Who should be on the cover of Madden 08?

With the NFL season wrapped up, it comes time yet again to begin speculation on who will be on the cover of the upcoming Madden.

Its safe to assume there won’t be another runningback, quarterback, or linebacker due to their appearances in recent years. You can also scratch offensive lineman off the list since they aren’t seen as marketable enough.

Generally the cover athlete will be related to the big selling-point feature addition. Examples would be Michael Vick with ‘Playmaker’ and Shaun Alexander with ‘Run to Daylight’. This will probably be the case in Madden 08.

So lets take a look at the most likely positions that would make sense, and who the best representative of those would be.

Defensive Back: Champ Bailey
Most Madden players would agree that the defensive back play needs to be improved. There is too much relying on the AI and since you can’t control every player on the field, it ends up as the most manipulated by the opposing offense. Giving the user a chance to counteract that with a new feature would be a welcome addition. Having the far and away best corner in football Champ Bailey would fit perfectly.

Defensive Line: Jason Taylor
Jason Taylor had an incredible season, and it resulted in him winning the Defensive Player of the Year. Having that title makes him a viable choice. A defensive end would probably be taken over a defensive tackle, again for marketing purposes. However, since the defensive line has always had advantages over the offensive line and in some years simply been overpowering, EA may not be looking at the defensive line to receive the main new feature.

Wide Receiver: Marvin Harrison
Arena Football added in the ability to control your WR on offense. This could also translate into Madden if they chose to do so. Should the offense be getting another weapon though? As mentioned earlier the defensive backs probably deserve it first. With Chad Johnson having just been on the cover of NFL Street, Marvin Harrison would make for a great selection coming off a Super Bowl win.

Special Teams: Devin Hester
No game has ever truly represented how important Special Teams is in football. Outside of the speed of a returner, there is essentially no difference between Special Teams units. Its time for that to change. Hester was unmatched in his impact made returning kicks and punts (not to mention missed field goals). He would be a refreshing change-of-pace for the cover and he has become a household name after the opening kickoff return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. It would also continue the trend from the last two years of the player being from the team that lost the Super Bowl (Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander).