Nick SussNashville Tennessean
An all-time Tennessee Titans team surely would include names like Eddie George, Bruce Matthews, Kevin Byard, Jeffery Simmons and Brett Kern. But that's not the team we're building today.
Today, we're talking "Madden NFL."
Since George graced the cover in 2000, the Titans have had several of the video game series' best and most exciting players. That's why, in advance of the soon-to-be-announced player ratings for this year's "Madden 25," we're going position by position to build the best possible squad of Titans that "Madden" has to offer. Using only the game's default stats at release date, here's the starting lineup of the best Titans since George was the cover star of "Madden 2001."
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QB — Steve McNair ("Madden 2005"): 96 overall
"Madden 2005" might've been the year of the Hit Stick, but it's also the game where the Titans had their best QB ever. McNair, building off his 2003 MVP season, featured a 94 throw power rating and a 90 throw accuracy rating, helping the Titans to be the sixth-best overall team in the game.
RBs — Chris Johnson (11): 99 overall
Derrick Henry (23): 97 overall
Arguably the best video game Titans player ever, Johnson had perfect 99 speed and acceleration to go with 97 agility the year after the legend of CJ2K was born. Henry's best year, surprisingly, comes after his injury-shortened season. This version of Henry was monstrous with 98 carrying, 93 speed and trucking, 91 break tackle and of course, a 99 stiff arm.
WRs — Julio Jones (22): 95 overall
DeAndre Hopkins (24): 93 overall
Jones didn't live up to the hype in real life, but his "Madden" counterpart was still the fifth-best receiver in the game. Hopkins did a better job of living up to the hype and was a dominant force in making contested catches with a 99 spectacular catch rating and a 98 catch in traffic rating.
TEs — Frank Wycheck (2001): 93 overall
Delanie Walker (17, 18, 19): 93 overall
George was the Titans' best player on the 2001 game, but Wycheck was only one point behind as one of the game's best tight ends. "Madden" rewarded Walker's consistency by bestowing him with a 93 grade three years in a row.
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OTs — Michael Roos (10): 97 overall
David Stewart (13): 93 overall
Teammates in real life and on the "All-Time Madden" squad, Roos mans the left side and Stewart takes the right. Roos rated 90 or better five games in a row and Stewart earned a 90-plus rating four times in five years, both spanning the games released from 2009 through 2013.
OGs — Andy Levitre (25): 96 overall
Jake Scott (09): 92 overall
"Madden 25" (named as such for the 25th anniversary of the game's release, not for the year it represents) had big hopes for Levitre the year the Titans gave him big money in free agency. And "Madden 09" had similar feelings for Scott, who signed with the Titans in free agency the spring before this game was released.
C — Kevin Mawae (07, 10): 95 overall
The Hall of Fame center rated 91 or better in each of his four years with the Titans, including these 95 ratings before his first and last seasons in Nashville.
DEs — Jevon Kearse (2002): 97 overall
Kyle Vanden Bosch (09): 93 overall
Two important distinctions here: One, the Kearse from "Madden 01" (93 overall) and "Madden 03" (94 overall) could easily start alongside the Kearse from "Madden 2002," but that feels like cheating. And two, Kearse and Vanden Bosch are both technically right ends, so if you're a stickler and want a left end, feel free to grab "Madden 05" Kevin Carter. But the path of least resistance is grabbing the two most well-known defensive ends in Titans history at their peaks.
DTs — Albert Haynesworth (09): 98 overall
Jurrell Casey (15): 93 overall
Maybe Simmons cracks this list someday. For now, Haynesworth clocks in as the best Titans defender ever thanks to his 98-rated strength, power moves and block shedding, and Casey makes the team with 94 tackling, 92 block shedding and a remarkable 95 pursuit grade.
LBs — David Thornton (07, 09): 89 overall
Randall Godfrey (2002): 89 overall
Keith Bulluck (08, 09): 97 overall
Linebacker is the Titans' weakest group, unless your plan is to start multiple of the six versions of Bulluck rated 95 or better. Diversify the group and it's the only place you have to start players rated below 90.
CBs — Samari Rolle (05): 93 overall
Cortland Finnegan (10, 11): 92 overall
The only two first-team All-Pro cornerbacks in Titans history making this squad isn't much of a shock. The year of Rolle's inclusion might be a bit of a surprise, coming later in his career. But his ball skills, combined with Finnegan's physicality, make for a dominant duo.
S — Michael Griffin (10): 95 overall
Chris Hope (08, 09, 10): 92 overall
Griffin, coming off his seven-interception 2008 season, becomes the fourth representative from the "Madden 10" squad. And Hope can make five, depending on which of his ever-productive strong safety seasons you want to pick.
Special teams — Rob Bironas (10, 13): 96 overall
Craig Hentrich (2005): 96 overall
Bironas earned five 90-plus ratings in his prime, making him one of the best and most consistent kickers in the game's history. And while Kern somehow never cracked the 90 club, Hentrich did three times, including his peak year listed here.
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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
