The longest-running and most successful sports video game franchise is Madden. Non-gaming football fans know this, and non-football-watching gamers also are aware of this. One of the major reasons this game has been around 30+ years is that it is the most closely simulated version of the sport we know and love, football. That doesn’t mean that the rating adjusters don’t get it wrong from time to time. This year is no exception. The following are the 5 most egregiously underrated players in the upcoming Madden 23 game. Get your pads on folks, I’m hitting hard on this one.
The 5 most egregiously underrated Madden 23 players
5. RB James Conner 81 OVR (Cardinals)
James Connor isn’t exactly a superstar player, but the man has a nose for the endzone. In 15 games this past season for the Arizona Cardinals, he scored 18 total TDs including 15 on the ground. In an offense with some high-powered receivers and a dynamic QB, this is no small feat. Connor also accumulated over 1000 total yards receiving and rushing. So why is he almost in the 70s?
He may have benefited from the loss of Deandre Hopkins last year due to his suspension. Pair that with the addition of Hollywood Brown and coming into a season with newly paid QB Kyler Murray, this would be the season for regression, but not last year… Conner deserves a better rating in Madden 23 for the year he had.
4. CB Kenny Moore 87 OVR (Colts)
If you’re a fan of the Indianapolis Colts, you know that Kenny Moore is better than being the 15th best in the league. The team also recently signed a former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore who played in 8 total games and failed to have any eye-popping performances this past year. Madden rated him higher than Moore. So not only is he underrated in the game, but they’ve also said he’s the second best corner on his own team.
Gilmore has the accolades and the body of work to have some clout, but Moore is on the rise while Gilmore is on the decline. There’s no doubt that Moore is CB1 for the Colts. I think we are overrating Gilmore as much as we are underrating Moore here. What do you think Colts fans?
3. QB Jimmy Garoppolo 77 OVR (49ers)
The Madden 23 rating here isn’t what we should be concerned with, it’s those rated above Jimmy Garoppolo that make this one a head-scratcher. First, let’s review his body of work. Garoppolo has been to a Superbowl and last year was a game away from returning there. The 30-year-old has a career win percentage of 71. Bad QBs don’t win that much. He’s rated lower than Mac Jones, Ryan Tannehill, and Kirk Cousins. There’s an argument to be made that if Garoppolo had the receivers Cousins had throughout his career (Stefon Diggs, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen) he could be a top-flight game manager.
He finally has a star receiver in Deebo Samuel and is coming off his second best career year with the San Francisco 49ers. Injury history is assuredly factored into this as well as the uncertainty of his job, but I don’t believe Jimmy G is a worse quarterback than those previously listed and that makes him one of the most underrated in the game.
2. MLB Jordyn Brooks 82 OVR (Seahawks)
This rating has to be due to the lack of knowledge people have about how good Jordyn Brooks really is. To start, he now has the opportunity to come out from beneath the shadow of former Seattle Seahawks legend Bobby Wagner, who is now a member of the Rams. Even playing the same position as Wagner on the same team, Brooks had more tackles and tackles for loss. He also tied him in sacks and defended passes.
There’s a reason Seattle was ok with Wagner leaving and that’s because they know that the 24-year-old middle linebacker can secure the role and fill the gigantic shoes. Wagner is rated a 91 OVR, ten higher than Brooks, who acquired better stats. Jordyn is a future X-factor in the game, which could be sooner than later.
1. WR Ja’marr Chase 87 OVR (Bengals)
Full disclosure, I am a Cincinnati native who is a diehard Bengals fan. Be that as it may, Ja’Marr Chase is currently the 20th-ranked receiver in the game. TWENTIETH. We can understand that placing a rookie into the upper echelon of talent in the NFL may be difficult to justify, but being at number 20 is flat-out insulting to the man. Here is a list of names of wide receivers rated higher than Chase. Brandin Cooks, AJ Brown, Tyler Lockett, and Terry Mclaurin. I am not arguing that these players listed aren’t talented, but Chase is better.
His rookie year numbers of 1455 yards and 13 TDs are higher than the CAREER HIGHS of the players I listed. This is no doubt the wrong rating for a receiver who could ascend to the number 1 spot at his current trajectory, but if Madden 23 keeps this rating consistent, it appears that Chase and Bengals fans alike will have to continue to prove the NFL wrong like the previous year. WHO DEY.
To quote Nico and Vinz one hit wonder, “Am I wrong”? These seem like easy assertions of underrated players in this game. The good thing about Madden is its willingness to raise and drop ratings throughout the year. My money is on these five as the most likely to see their ratings rise. For the love of all that is good in this world though, fix Ja’marr Chase. Make sure to send all your hotly debated Tweets to my personal Twitter @Steakspeare or to @LWOS.
