The 5 Best Madden NFL 17 Teams

There are plenty of big changes to the top teams in Madden 17.  Traditional powerhouses like the Broncos and Seahawks lost players that were incredibly important to their team while some other teams became significantly better than last year.

The Broncos will be a completely different team in Madden 17 without a dominant QB like Peyton Manning and the gamers who play with the Seahawks won’t be able to rely on Marshawn Lynch to pick up 5 yards whenever they want.

This isn’t an article going over the top Madden 17 teams in terms of overall rating, but rather the teams that all of the top players will use online.  If you’ve been around the Madden community long enough, you know that the highest rated teams aren’t always the best teams to use in the game.

You can check out our top 3 sleeper teams in Madden 17 here. Let’s dive right into the top 5 Madden 17 teams.

#5 Pittsburgh Steelers

For the longest time, when you thought about the Steelers, you’d instantly think about their defense.  Not this year though.  In Madden 17, they will be one of the hardest teams to stop on offense.  They have one of the best quarterbacks in the game, one of the best running backs in the game, and one of the best receivers.  If that isn’t enough, they have a good offensive line for Madden as well.

The addition of tight end Ladarius Green makes this offense downright scary in Madden 17.  Pro gamers know how dangerous a 6’6″ tight end with elite speed can be.  You will see a lot of people using the Steelers online this year.

#4 Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have the best offensive line in Madden.  Now that they’ve added Ezekiel Elliot in the NFL Draft, there will be all kinds of people abusing the running game.  Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden are both good enough to start for other teams in Madden 17, and they are great back up options in case Elliot gets tired.

When you also consider that the Cowboys still have Dez Bryant, Tony Romo, and Jason Witten, you can see how the Cowboys made the list here.  The defense isn’t bad either.

#3 Seattle Seahawks

Even though the Seahawks lost Marshawn Lynch to retirement, they are still a team everyone will use because of their dominant defense.  They have speed everywhere and their secondary locks up even the most explosive offenses.

While the Seahawks definitely could use some upgrades at running back and wide receiver, Russell Wilson and Jimmy Graham are 2 of the most dangerous weapons in video game football.  If you have any sort of skill on defense, you won’t have to put up too many points with the Seahawks offense.

#2 New England Patriots

The Patriots have been a top 5 Madden team for a decade and nothing changes this year.  They still have one of the best offenses in the game and the defense is still very hard to move the ball against.

They are just incredibly consistent and don’t have any noticeable weaknesses that you can exploit.  That (and Tom Brady) make them incredibly dangerous

#1 Carolina Panthers

The Panthers have one of the best defenses in the game and the single most dangerous Madden 17 player in Cam Newton.  Cam Newton by himself would instantly make any offense in the NFL one of the best in Madden 17.  He has 2 huge receiving threats in Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen.  Mix that in with the speed of their other receivers and a strong running game and it is easy to see how they came in at #1.

The defense is their strength however.  Luke Kuechly is the best linebacker in the game.  They have speed and skill at pretty much every position on defense.

There were a lot of teams that improved via free agency and the draft but as we see it, these will be the best 5 teams to start off with in Madden NFL 17.  Obviously, things will change quickly based on roster updates.

Which teams did we miss?  Which teams don’t deserve to be on this list?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.