Derrick Henry deserved to be on the Madden 22 cover

Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes as the old GOAT and young GOAT works for the Madden 22 cover but Derrick Henry would’ve been the best choice. 

For the first time in over a decade, EA Sports made the decision to go with two cover athletes for Madden 22. It’s not hard to see the logic in their decision to go with Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as their selections either. As arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time and the future of the NFL, respectively, it makes sense.

Then again, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry would’ve made more sense.

While there is merit to the Brady-Mahomes duo, neither had the fully dominant individual year that Henry had out of the Titans backfield last season. In his fifth season, the former Heisman Trophy winner amassed 2,027 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on the season, both of which are career highs. He also did so while logging highlight-reel stiff-arms one after the next.

If his production and performance wasn’t enough to earn him a look for the Madden 22 cover, though, there’s more than just that working in his favor.

Madden 22 would’ve been much cooler with Derrick Henry on the cover.

Perhaps this is just a personal thing but the fact that both Brady and Mahomes have already been cover athletes for the video game franchise — in the last five years, no less — diminishes the “cool factor” a bit. We’re not getting to see a fresh face, one like Henry’s, get a distinction that only a few players have ever gotten in their careers. That’s a bit troublesome in some regard.

Beyond that, the released cover simply could’ve been made to look a lot better with Henry throwing stiff-arms or running downfield than the one with Brady and Mahomes simply sitting on a bench side-by-side. Unless there is a new “Look At The iPad on the Sidelines Between Drives” game mode, how does that get me ready to fire up a gaming system.

The biggest factor in all of this, though, is the obvious missed opportunity to market Madden 22 with one of the league’s top players wearing No. 22 in Henry. How they didn’t see that in front of them is baffling to me.

EA Sports likely knows they’re going to sell the newest installment in the historic franchise no matter which NFL player is on the cover. But with all that’s been laid out here, it does feel like Derrick Henry deserved to be the pick.