The pursuit to build your favorite or best possible lineup in Madden Ultimate Team can be a long and frustrating one. Trying to maximize your coins while still assembling a team to carry you through Ultimate Challenges, Missions, Seasons and everything else to unlock bigger rewards can be quite the task.
How can you know which players are going to give you the best bang for your buck? Well here is a group of players whose overall may not be the highest but will help carry your team through the early stages of its journey to being your ultimate team.
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Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions – 79 OVR Core
When it comes to saving as much coins as you can, particularly early on, the top gold cards are an excellent place to look. Take Kenny Golladay for example, he will set you back only about 3,000 coins but offers a similar skill set to that of Allen Robinson, who is 81 OVR, but costs around 9,300 coins.
Both Golladay and Robinson have 81 speed (SPD) and 78 catch in traffic (CIT), but Golladay has better catching (CTH) at 78 to Robinson’s 77. Robinson may be a touch better across most of the stats, but not so much to justify an extra 6,000 coins for just two OVR points better.
Saving here on a player like Golladay frees up coins to go after the one player you really want, or is enough for potentially two more gold starters at other positions. Meanwhile you won’t notice a drop off between Golladay’s play and that of Robinson, or many other of the lower elite cards.
Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams – 79 OVR Core
Quarterback is an easy position to get caught up spending more than you should for the guy you think is the best in the NFL. For example, it may seem appealing to save up and buy Aaron Rodgers’ core elite card for 20,000 coins and hope he carries your team, but you could get similar production from Jared Goff for just 3,500 coins.
Rodgers has 85 throw power (THP), 84 short accuracy (SAC), 75 medium accuracy (MAC) and 80 deep accuracy (DAC), while Goff has 80 THP, 81 SAC, 76 SAC, 76 DAC. They may seem like fairly substantial drop offs but you would be surprised how little you’ll notice it in game.
Particularly considering you’ll save around 16,500 coins which could be used to build a very respectable team around Goff.
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Taylor Moton, LT, Carolina Panthers – 78 OVR Core
Moton will be a solid if unspectacular player on your team.
He costs around 3,700 coins and will give you 78 strength (STR), 75 run block (RB), 75 pass block (PBK). They may not seem like the best stats ever but he is not all that far behind, across the board, tackles that are rated higher than him. And, importantly, he is cheap.
Seeing as the gap between him and more expensive players is not that large, and he is good in pass protection and as a run blocker, he is an ideal player to target as you build a team to get through a chunk of games.
Brandon Linder, C, Jacksonville Jaguars – 81 OVR Core
Linder is the most expensive player on this list but you get what you pay for.
Though 81 is still a relatively low OVR, his 80 STR, 79 RBK and 78 PBK for around 9,000 coins is a good deal. What’s more, much like Moton, thanks to his being good across the board and not far behind higher rated players, he will be able to sit in your starting lineup even as you progress into harder games and challenges.
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Matthew Ioannidis, LE, Washington Redskins – 79 OVR Core
Ioannidis is going to be best in a 3-4 defense, but what makes him ideal for this list is he will still be good in a 4-3 defense.
For just 3,300 coins he will give you 85 STR, 63 block shedding (BSH), 73 pursuit (PUR), 76 tackling (TAK), 76 play recognition (PRC), 79 power moves (PMV) and 73 finesse moves (FMV). His 85 strength stands out and matches up with o-lineman rated in the 80s OVR.
What’s more, unlike many other strong players he has an effective PMV and FMV rating so he isn’t a one trick pony. He will be effective against the run and the pass.
Vita Vea, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 78 OVR Core
Just like Ioannidis, Vea’s main appeal is his strength, although Vea’s is even more impressive at 88.
For just 3,200 coins you can get that 88 STR along with 71 BSH, 73 PUR, 72 TAK and 70 PMV. He may only be 78 overall but plugging those stats into the middle of your defensive line will solidify it against many offensive lineman rated higher.
He is best used in a 3-4 system, but he’ll be able to play in a 4-3, too.
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Devin Bush, MLB, Pittsburgh Steelers – 79 OVR TOTW
Bush’s Week 3 TOTW card may not be as appealing now that he has an 86 OVR Week 6 TOTW card, but in your control, this version of Bush can stay in your lineup for a long time.
The main issue with a lot of low OVR defensive players is their speed. Against higher rated offensive players they struggle because they can’t get close. Bush doesn’t have that issue. His 85 SPD, 77 TAK, 77 PUR, 81 hit power (POW) and 71 PRC make him a very good, rangy MLB for you to control. And at just 2,700 coins he is a bargain.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, FS, Miami Dolphins – 78 OVR Core
Much like Bush, Fitzpatrick’s speed is a big selling point. Though his is only 81, when paired with his 81 PRC he should be able to get to the right place at the right time and keep up with offensive players.
He may only have 70 zone coverage (ZCV), but his 70 man coverage (MCV) is better than a lot of safeties and allows him to match up with tight ends and running backs. For just 4,000 coins he is an excellent player to buy cheaply and leave in your lineup for a while as you build the rest of your team, letting him patrol the defensive backfield.
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