New Orleans made the move to amass more picks well before Madden 24 coins  the draft as they traded with Philly, showing an eye on the future. To me, this is the kind of move you’re looking for. The Saints play with the cap as much as they play football, and the writing is on the wall. In order to keep solid cap solvency in the modern Madden NFL 24 you need to have top receivers and quarterbacks locked on rookie contracts, and that’s what they do. I’m not trying to take anything away from Chris Olave, who is a fantastic talent at this spot and will be a huge talent upgrade across from Michael Thomas.

No. 17: Los Angeles Chargers: Jameson Williams, WR — Alabama

I could absolutely see the Chargers getting itchy phone fingers deciding whether they need to move up and get Jameson Williams, but in the end they hang tight and breathe a sigh of relief he’s still available. It’s unclear what the future holds for Keenan Allen in L.A., but either way Williams will be the future for Justin Herbert along with Mike Williams. These two can easily become one of the best receiving tandems in the Madden NFL 24, and I’m convinced that if Jameson hadn’t been injured in the National Championship we’d hear his name a whole lot earlier.

No. 18: Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Davis, DT — Georgia

The reformation of the defensive line continues with a player who garnered similar combine buzz as his teammate Travon Walker. Davis is lightning fast for a man his size, and gifted at eating space in the middle. While he’s never going to be an Aaron Donald-style penetrator, he’s also 341 pounds — so that’s an unreasonable expectation. He will, however, collapse the pocket and push a lineman back in a QB’s face while edge rushers get to eat, and in this role he will thrive.

No. 19: New Orleans Saints: Desmond Ridder, QB — Cincinnati

This might be met with some surprise, but it shouldn’t be. New Orleans knows they won’t be bad enough to pick in the Top 10 next year and get a quarterback, especially with the Falcons and Panthers in the NFC South. Couple this with the fact Ridder has a lot more upside that most QBs taken in the back-half of first rounds past and this is great fit. Ridder will have a year to sit behind Jameis Winston, and then inherit a really solid team.

No. 20: Minnesota Vikings: Trent McDuffie, CB — Washington

I’ll admit that moving back this far is a risk for the  cheap mut 24 coins Vikings, but with Sauce and Stingley Jr. off the board they made the right move. McDuffie is a really solid player they could have stayed and taken out of necessity at No. 12 anyway, so amassing more assets and still getting him here is a great move.