EA Sports announced on Wednesday morning that Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will grace the cover of the newest edition of their iconic video game, Madden NFL 27.
Williams lands on the cover after leading the Bears to the divisional round of the playoffs in 2025, just his second NFL season. The 24-year-old’s incredible postseason run included jaw-dropping throws from his game-tying touchdown against the Rams to his overtime touchdown to beat the Packers.
Williams is undoubtedly on the path to NFL superstardom. That said, it feels a little early for him to be awarded the cover of Madden.
Consider the players that have previously been dubbed the cover athlete over the past decade: Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Josh Allen, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski. All were and/or are outstanding players. Barkley and McCaffrey each were placed on Madden after winning Offensive Player of the Year. Brown and Gronkowski landed on Madden after years of great play and All-Pro seasons. Mahomes and Jackson, like Williams, graced Madden after their second NFL seasons. They, however, did so because they had already won NFL MVP awards. Williams wasn’t even a finalist, let alone a Pro Bowler.
This is not meant to disparage Williams, who—assuming he continues on his current track—will undoubtedly deserve his spot on the cover of Madden one day. For now, that honor should have been left to a more accomplished player. After all, of the six quarterbacks in his own draft class, you could argue Williams has had just the fourth-best career so far.
With the cover athlete of Madden 27 now officially unveiled, here’s a look at who should’ve received that honor instead.
Myles Garrett
After breaking the NFL’s single-season sack record, Myles Garrett was a fantastic candidate to be the first defensive player to grace the cover of Madden since Richard Sherman in 2014. Sherman, Troy Polamalu and Ray Lewis are the only defensive players that have been the cover stars of Madden since 2000, and Garrett, a future Hall of Famer, made sense to be the fourth after a fantastic ’25 campaign. He broke the NFL’s all-time single-season sack record, won his second Defensive Player of the Year award unanimously and is widely considered the best player in football.
Now, he’s heading to a Rams squad that is considered the Super Bowl favorite. – Eva Geitheim
Drake Maye
If we’re putting any 2024 first-round pick on the cover of Madden, shouldn’t it be Drake Maye?
The Patriots’ quarterback burst onto the scene in 2025, leading the NFL in completion percentage (71.0%), yards per attempt (8.9), passer rating (113.5) and QBR (77.1) while helping New England average the second-most points (28.8) and third-most yards (379.4) per game throughout the regular season. While Maye has only logged one true season where he was considered among the league’s best, he has a clear leg-up on Williams, having finished second in MVP voting behind only Matthew Stafford (who we’ll get to in a moment), and leading New England to its first Super Bowl appearance since the days of Tom Brady. –Mike Kadlick
Matthew Stafford
The reigning NFL MVP has never appeared on the cover of Madden, despite having been in the league for 17 years. Quarterbacks are regularly featured as the cover athlete on the EA Sports game, yet Stafford has never received the honor. He’s coming off his best-ever season in 2025 in which he led the league with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns. He averaged 46 more yards per game than Williams and threw for 19 more touchdowns. Williams, assuming he continues to develop into a star, will have plenty more chances to grace the cover of Madden. Stafford, who is signed for another two seasons, is up against the clock as his NFL career winds down. – Karl Rasmussen
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