Madden 17 Ultimate Team: Budget Offense and Special Teams


Madden 17 Ultimate Team is the place football fans go in order to build a team that is completely their own. Unlike Connected Franchise, there is no cap space to worry about, no salaries and contracts to worry about and players aren’t owned by other teams who demand high trade prices. Any player you want you can get and that allows you to build a team filled with the best players available or all of your favourite players.

One thing does get in the way of that though: MUT Coins. Players obviously aren’t free, and the only way to guarantee you get the players you want is by buying them from the Auction House, which requires MUT Coins. Typically, the better the player the more expensive they are. Therefore, creating your Ultimate Team isn’t as simple as you may have hoped, especially if you’re low on Coins.

Well not to worry anymore as here is an offense that you can create for less than 85,000 Coins (7,084 average Coins per player) that will be plenty good enough.

I limited the lineup to 85,000 Coins and limited each position to 15,000 Coins and picked the player I feel best strikes a balance between price and skills and I only selected starters and no backups.

Prices are based on Xbox One averages at the time of writing (January 20th 2017) and change day to day so they are subject to change.

Quarterback:

Aaron Rodgers, 89 Overall, 14,500 Coins

I selected the Base Set Edition of Aaron Rodgers as he is as good a QB as this budget can buy. He wasn’t the cheapest option, an 88 Overall Cam Newton cost around 8000 Coins and a 90 Overall Philip Rivers cost around 10,000 Coins, but this version of Rodgers strikes a balance between those two that is hard to beat.

He has one of the best arms in the game, as he does in real life, as he has 91 Throw Power, 91 Short Accuracy, 90 Medium Accuracy, 86 Deep Accuracy and 90 Throw on the Run. Then if you ever need to scramble he has 77 Speed which, despite not being fast, is more than quick enough to get the yards that you need.

Running Back:

Carlos Hyde, 88 Overall, 9,900 Coins

For just under 10,000 Coins Hyde is a bargain and can do pretty much anything. With 89 Speed he is plenty fast enough and his 90 Acceleration and 88 Agility make him just as quick as he is fast. What’s more, he has 91 Trucking, 88 Stiff Arm, 92 Spin Move, 84 Juke Move and 82 Elusiveness so he can bowl over and through people with ease or can make people miss and bounce off tacklers on his way to big plays.

Full Back:

Patrick DiMarco, 85 Overall, 5,900 Coins

Within the budget you could buy the 89 Overall ‘Most Feared’ version of Patrick DiMarco but he is not worth the extra Coins. He is about 10,000 Coins more expensive but only offers an upgrade of 2 or 3 points on each attribute. So, for example, the 85 Overall version that I have chosen has 85 Run Blocking and 91 Impact Blocking whereas the 89 Overall version has 88 Run Blocking and 92 Impact Blocking. Of course the latter version is better but if you’re building a budget team then using the base edition of DiMarco is far more economical.

Wide Receiver:

A.J. Green, 87 Overall, 6,700 Coins

A.J. Green is all that you want in a number one wide receiver and, though he isn’t the highest rated WR you could have within the budget, he is all that you really need and is an absolute bargain for the price. He may not have the gaudiest ratings, but he is a vertical threat and a problem for the defense on jump balls. What’s more he is effective after the catch and as a short route option. He is as complete as they come.

DeAndre Hopkins, 87 Overall, 6,900 Coins

It’s the same story with Hopkins as it is with Green. The differences between them are negligible. Hopkins is a slightly better possession receiver, in that he is better at making spectacular or contested catches, but Green is slightly better after the catch. Between them you’ll have a formidable one-two punch at receiver.

Jeremy Maclin, 88 Overall, 11,500 Coins

Maclin is quite a bit more expensive than the previous two, especially when you consider I have him playing in the slot as the number 3 receiver, but he is worth the money considering the amount you saved on Green and Hopkins. He is a little quicker than the previous to and he suits playing the slot position more than either of the others. In my experience of using him he is a very good deep threat but is equally as dangerous on very quick passes that he can turn into big gains, which is what a slot needs to do. He is a reliable third down option and completes a very effective WR corps.

Tight End:

Tyler Eifert, 86 Overall, 8,100 Coins

Within the budget Eifert is the most all-round option available at tight end and he is a very good one at that. He is an excellent pass catcher and is on the faster end of the spectrum for ‘Base Set Edition’ tight ends. He is a menace over the middle and is a great weapon in the redzone. Just to make things better, he has 79 Run Blocking which is several points less than his main competitor Greg Olsen, which is why I chose Eifert of Olsen.

Left Tackle:

Joe Thomas, 87 Overall, 8,000 Coins

Joe Thomas, despite not being the highest Overall LT in the game, is not that much worse than any of them and for his price he is great value. He has 90 Pass Blocking, 86 Run Blocking and 88 Impact Blocking with 87 Strength, and that is pretty much as good as you can ask for, especially within this budget. In fact, he was my teams starting left tackle for a long time despite being the worst rated o-lineman on my time going by Overall and he was never a weak link.

Left Guard:

Richie Incognito, 87 Overall, 8,200 Coins

With Incognito at LG next to Joe Thomas at LT you’ll have a very well rounded blindside. Incognito has 85 Pass Blocking, 92 Run Blocking and 82 Impact Blocking and so creates a very well balanced side of the offensive line. In the run game you’ll be able to jam the ball own the defenses throat behind Incognito but then he’ll be solid in the pass game to keep your pocket clean.

Center:

Maurkice Pouncey, 85 Overall, 2,800

Pouncey’s Overall rating may put you off but his other ratings and his play are at a much higher level, and at this price you simply cannot pass him up. He has 88 Strength, 88 Run Block, 88 Pass Block and 92 Impact Blocking which makes him one of the best all-round offensive lineman. Like Thomas, Pouncey remained my team’s center for a long time as very few centers have better ratings than he does, regardless of the Overall rating.

Right Guard:

Zack Martin, 87 Overall, 8,000 Coins

Zack Martin is the second best RG in the NFL at the moment, if not the best, and this ‘Base Set Edition’ of him reflects that. He has 86 Strength, 88 Run Block, 91 Pass Block and 82 Impact Blocking. Like Incognito he is a force to be reckoned with on the interior and the trio of Incognito, Pouncey and Martin means that running the ball down the middle will not be an issue for this team.

Right Tackle:

Mitchell Schwartz, 86 Overall, 5,800 Coins

Schwartz was one of the highest rated RT’s available within the budget and he is well worth the Coins. He has 87 Strength, 85 Run Block, 91 Pass Block and 82 Impact Block so, like all of the other players on the offensive line, he is capable and good at doing anything you need him to.

Of course, no team is complete without Special Teams so here is the budget Special Teams that I chose that will add just

Punter:

Johnny Hekker, 85 Overall, 2,900 Coins

In my opinion, Kick Power is the most important stat for punters and Hekker has plenty of it. He has 91 Kick Power and 86 Kick Accuracy so he can easily flip field position or precisely pin an offense deep in their own territory. What’s more, Hekker has the best passing stats of all punters, which is a plus if you like to run a lot of fake punts.

Kicker:

Justin Tucker, 87 Overall, 5,000 Coins

Like Hekker, Kick Power is something that Tucker has in abundance. He has 92 Kick Power so can make long field goals that most couldn’t. He also has 87 Kick Accuracy so he is plenty accurate enough from anywhere on the field. His Kick Power also ensures a lot of touchbacks which can be crucial if you don’t want to cover kick offs.

Returner:

Tyreek Hill, 86 Overall, 7,000 Coins

This is actually the ‘Out of Position’ version of Hill who is now a RB instead of a WR. He is not very good as an every down running back but he is dynamite as a kick returner. He has 93 Speed, 92 Agility, 92 Acceleration, 90 Elusiveness, 93 Ball Carrier Vision, 88 Spin Move, 93 Juke Move and 93 Kick Return. He is so fast and is a nightmare to bring down. He is the ideal kick returner so the extra Coins to get him over cheaper options is worth it.

The defense to finish off this team is up next.

What do you think of this team? Let us know in the comments!

 

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