned with the lack of ball carrier vision hindering his ability to slide between blockers in his only job. I don’t fear the one on one with defenders as much as I fear getting stuck on guards and centers backsides slowing his momentum and making him easy prey for the suction tackle.

His high end awareness would make him a great full back but the terrible blocking stats on the card all at 45 means he’s useless there.

So try him out in the short yardage situations and see if you like him. Let me know if the BCV hinders him too much or if it’s a non-factor for you.

Rating: Hold

MLB Rey Maualuga – 89 overall

85 speed is the minimum threshold you want out of an MLB. Tosses and outside runs are too prevalent this year to be any lower. So in order to justify the low-ish speed the player must be stacked in other areas. Unfortunately this is not the case with Rey. Low blockshedding, zone coverage and play rec doom the card. He’s got nice hit power  and tackling but what are you going to do with it if you can’t get close to the ball carrier? Pursuit’s also nice so he might be able to angle the RB out of bounds on a toss 20 yards down the field.

Rating: Strong sell

WR Davante Adams – 87 overall

You look at speed and height first when evaluating WRs. And Davante’s is 6’1 and 92. Both workable but of course not exceptional. Great acceleration but unfortunate route running and run block might doom the player. But 95 spec catch is interesting.

So he’s not a guy that can get separation for you with either his speed or route running. His release isn’t great but his catching in traffic is okay. I’m not feeling this card provides you with an edge in any one area you want it. Elusiveness, spin and juke aren’t anything to write home about.

Davante seems like a jack of all trades that can do most things except run block and run routes well. I would avoid this card.

Rating: Sell

ROLB Mike Neal – 86 overall

A 3-4 ROLB with 80 speed, 83 play rec, 88 blockshed and 70 zone coverage. 95 power move is not enough to justify a guy you can’t put at DT. Just brutal.

Rating: Strong Sell

CB Trae Waynes – 85 overall

95 speed – whoa, right now that’s tied for the 3^rd fastest CB. And since EA is unable to balance speed with the other stats in game, high speed is always worth looking at as it can make up for a lot of other errors in the card. And trust me, this card has errors.

88 man coverage with 91 zone, I wish those were flipped. Blockshedding at 44 means he’ll get pancaked easily in the run game. Low tackle and hit power at 51 and 40, good luck against Walter Payton or worse, Bo. Not a nickel and not someone you should rely on stopping the run. Have a good safety next to him.

His play rec is 80 so don’t expect him to jump many routes when you’re sitting in zone coverage. But the catching in the 70’s means he’ll pick it enough that you won’t be cursing his name too often over drops.

But on the good side, again, SPEED, and his press is 90 with high man coverage style bonus you can boost that to 95 and his man coverage rating to 93. A solid man corner at that point at 6’0 means you can comfortably use him in that scheme but his 89 agility is a detriment.

I don’t know how to feel about this card. So many emotions like when I stare at a picture of thatdudesly. Might be decent at the right price.

Rating: Hold

HB – Chris Thompson – 84 overall

93 speed, 94 acceleration with 98 juke on 93 elusiveness. 88 catching. Those are his standout stats. He’ll be a great budget back to get the ball in the flats and have him do his thing, juking and jiving making defenders miss like my punches in a fight. Carrying is low so don’t let him take a hit stick from Sean Taylor but I like the budget speed/catching combo even though trucking is better than elusiveness this year.

Rating: Buy

LOLB: John Simon – 83 Overall

There are a lot of gold 3-4 OLBs that are budget beasts like this one. Unfortunately you can start only 1. Or 2, or 6 really. But is John Simon worth it over 84 Anthony Barr at 3-4 OLB? Possibly. He’s not as good of a user, but his blockshed and play rec is better. So you can user Barr at MLB and put Simon on his own out wide to shut down those faster HBs and QBs trying to scramble. Don’t rely on either in coverage, but both of them are beasts when attacking either the QB or HB.

But Johh Simon has entered Barr territory as the new gold standard at the position.

Rating: Strong buy

CB Antwon Blake – 83 overall

Talk about an undeserved card for the worst corner in the league as graded by Pro Football Focus. Has been an absolute train wreck in real life. But his mut card has 95 speed so we have to take a second glance at it. 91 man coverage but only 84 zone. He’s only 5’9 so it’ll be easy for him to be aggressively caught over. Block shedding is low but tackling and hit power are okay. He’ll be decent in a man coverage scheme for a budget team that doesn’t run press coverage. Play rec is also very low but if I were creating a budget team Antwon would get serious consideration if only for the speed. But his height means it’ll be hard for him to stop the opponent’s Vincent Jackson.

Rating: Hold

HB Knile Davis – 83 overall

95 speed used to be rare. Now they are giving to just about every gold card released it seems. But this card might take the cake as easily the best budget back card in the game. 95 speed, 95 acceleration, 92 trucking. Crazy stats for an 83. Knile Davis specializes in the most important stats for running in Madden. Carrying at 81 is dangerous but YOLO, don’t let him get tired and take hits like a boxer in the 12th and he’ll having you seeing painted grass. Get this card.

Rating: Strong Buy