So we all know about the famous Madden Curse, which for years plagued some of the biggest stars in the league…
- Garrison Hearst (Madden ’99) – Broke his ankle in the 1998–99 postseason shortly after his cover appearance, leading to severe circulation complications and a multi-year absence from the NFL.
- Barry Sanders (Madden 2000) – He fucking retired.
- Daunte Culpepper (Madden ’02) – Suffered a knee injury and struggled through a 14-touchdown, 13-interception campaign.
- Michael Vick (Madden ’04): Broke his fibula in the preseason and missed most of the year.
- Donovan McNabb (Madden ’06): Plagued by a sports hernia, groin issues, and a public feud with teammate Terrell Owens.
- Shaun Alexander (Madden ’07): Broke his foot early in the season after setting an NFL touchdown record the year prior.
- Peyton Hillis (Madden ’12): Regarded as a classic “one-hit wonder” whose production plummeted immediately after his surprise fan-voted cover appearance.
And much like what happens when Dave buys a Tight End’s jersey, my own curse applies to the first/most expensive Defensive player I draft each year.
I could only stomach it to go back 10 years, but here’s what I found…
| PLAYER | YEAR | COST | GAMES PLAYED | FANTASY POINTS | PREV. YEAR | DIFF. |
| Reshad Jones | 2016 | 5th Rd. | 6 | 1025 | 3410 | 2385 |
| L. Collins | 2017 | 4th Rd. | 15 | 2,260 | 3260 | 1000 |
| C.J. Mosley | 2018 | 5th Rd. | 15 | 1995 | 3130 | 1135 |
| S. Leonard | 2019 | 3rd Rd. | 13 | 2880 | 3810 | 930 |
| D. Hunter | 2020 | 5th Rd. | 0 | 0 | 2,305 | 2305 |
| J. Adams | 2021 | $14 | 16 | 1690 | 2,105 | 415 |
| M. Rodriguez | 2022 | $2 | 16 | 1395 | n/a | n/a |
| M. Parsons | 2023 | $9 | 17 | 2090 | 2390 | 300 |
| A. Singleton | 2024 | $5 | 3 | 492 | 2,395 | 1903 |
| M. Parsons | 2024 | $6 | 13 | 1634 | 2,090 | 456 |
| Zack Baun | 2025 | $9 | 16 | 2,236 | 2832 | 596 |
| Myles Garrett | 2026 | $21 | 0 | 0 | 2905 | 2905 |
Holy Statistical Regression Batman! I know we’re drafting for what they will do, not what they already did, but this ridiculous. How do I not accidently stumble into a success a single time here?
These guys lost an AVERAGE of 1303 points from their previous season. That’s a drop of about 100 points PER GAME on average.
Now if Garrett comes back, I can mitigate some of this, drag that average down a bit, but it’s still extremely unlikely he can live up to his price tag. Not a single one of these fucks could match their previous year, let alone exceed it.
And thus will conclude my bitching (about this) for the day. Have a great weekend!
Oh, and before Dave (or anyone else says it) – “This sounds like reason to switch to Team D” – there, now you don’t have to.
