Rebuilding a team - Where do you start?

[Inferno2ss]

QB, LE, CB and SS are my primary focus points early on. You can hide a lot of other weaknesses in Madden.

A good LE can wreak havoc on defense by himself, a big hitter at SS will give you that 8th man in the box and you have to have a QB who can make plays. WRs and TEs are easy to find in the draft and FA.

[MooseBoyJ]

For me I stick with D wins championships. My O isn't horrible but isn't fantastic, some of that is Im the Colts with no O-Line, but I build my top 3 corners. Vontae is a great #1 but Powers is more of a nickle corner to me so I trade to get that #2. Someone who can lock up at the line, stay with em stride for stride, and catch. I trade Freeny for picks and Lamar Miller and Mathis for picks and Trindon Holliday, AMAZING K+PR, and normally just do so so in pass coverage the first year because i have no true second CB. Depending on the draft class depends on if I draft that 2nd CB or OL. Try to develop Luck by using all I can get from #87 and then develop TY Hilton. Normally I win on the speed of Trindon on a PRTD. Since I got rid of the Cap Hog that is Freeny I can spend big bux on a CB like Talib or DRC in FA or whoever I think fits my scheme and is available. Changes every year.

[throckmeisterz]

I'd have to say defense first, followed by RB and OL, if I'm building from scratch. You need a good OL no matter what kind of offense you play, and the difference between pass blockers and run blockers is really unimportant in the long run, as blocking skills are super cheap until they get to the mid 80s or so. Basically, I just fill my OL with guys with star dev and 90s strength. Anyway, you can build an effective rushing offense with fewer players than a passing offense, so I focus on building my impenetrable defense first.

As for defense, my first priority is getting a pass rusher, whether he plays DT or LE (I have played DEs and OLBs from the LE position, just putting my best pass rusher there no matter what). Once I have one pass rusher, I focus on finding a fast run stopping ROLB; if I don't have a good MLB, I'll just play my ROLB at MLB in the dime (otherwise I play him at DE in the dime; my ROLB is usually one of my best defensive players, so I want him playing every down). Next, I find a fast man coverage CB. My next priority is to start filling out my LBs and D line before turning my attention to a fast, hard hitting safety; good safeties are nice to have, but I find they are the icing on the cake of a good Madden defense, not as necessary as other positions. Workable CBs are a dime a dozen, so I fill out my CBs last.

With my defense in place, I try to collect a great o line and a blocking TE. If I'm playing an almost exclusive rushing offense, I will actually play a fast OT at TE. Finally, I grab a fast HB to run outside. If I can get a good HB, that's even better (even if he's a touch slow to start, speed is way cheaper than trucking or elusiveness), but a mid to high 90s speed HB with decent acceleration running outside handoffs can gain 10 yards per carry, even if he never breaks a tackle. Only once my defense and rushing offense are in place do I start building my passing game.

[andeftw]

I start by looking at the team's weaknesses.
I'm currently doing a Raiders CCM and, based on their starting roster, their biggest weaknesses are the offensive line and defensive backs.

I'm currently set at LT, C and SS, all other positions need upgrades. I usually try to build through the draft. My aim is to have a starter above 80 in every position (K,P aside) and the backup above 75.