Breaking down the Madden 23 player ratings

After a week of drip-feeding, the Madden 23 player ratings have been fully revealed by EA ahead of the game’s release in August.

Who earned the vaunted 99 overall? Who got snubbed? Who has been overrated by EA? Fragster’s resident football fan and former sportswriter Benjamin Mock is here to break down everything you need to know about the Madden 23 player ratings.

The 99 Club

There are four players in the hallowed ’99 Club’, the overall rating reserved for the league’s very best players. Los Angeles Rams DE Aaron Donald and Oakland Raiders WR Davante Adams are the only members of the Madden 22 99 Club to return for Madden 23. They are joined by Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett, and San Francisco 49ers OT Trent Williams. Williams becomes the first offensive lineman to start the game as a 99-overall.

However, as we will get into, the list has proven controversial in regards to who wasn’t made a 99-overall this year.

The rookies

One of the biggest talking points heading into the 2022 NFL Draft was the lack of a distinct number one overall pick, with a number of franchise-altering talents available. The ratings for the Madden 23 rookie class reflect this, with just 4 points separating the first and twentieth pick.

The top rookies in Madden 23 are: 78 Sauce Gardner (CB, New York Jets), 78 Jameson Williams (WR, Detroit Lions), and 78 Jordan Davis (DT, Philadelphia Eagles) First overall pick Travon Walker (DE, Jacksonville Jaguars) is rated at 76 overall.

However, there are hidden gems from across the draft. The best players from Rounds 2-7 are:

• Round 2: 77 Kenneth Walker III (RB, Seattle Seahawks)
• Round 3: 72 Brian Robinson Jr. (RB, Washington Commanders)
• Round 4: 73 Isaiah Spiller (RB, Los Angeles Chargers), 73 Cade York (K, Cleveland Browns), 73 Jordan Stout (K, Ravens) & 73 Jake Camarda (K, Buccaneers)
• Round 5: 70 Khalil Shakir (WR, Buffalo Bills)
• Round 6: 74 Matt Arazia (P, Buffalo Bills) [Non-special teams: 68 Tyler Badie (RB, Baltimore Ravens)]
• Round 7: 69 Trenton Gill (P, Chicago Bears) [Non-special teams: 68 Bo Melton (WR, Seattle Seahawks)]

Quarterbacks

NFL legend Tom Brady, who retired and then unretired during the offseason, is Madden 23’s best quarterback with a 97 overall rating at the age of 44 (he turns 45 on August 3). Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes drops from a 99 overall in Madden 22 to a 95 overall in Madden 23.

As for the rookie quarterbacks, the Atlanta Falcons’ Desmond Ridder, who was drafted in the third round, is the top-rated rookie quarterback at 70. Kenny Pickett, the only quarterback drafted in the first round, starts at a 68 overall.

While it isn’t a rating, a little sliver of amusement is that EA revealed the quarterback ratings with Baker Mayfield on the wrong team. He is listed as a member of the Cleveland Browns but was traded to the Carolina Panthers on July 6.

However, Madden has also weighed in on the three quarterback competitions currently going on around the league.

Carolina Panthers: In the debate between 2021 starter Sam Darnold and 2022 trade acquisition Baker Mayfield, Madden 23 gives the advantage to Mayfield with a 77 rating compared to Darnold’s 71. The Panthers also drafted a QB, Matt Corral, in the 2022 NFL Draft. Corral starts the game as a 68.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers acquired QB Mitch Trubisky early in the 2022 offseason before drafting Kenny Pickett in the first round of the draft. Pickett starts the game as a 68 while the five-year veteran Trubisky is only a 69 overall. This means it will be very much down to the player who they start if they choose to do a franchise in Pittsburgh on Madden 23.

Seattle Seahawks: After trading away franchise QB Russell Wilson, the Seahawks will now forge ahead with a quarterback room of Drew Lock (acquired in the Wilson trade), Geno Smith (career backup who’s been on Seattle’s roster since 2019), and Jacob Eason (claimed off waivers in 2021). It’s not pretty for Seattle with Lock at a 66, Eason at a 62, and Smith bringing up the rear at 60 overall.

Biggest snubs

So, which players were “disrespected” by EA?

Let’s start with Los Angeles WR Cooper Kupp. In 2021, Kupp led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He was also named Super Bowl MVP for his role in the Rams’ Super Bowl title and finished third in league MVP voting. He was by far the best wide receiver in the NFL last season. And yet, he is rated as a 98 overall and is the second-best wide receiver in the game.

Then there’s Jonathan Taylor, the Indianapolis Colts RB who led the NFL in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. He’s the fourth-best running back in Madden 23.

There is also the case for Hunter Renfrow, Deebo Samuel, Ja’Marr Chase, and T.J. Watt to have their ratings dubbed as a snub. We can’t go into every case because the Madden 23 snubs could be in their own article but fans are expressing that Madden is especially off the curve this year.

Biggest overrates

At the other end of the spectrum, which players was EA possibly a little too generous to when it came to their rating?

Let’s start with the running back debacle. We’ve mentioned Jonathan Taylor, but if he’s not the best running back in the game, who is? Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans is a 97 overall and arguably deserves that rating. But then there’s the second-best running back, Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey is entering his sixth season in the NFL. When he’s healthy, he is one of the best running backs currently playing in the league. But that’s when he’s healthy. McCaffrey last played a full season in 2019 and since then, has played just 10 games across the past two years. McCaffrey is rated as a 96 overall in Madden 23. He might be the best example of Madden rating a player on what they could be rather than what a player has actually shown to be.

In a similar boat is New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas. Thomas has not played in the NFL since December 2020. He missed the 2021 season entirely due to elective ankle surgery and yet Madden has him rated as a 90 overall. That makes him a top-15 receiver in the game and is 11 points higher than Chicago Bears WR Darnell Mooney, who had a 1000-yard season in 2021.

Cleveland Browns QB DeShaun Watson enters the game as an 84. This is arguably a fair rating given that Watson didn’t play in 2021 and could possibly miss some or all of the 2022 season due to suspension. However, that puts him just one point behind defending Super Bowl champion QB Matthew Stafford.

Like with the snubs, there are many more names who could be put in this category but it’s clear that Madden has taken some liberties when it comes to the player ratings that are supposedly based on real-life performance.

Team Ratings

The best overall team in Madden 23 is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with a team overall of 92. They are followed by the Buffalo Bills at 89 and defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams at 88. The worst team by overall rating is the Houston Texans at 74. Just above them is the New York Giants at 75 and the Seattle Seahawks at 76.

The best defense belongs to the Bills at 80. Tampa has the best offense at 92. The Baltimore Ravens have the best special teams at 88.

Madden 23

Madden 23 will be available for PC, Xbox, and Playstation on August 19. The 2022 NFL season begins on September 9.

The full database of player ratings can be found on the Madden 23 website.

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