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Operation Sports

Kyler Wolff

Which Rookies Develop the Best in Madden 26 Franchise Mode?

Madden (Organization) Oluwafemi Oladejo Ashton Jeanty Jaxson Dart Cam Ward Jahdae Barron Nick Martin Shedeur Sanders Tai Felton Browns (Organization)

Madden 26 is out, and one of the things that I like to find out is how they are going to treat the current rookie class in franchise simulations. Early on, we know that Madden hates rookies with a passion, almost always underrating even the most talented young prospects, but often the rookies quickly develop into stars in franchise mode simulations. However, Madden always makes this process fairly random and unpredictable. How are players going to develop? Which players will turn into perennial Pro Bowlers, which ones will be driven out of the league, and which lower-round draft picks will turn out to be hidden gems bound to make their respective GMs look like Geniuses?

I set out to find these answers in my own Madden 26 franchise mode simulation. I simulated through this decade and to the end of the 2030 season to help myself get a good snapshot of how the draft class did in the game. Here’s what I found:

Booms

RB Ashton Jeanty – 99 Overall, Raiders
Stats: 1,525 rushes, 8,040 yards, 54 TDs -– 153 catches, 1,684 receiving yards, 17 receiving TDs

The biggest boom of them all, as the sixth pick in the draft, Jeanty easily won Rookie of the Year, and in six seasons made the Pro Bowl five times and led the league in rushing yards three times. Jeanty was by far the most successful offensive player from this rookie class.

WR Tai Felton – 86 Overall, Vikings
Stats: 317 catches, 4,112 yards, 45 TDs

As the last pick in the third round, Tai Felton definitely overperformed his draft position, making the most of the WR3 spot on the pass-heavy Vikings following the 2025 season (where he put up a meager 71 yards). While he didn’t pop off the page based on his receiving yards numbers (only cracking 1000 yards once in five starting seasons), his TD numbers were impressive, leading all pass catchers in this draft class by far with 45, surpassing the next best receiver (Matthew Golden) by double-digit scores.

EDGE Oluwafemi Oladejo – 95 Overall, Titans
Stats: 99.5 sacks, 45 TFLs, 336 tackles

Oladejo was the 52nd pick in this year’s draft class, and according to Madden, this will be one of the best defensive draft picks of the last decade, as Oladejo nearly gets to 100 sacks in just six seasons with the Titans, putting up a staggering 25.5 sacks in 2026. These ridiculous numbers follow a trend that is familiar to Madden players, where certain defensive players rack up crazy stat numbers. I mean, in this sim, Maxx Crosby already has 191 career sacks, including 4 20+ sack seasons and 2 25+ sack seasons. Despite the inflated sack numbers, Oluwafemi stands out amongst his peers as the best sack artist in the draft class.

LB Nick Martin – 89 Overall, 49ers
Stats: 609 tackles, 33 TFLs, 11 sacks, seven interceptions, 36 deflections

The 75th pick in the draft, Nick Martin, has been a revelation in this sim, leading all rookies in tackles as well as putting up good auxiliary numbers.

Busts

QB Jaxson Dart – Out of the League

Dart was by far the biggest disappointment in this sim, the number 25 pick in the draft never threw a single pass in the regular season and was not on an NFL roster by the end of 2030. As a Giants Fan, I can’t help but think this was a personal slight against me. I know it’s random, but man! How could he play so badly! Even Daniel Jones is still in the league after six seasons! This is ridiculous.

OT Aireonte Ersery – 82 Overall, Texans
Stats: 63 sacks allowed, 93 games played

Ersery was a top 50 draft pick in this draft class and was able to keep a starting job for the majority of his first six seasons in the league, but he’s given up way too many sacks and hasn’t developed like his counterparts in this draft on the O-Line.

CB Jahdae Barron – 82 Overall, Broncos
Stats: 439 tackles, four interceptions, 18 deflections

Barron’s stats aren’t terrible, but I had much higher expectations, and it’s clear that he has not lived up to the hype. He’s one of the few first-round picks not to break 85 overall yet (just him and Dart), and he hasn’t even averaged one pick per season!

RB R.J. Harvey – Out of the League

I don’t know if RJ Harvey has super high expectations as the number 60 draft pick in this class, but certainly, they are higher than this. I don’t even know what his final stats are because he’s already retired and out of the stats system, but I can assume they weren’t great.

Starting QBs

Cam Ward – 88 Overall, Titans
Stats: 65 comp%, 21,068 yards, 145 TDs, 68 ints, 95.4 rating – 510 rushes, 2,016 rushing yards, 26 rushing TDs

Cam Ward has started every game for the Titans since he was drafted, and he’s won five playoff games in six years, so he’s definitely done some good for the Titans organization, but his numbers aren’t anything special. What’s encouraging is that his numbers do seem to be on the rise, with him putting up his best season in 2030 with a 108.3 passer rating and a 33-8 TD to interception ratio.

Shedeur Sanders – 88 Overall, Browns
Stats: 65 comp%, 17,008 yards, 129 TDs, 53 ints, 97.7 rating – 368 rushes, 1,519 rushing yards, 13 rushing TDs

Shedeur got the start immediately for the Browns in this sim, but he started his career with poor performances in back-to-back years that would have likely lost him the job in reality. He had an 83.5 passer rating in year one, followed by 82.3 in year two. But had a complete turnaround in year three when he put up a 106.3 rating, followed by another 100+ rating the next year, before he shockingly lost the starting job in year five after the Browns added Jared Goff to their roster in 2029. Sanders jumped Goff on the depth chart in 2030 and earned his starting job back, and led the Browns to a playoff bye (then a divisional round loss) with a career year where he put up a 113 passer rating and threw 35 TDs on only four picks and a 70% completion percentage.

Will Howard – 81 Overall, Steelers
Stats: 63 comp%, 7,708 yards, 61 TDs, 90.9 rating – 205 rushes, 752 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD

Will Howard has started games in three of his six seasons, starting roughly 35 games over his career for a struggling post-Tomlin Steelers who have been near the bottom of the league for the majority of this sim.