Modern day sports games do what they can to keep rosters as up-to-date as possible. When a player gets traded, having them show up on the new team’s roster in an update is nice to see. In other cases, if a player’s performance takes a jump in the real world, adjusting their in game stats to match. Sometimes those stat adjustments create controversy, like whenBradley Beal’s numbers took a hit inNBA 2K21despite being named an All-Star Game starter.
This balancing and adjusting gets tricky for a game likeMadden NFL 21during the NFL’s free agency period, with players moving to new teams. WhenSuper Bowl-winning lineman Joe Haeg, is picked up by the Steelers, players looking to keep the game as close to real life as possible may push to acquire Haeg in game as well.
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The Los Angeles Chargers have made a big push to shore up their offensive line in the offseason to better protect their quarterback, Justin Herbert. Oday Aboushi has been picked up by LA to fill a starting role on the offensive line, and while his rating inMadden NFL 21isn’t particularly stellar, sitting at an overall 63, Aboushi has some upside with good strength and awareness. These are two stats that serve linemen well, as they are more important to the job description over speed or catching.
Another key stat to consider with Aboushi, or any lineman, is Impact Blocking. This is a critical stat for a lineman who needs to block in order to give the quarterback time to set up a play. Aboushi hits that stat at 82, which is pretty strong.Madden NFL 21won’t see any further updatesto its franchise mode, so Aboushi’s numbers are locked in untilMadden NFL 22releases later in the year, but 82 is solid. He will join the Chargers roster formally inMadden 22, and his stats could be tweaked then.
Madden NFL 22has some work to doafterMadden21failed to deliver for fans in a few areas. Face of the Franchise, a game mode that starts the player off as a prospect before making their way up to NFL star status, didn’t quite resonate with fans. There were glitches early on inMadden NFL 21, and some of the content didn’t feel fleshed out enough. With that said,Madden NFL 22will be able to push the franchise into next-gen territory, which could offer up substantial improvements.
Madden NFL 21is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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