Madden 18 will release this Friday on EA Access, so those who have an Xbox One are in luck. The rest of the country will have to wait until August 22 (if you pre-order the G.O.A.T Edition) or August 25. There is some information that has been released for the newest installment of the series, including full player ratings. EA Sports also released a screenshot of Jay Cutler in a Dolphins uniform, which you can see above. Although they didn’t give an exact rating, their description of the quarterback sounds like he will be underrated, despite his 97 throw power. Here are some more of my underrated and overrated players in Madden 18.
UNDERRATED
Leonard Floyd, Bears LOLB (77 OVR)
It should be said that the person in charge of Madden ratings claims that he is predicting performance in 2017 for the launch ratings. If that’s the case, Floyd is vastly underrated. The explosive pass rusher had 7.0 sacks as a rookie, and he will be a force in his second season.
What he should be: 85 OVR
Jordan Howard, Bears HB (85 OVR)
Another Bears player who happens to be entering his second year in the NFL, Jordan Howard was a one-man show on offense for Chicago in 2016. Howard didn’t become the starter until a few games into the season, but he finished second in the league in rushing yards. Dude is a stud and deserves to be rated as an elite player.
What he should be: 90 OVR
David Johnson, Cardinals HB (94 OVR)
He’s got the best overall on his team, but David Johnson is still three points lower than Le’Veon Bell for tops at the position. I think Bell and Johnson are neck-and-neck as the top running back in the NFL, and both should be 98 overalls.
What he should be: 98 OVR
Alex Smith, Chiefs QB (81 OVR)
There might not be a more disrespected player in football than Alex Smith. The Chiefs quarterback is right with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers for the most wins over the past few years, and his Madden rating is empirical evidence that the game needs more “heart,” and should find a way to make the game value winners more, especially at this position.
What he should be: 86 OVR
Kiko Alonso, Dolphins MLB (76 OVR)
Kiko was really good for Miami last season, and he should be even better in year two with the Dolphins. Alonso seems to get a bad reputation just because he was injured after the Eagles traded LeSean McCoy for him. At 100%, he will easily get his rating into the 80s.
What he should be: 84 OVR
Jordan Hicks, Eagles LB (85 OVR)
Hicks might be the best playmaker at linebacker in the entire NFL, but Madden is overlooking him the same way the NFL Top 100 show did. He should be a 90 overall at the very least.
What he should be: 93 OVR
Vic Beasley Jr., Falcons LOLB (83 OVR)
How does a guy lead the league in sacks and be rated only an 83? Beasley had 15.5 sacks last season (two more than anyone else), but that’s EA Sports for you.
What he should be: 88 OVR
Stephon Gilmore, Patriots CB (83 OVR)
I think I’ll take Bill Belichick’s evaluations over the people working at EA. The Patriots paid Gilmore like an elite player, and he deserves much better than an 83 overall.
What he should be: 89 OVR
Marcus Mariota, Titans QB (80 OVR)
It’s crazy that Mariota—with a career 33:0 touchdown-interception ratio in the red zone and a 26:9 touchdown-interception ratio last season—isn’t even a top-20 quarterback in Madden 18.
What he should be: 88 OVR
Trae Waynes, Vikings CB (75 OVR)
Vikings cornerback Terrance Newman was one of the top cornerbacks in the league last season, but Waynes is too talented to keep off the field, and he will be a full-time player in 2017. The former first-round pick should get plenty of opportunities to prove himself across from shutdown corner Xavier Rhodes.
What he should be: 84 OVR
OVERRATED
Zach Miller, Bears TE (86 OVR)
Miller is a quality blocker, but is that really worth an 86 overall? The Bears tight end had 486 yards last season. With all due respect, does anyone other than EA think he is a better player than Jordan Hicks (85), Vic Beasley (83), Stephon Gilmore (83), or Marcus Mariota (80)?
What he should be: 78 OVR
Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos WR (89 OVR)
The same is true here; Sanders is a good player, but 89 overall is borderline elite, and he isn’t that. I don’t see how he’s rated two points higher than teammate Demaryius Thomas.
What he should be: 82 OVR
Charles Sims III, Buccaneers (82 OVR)
Madden has long been infatuated with Sims III for some reason, and despite his roster spot being in question for Tampa Bay, it continues this year. Better as a receiver than a runner, Sims III is averaging just 3.9 yards per carry in his career, but is also barely averaging 30 catches and 300 receiving yards per season.
What he should be: 75 OVR
Dez Bryant, Cowboys WR (91 OVR)
He is still a premier touchdown-scorer, but Dez Bryant was held to a combined 81 catches and 1,197 yards over the past two seasons as he battled injuries and ineffectiveness. I think there are many other deserving players who should be a top-five receiver over Bryant.
What he should be: 87 OVR
Jason Witten, Cowboys TE (90 OVR)
Fellow Cowboy Jason Witten is probably benefitting from the America’s Team bias like Dez might be, as it’s clear that he has lost a step and cannot be considered a player worth of being rated in the 90s. The person who does the ratings used the game-winning catch against the Eagles last year as evidence of Witten’s ability to get open… you know, the one where Dak Prescott had 47 seconds to scramble until someone found a hole in the coverage?
What he should be: 83 OVR
Brandon Graham, Eagles RE (95 OVR)
Sacks aren’t everything, but Brandon Graham had just 5.5 of them in 2016, and he’s never recorded more than 6.5 in his seven-year career. He had a great season, but was it good enough to be the sixth-best defensive player in the NFL?
What he should be: 89 OVR
Marvin Jones, Lions WR (84 OVR)
Jones got off to a red-hot start for Detroit in 2016, but literally 43.9% of his receiving yardage and 50% of his touchdowns came in the first three weeks of the season. It seems Madden weighed that short stretch a little too heavily when it comes to Jones rating in the new game.
What he should be: 79 OVR
Sean Smith, Raiders CB (86 OVR)
A big-money free agent signing for Oakland two years ago, Smith is entering the second year of the deal, but might not have a starting job this season. I would guess that EA is basing this rating off the name and not the play…
What he should be: 79 OVR
Floyd a 77? That is an utter joke. Whoever does the ratings should be fired.