Madden 16: Cover, Release Date and Draft Champions Details

Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants rode the hype he generated from a magical rookie season—capsulized by one heck of a catch—to new levels of fame. That fame culminated in an appearance on the cover of Madden 16.  

Official Release Date	EA Access Release Date (Xbox One Only)	Platforms
Aug 25	Aug 20	PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

In case you hadn't seen it, here's a look from EA Sports Madden NFL on Twitter:

Per EA Sports, Beckham Jr. is one of the highest-rated wide receivers in the game at 94 overall. He'll undoubtedly be one of the most coveted players in the new Draft Champions mode. Here's a breakdown:

The Concept and Execution

DC brings a fantasy football element to Madden, but it aims to condense the season experience while accentuating the drafting component. 

Take a look at the demo of the mode by YouTuber QJB:

As you can see from the video, you begin by picking a head coach. You'll only have three choices. EA Sports noted that it did this to speed up the process and to get gamers into the action a bit quicker. The coach choice dictates the playbook your team will use.

Your uniform is determined by the team you have designated as your favorite in the settings. From there you'll be given a base roster of mediocre players.

The next step of the draft process requires you to replace the base players with as many stars as possible. The stock of players you can choose from will change every time you play the game. One draft class may be heavy with receivers such as Beckham Jr. Others might feature a wealth of elite running backs or another position.

Drafts are 15 rounds and gamers have three picks per cycle. The final round is always a choice of three legends.    

You are charged with strategically picking the stars at the positions of the most importance. The objective is to match them with the way you play and with a style that complements the playbook you've chosen.

Winning

Once you complete the draft, you'll take your team on the virtual field to compete against three AI-controlled teams or head-to-head with other human DC players. 

If you win the three games, you'll advance to the DC game in the new Draft Champions Stadium. If the mode works as advertised, it's designed to give gamers a "Madden Fantasy in a Night" experience, per EA Sports. 

Be on the lookout for a deep-dive review on this mode and the others in Madden 16 once the game is released.    

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.