Little surprise to report when it comes to the Madden 22 cover vote: this year's frontmen are the two quarterbacks who went head-to-head in February's Super Bowl. Buccaneers legend Tom Brady came out on top that evening, but he has to share Madden 22 honours with Kansas City's dominant talisman Patrick Mahomes. Earlier this year, we ranked all the possible contenders for the throne, with Mahomes at #8 and Brady at #3 – and Derrick Henry coming out on top. We were wrong, but have maintained the list below for posterity's sake. This is your Madden 22 cover vote guide.
10. Lamar Jackson (QB, Baltimore Ravens)
EA has never before chosen the same cover athlete two years running, severely denting Jackson’s chances of making the box for Madden 22 – his astonishing 2019 achievements in Baltimore led to him earning the Madden 21 cover. Not especially subtly, either: he leaked the news on Twitter in an interview with the Ravens’ official website.
"It's a dream come true." @Lj_era8 on Madden cover: pic.twitter.com/FtNibi7xt4April 21, 2020
9. Trevor Lawrence (QB, Jacksonville Jaguars)
Selected first by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence would be the first ever rookie to appear on the Madden cover – a bold statement from EA to cement the new PS5 and Xbox Series X era. The lad from Knoxville, Tennessee clocked up more than 10,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in his three-year college career at Clemson.
8. Patrick Mahomes (QB, Kansas City Chiefs)
Now established as the NFL’s most feared QB, Mahomes drove the Chiefs to a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance last season via 4740 passing yards, 308 rushing yards, and 40 overall touchdowns. Sadly, the campaign ended in a Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, and there’s likely to be similar disappointment in the Madden 22 box department, with Mahomes’ Madden 20 cover likely too recent for him to be selected again.
7. Aaron Donald (DT, Los Angeles Rams)
Entering his eighth NFL season, few defensive players are as recognisable as Pittsburgh alumnus Donald – or effective. The Rams’ lynchpin racked up 13.5 sacks last time out, sufficient to score his third NFL Defensive Player Of The Year award. If he can nab the Madden 22 box then he’d be the first D-man to do so since Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks managed it on Madden 15.
6. Travis Kelce (TE, Kansas City Chiefs)
If Mahomes isn’t considered a Chiefs cover contender due to his appearance two editions ago, team-mate Kelce is a more-than-worthy replacement. Even at 31 many experts have labelled him the greatest tight-end in NFL history, and 2020 saw him dominate at the position once again, to the tune of 105 catches, 1416 yards, and 11 touchdowns. He’s unquestionably magic Mahomes’ go-to guy. But will he be EA’s?
5. Dalvin Cook (RB, Minnesota Vikings)
It’s nine years since another Viking, Adrian Peterson, appeared on PS4 and Xbox One covers for Madden 25 – and incredibly, that was the last time a running back was permitted to front the series. On the back of a 1557-yard, 16 touchdown campaign, Florida state graduate Cook is in with a shout of breaking that inexplicable drought.
4. Stefon Diggs (WR, Buffalo Bills)
Receivers haven’t suffered in the same way as running backs where recent Madden covers are concerned – Antonio Brown, then of the Pittsburgh Steelers, fronted Madden 19. If a wideman is going to follow in his footsteps this year it’ll surely be Diggs, after his telepathic connection to quarterback Josh Allen spawned 127 catches, 1535 yards, eight touchdowns, and an AFC East title last time out. Not bad for his first year removed from the Vikings (pictured).
3. Tom Brady (QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
The 2020 season saw Brady sling 4633 passing yards and 40 touchdowns – before picking up his seventh Super Bowl ring in a 31-9 shellacking of the Kansas City Chiefs. Scarily for everyone else in the league, he’s just committed to another two seasons in a Bucs jersey, despite the fact that he turns 44 in August. This would be terrific Tom’s second cover, after Madden 18.
2. Aaron Rodgers (QB, Green Bay Packers)
Questionable coaching saw Green Bay edged out of the players by Tom Brady’s Buccaneers, making it easy to forget that Rodgers outplayed Brady in the regular season. He threw 48 TDs and only five picks, en route to the league’s MVP award. Incredibly, this would be his first ever Madden cover.
1. Derrick Henry (RB, Tennessee Titans)
Henry smashed 2027 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 2020, making him an immediate favourite for the Madden 22 cover – and indeed, it may already have been unveiled. In March a Gamestop store in Pennsylvania began advertising the new game, using Henry’s image – and an eagle-eyed Instagram user leaked the image to the world. That running back drought we mentioned above in relation to Dalvin Cook is surely, finally done.
