Madden 24: Franchise Beginner’s Guide
Madden 24: Franchise Beginner's Guide
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Being a sports fan means living in a constant state of delusion where you believe you could construct a better team than the current front office. Madden 24 offers a flexible, initiative Franchise game mode that gives you all the powers necessary to build a Super Bowl-contending team.
First things first and that’s perfecting the Franchise settings. It’s highly recommended to use the real-life NFL online roster to begin the Franchise with the most up-to-date roster. Besides the game difficulty, the most important setting to adjust will be the Budget.
Turning Budgets on will activate the salary cap and you’ll have a limit on how much money you can spend. The salary cap is used for signing free agents, re-signing current players, and stadium innovations.
Now, choosing your favorite team or simply “the best” teams might be the easiest path, but if you have an open mind and want a challenge we recommend taking a look at the following teams:
| Team Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | – One of the highest amounts of available cap space. – Projected to have two very high draft picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. – Possible tradeable players in Kyler Murray and Budda Baker. – Long-term project for rising success. |
| Cleveland Browns | – Has the highest-rated running back in Madden 24 in Nuck Chubb. – The defense has top-rated stars in Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. – Tough division competition against the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | – A young, exciting team in an easy division. – Calvin Ridley joins an explosive offense led by Trevor Lawrence. – Other top offensive players include Christian Kirk, Travis Etinne Jr., and Evan Ingram. |
| Green Bay Packers | – One of the youngest teams in the NFL. – Up-and-coming offensive weapons in Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Luke Musgrave, along with veteran Aaron Jones. – A young, dynamic quarterback in Jordan Love. – Two above-average defenders in Jaire Alexander and Rashan Gary. |
| Atlanta Falcons | – Still has question marks at the quarterback position in Desmond Riddler. – Solid skills players in Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Tyler Allegier, and Bijan Robinson. – Should be very competitive in a wide-open NFC South division. |
Once you’ve selected the team, you’ll have to choose between being a Player or Owner. As a Player, you’ll build a legacy toward making the Hall of Fame in a similar fashion as the Superstar mode. You can either choose an established NFL player or create your own rookie based on the following offensive and defensive positions.
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Offense Positions
| Position | Description |
|---|---|
| Field General QB | – Better accuracy and arm strength but not very mobile. – Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers. |
| Strong Arm QB | – Big Arm Strength but not as accurate or mobile. – Josh Allen. |
| Scrambler QB | – Better running skills but is not as accurate when passing. – Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson. |
| Improviser QB | – Maximizes big play opportunities when the designed play breaks down. – Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow. |
| Power Back HB | – Big, powerful with good trucking but slower than other RBs. – Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry. |
| Elusive Back HB | – Fast, elusive with high acceleration but smaller and low trucking. – Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley. |
| Receiving HB | – Good fit in passing schemes like Spread or Vertical Offense. – Austin Ekeler, Josh Jacobs. |
| Deep Threat WR | – Smaller, quicker that can get deep but not a precise route runner. – Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs. |
| Slot WR | – Smaller, quicker receiver that can get over the middle and find open space. – Cooper Kupp. |
| Physical WR | – Receiving target that is able to catch in traffic but not as fast or agile. – A.J. Brown. |
| Playmaker WR | – Can turn any reception into a big play. Excels after the catch. – Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase. |
| Vertical Threat TE | – Taller target who is able to make plays down the field but is not as good a blocker. – Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts. |
| Possession TE | – Good fit in any offensive scheme. – Dallas Goedert, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson. |
Defense Positions
| Position | Description |
|---|---|
| Speed Rusher LE | – Smaller and quick with good finesse moves but low block shedding. – Micah Parsons, Von Miller. |
| Power Rusher LE | – Uses strength and power to push to the QB. – Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa. |
| Run Stopper RE | – Big, powerful end that plugs running lanes and sheds blocks. – Aaron Donald, Cameron Heyward. |
| Power Rusher DT | – Use size and strength to push toward QB. – Dexter Lawrence II, Vita Vea. |
| Speed Rusher DT | – Smaller, and quicker with good finesse moves but lower strength and tackle. – Quinnen Williams. |
| Run Stopper DT | – Plugs running lanes and sheds blocks but has trouble getting to the QB. – Chris Jones. |
| Field General MLB | – High play rec and sure tackler but is poor in coverage. – Fred Warner. |
| Pass Coverage MLB | – Good speed and coverage but poor run defense. – Roquan Smith, Demario Davis. |
| Run Stopper MLB | – Great at shedding blocks and taking down ball carriers. – Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David. |
| Speed Rusher LOLB | – Smaller, and faster with good pass rush skills but lower coverage and strength. – T.J. Watt, Maxx Crosby, Haason Reddick. |
| Power Rusher LOLB | – Bigger and stronger with good pass-rush skills but slower and poor in coverage. – Joey Bosa, Matthew Judon. |
| Pass Coverage ROLB | – Good in coverage but gets stuck on blocks and has trouble rushing the QB. – Matt Milano, Dre Greenlaw. |
| Slot CB | – Good at tackling and playing in space. – Marshon Lattimore. |
| Man-to-Man CB | – Better at man coverage and less skilled in zone. – Jalen Ramsey, Sauce Gardner. |
| Zone CB | – High Zone Coverage with good closing speed. – Darius Slay Jr., Jaire Alexander. |
| Hybrid FS | – Faster with good man coverage skills but poor tackling ability. – Tyrann Mathieu. |
| Zone FS | – Backstop of the defense, erases mistakes in Deep Zone coverage. – Minkah Fitzpatrick. |
| Run Support SS | – Bigger, stronger with higher hit power but slower and lower coverage skills. – Harrison Smith, Budda Baker. |
As an Owner, not only will you have the duties of the coach but also the financial responsibilities of signing players and maintaining the stadium. If you have Budgets turned on, you’ll need to carefully assess which players on your roster should be retained while also seeking upgrades on the free-agent market. Similar to Players, you’ll choose between three Owner backstories that will influence how your Franchise starts:
- Former Player: This backstory gives you an advantage when it comes to team popularity but less money to start with.
- Lifelong Fan: This backstory gives you an advantage with fan happiness but starts with less money and overall happiness.
- Financial Mogul: This backstory gives you an advantage financially but low player happiness.
Throughout the season, you will earn Skill Points to upgrade the players and Staff Points to upgrade the coaches on your team. When upgrading the players, you’ll want to aim for either categories that fit the team’s offensive or defensive schemes, which are identified with a purple puzzle piece, or simply improve upon their general strengths.
The coaching staff will have a bit more detailed Skill Tree that will have categories that impact on-field performances or off-season activities.
Skipping the preseason might seem like the best idea, but you’ll be missing out on some easy experience points. There is a series of mini-games in training camp that focus on each position that will quickly earn experience points toward upgrading your team before the regular season.
Nobody wants to be a one-hit wonder, so it’s important to utilize the NFL Draft to continuously infuse talent into your team. It’s recommended to download a community draft class from Madden Share for the most realistic drafting experience, otherwise, the game will auto-generate a well-rounded draft class.
Utilize this scouting and drafting guide for a more in-depth look into dominating the NFL Draft. The most important step is assigning scouts to key regions that focus on their positional strengths to unlock information on college prospects.
There will be five Mock Drafts leading up to the NFL Draft, and as you unlock more attribute information each week, you can use the Mock Drafts to get an idea of how the real draft will pan out.
NEXT: Madden 24: Beginner Tips
