Saquon Barkley highlights newest Madden 19 Ultimate Team NFL Honors drop

The trend of Limited Time players in Madden 19 Ultimate Team continued on February 7 as PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players will have the opportunity to acquire two new cards via packs from the NFL Honors program.

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With just two NFL Honors cards remaining, MVP-winner Patrick Mahomes and Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, the crème de la crème is still to come.

The likes of Rookie of the Year winners Darius Leonard and Saquon Barkley are certainly worthy items in their own right, however.

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It’s a bit disappointing to see Leonard’s pass rushing capabilities (89 Finesse Moves, 78 Power Moves) get dismissed so easily given he recorded seven sacks despite playing middle linebacker for the Colts this season, but it’s hard to get too upset given he has 90 Speed and 93 Acceleration.

Truthfully, Leonard’s abilities to be a dynamic player in many facets in the NFL is a difficult one to replicate in Madden and hinders the type of item he probably could get if he was simply a one-dimensional pass rusher or a quality cover linebacker.

He won’t make the best user, given he’s only 6-foot-2 and sports 76 catching, but Colts fans certainly won’t complain about an item that figures to be one of the better ones at ROLB for the rest of Madden 19.

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The true headline from Thursday’s Honors drops is Saquon Barkley, the Rookie of the Year running back who beat Baker Mayfield for the prestigious award.

The Madden community was justifiably happy with the decision, as his Rookie Premiere card, which updates with each new iteration of the card through the end of February, will receive the 98 overall update to go along with the LTD release.

That might end up having a negative effect for users stuck in the unfortunate position of being unable to get the Honors card for free, as less people are expected to pull packs for the Giants’ star RB as a result. Without a Power-Up item (spoiler alert, he HAS to get one soon), users interested in acquiring the latest edition of Barkley will likely need to get lucky or pay over a million coins in order to secure his services.

For what it’s worth, the item certainly lives up to the hype, as 95 Speed coupled with 93 Trucking and 97 Agility makes Barkley a potent rushing threat, while his 80 catching and above average route running capabilities help his cause with the ever-growing Wheel routes which have become increasingly popular in the meta following the Madden Club Championships.

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Finally, a crucial piece of information was revealed regarding the conversion rate for Super Bowl rings. 

While it was widely expected the new currency was expected to turn into Training at a ratio of 1.5 SB to 1 Training, it will actually take two SB rings (10 SB rings converts into 5 training) in order to earn the purple points.

It’s a bit of a let down for people who invested in the new currency and caps off a disappointing second run at EA’s desire to force feed yet another form of payment for cards.