Madden 21 recently released and fans are already spending countless hours with their favorite offensive and defensive superstars. Much like how it is in the real NFL, most fans forget about special teams’ players until they do something great or terrible directly leading to a win or a loss.
Returners and long-snappers are important, but for this list, we’ll be focusing on the kickers and punters who call certain teams home. Let’s now take a look and rank the NFL’s 10 best special teams units in Madden 21.
10 Washington Football Team
Dustin Hopkins isn’t a kicker most people would know about, but in Madden 21 he comes equipped with a kicking power of 94 and an accuracy of 81. Considering you’ll likely be responsible for most of the accuracy, that power becomes a lot more appealing. The Washington Football Team’s punter is Tress Way, a man with a golden leg. He’s one of the league’s best and it shows through with his accuracy rating of 90 and kicking power of 96. That offense will be punting quite a bit, so thankfully they’re well equipped.
9 Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a team many people are assuming will be the breakout sleeper of 2020. The addition of Deandre Hopkins and the growth of Kyler Murray is what people point at when they find themselves in that thought process. Their special teams aren’t outstanding, but it could also see growth in the coming season. Andy Lee is a veteran punter who’s been around the NFL and seen his highs and lows, but has remained a professional. The kicker, Zane Gonzalez, has a powerful leg that could benefit from a focus on improving accuracy.
8 Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks have a stadium that could be difficult for punters and kickers considering the amount of rain and less than ideal weather they endure on an annual basis.
Players who manage to join the team and provide consistent results aren’t common and it shouldn’t be surprising that their punter and kicker are rating well in Madden 21. Michael Dickson, the punter, has a cannon for a leg and the kicker Jason Myers also comes into practice every day with the ability to kick the ball out of the stadium.
7 Pittsburgh Steelers
With the departure of Antonio Brown and the injury to Ben Roethlisberger, a ton of Pittsburgh Steelers fans quickly learned their kicker’s name last year. That man was non-other than Chris Boswell, a player who sports a kick power of 92 and a kick accuracy of 91 in Madden 21. Kicking at Heinz Stadium’s field isn’t easy, and Boswell makes it look routine. Jordan Berry is the punter for the Steelers and if he were able to match his accuracy with his incredible punting power of 91, he could vault the team a lot higher on this list.
6 Minnesota Vikings
Dallas Cowboys fans will tell you that Dan Bailey was once a cherished product in Dallas and was one of the most reliable players on the roster. Like most kickers, he suffered some setbacks, but even at that, he’s proven to be a steady source of points for an NFL team. Madden players who choose to ride with the Minnesota Vikings won’t need to work super hard to land Bailey’s kicks through the uprights. Their punter, Britton Colquitt, will have punts sailing across the field, landing at a pinpoint location with his accuracy.
5 San Francisco 49ers
Some things are consistent in Madden, and one of those is Robbie Gould. He was once nicknamed “Good as Gould” back when he played for the Chicago Bears, but his level of play has remained the same despite moving all the way over to the west coast.
The San Francisco 49ers did quite a lot of scoring last year and Gould was a large part of that. His partner punter may not be as well known as others, but Mitch Wishnowsky holds his own in a league filled with consistent and powerful punting legs.
4 Green Bay Packers
Mason Crosby, the Green Bay Packers kicker, has clearly seen better days. He was once considered to be one of the league’s most reliable legs in and out of Madden. Despite losing some of his greatness, he’s still one of the better kickers in the league. When you have a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, thankfully you’re rarely settling for field goals. Alongside him, they have J.K. Scott, an Australian product who has quite a powerful leg. Once again, with Rodgers under center, you hope to not have to punt all that often during the season.
3 New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints have made a name for themselves under Sean Payton thanks to an unrelenting offense and a defense that can hold its own. Many fans would overlook the fact that their special teams unit has been as, if not more, consistent than their defense. Their kicker Will Lutz is a reliable kicker with an average leg, and their punter Thomas Morstead is considered one of the game’s most efficient and professional punters. He’s often credited as the one who helped Colts great Pat McAfee become a stud punter himself.
2 Dallas Cowboys
Most people wouldn’t assume that the Dallas Cowboys have one of the best special teams units in the NFL, but ratings-wise that’s the case in Madden 21. During the 2020 NFL offseason, the longtime Los Angeles Rams kicker Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein departed California for Dallas, Texas.
Adding him alongside the proficient punter of the Cowboys, Chris Jones, turned their alright special teams unit into one that could be reliable for them in key situations. It’ll be interesting to see if Greg Zuerlein returns to form in a new environment.
1 Baltimore Ravens
When you have the best kicker in the NFL by a longshot, and arguably the best punter, you’ll likely land the honor of having the highest-rated special teams unit in Madden. In Madden 21 that honor clearly goes to the Baltimore Ravens who are the team the NFL’s best kicker calls home. That man’s name is Justin Tucker and his consistent level of play has rewarded him with a rating of 87. His special steams counterpart is Sam Koch, one of the NFL’s best punters and the owner of a rating of 84.
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