The annual Madden release is one of the highlights of any sports gamer’s summer. This year’s edition, Madden 24, is set to drop on Aug. 18.
Preceding that, of course, will come player rankings. As they do every year, the fine folks at EA Sports will tease fans and incite debate by unveiling their position rankings.
This year, EA will partner with ESPN for the week of July 17-23, during which time the top 10 NFL players at each position, as well as those chosen to the coveted “99 Club,” will be revealed. Per a piece from Dexerto, coverage will be widespread between several of the network’s prominent broadcasts, including Get Up, First Take, and SportsCenter.
It’ll culminate with an hour-long special at 1 p.m. ET on July 23, during which several noteworthy ESPN broadcasters will discuss and debate the newly unveiled rankings.
Madden 24 Rating Predictions: Who Will the Top 5 QBs Be?
Before they get there, though, we’ll take a stab at predicting who amongst the NFL’s best and brightest will be featured during ratings week.
A multitude of factors need to be considered, but primarily we’ll look at notoriety, trajectory, past performance, and most recent ratings. A player’s most recent rating will be included in parentheses next to their name, as per EA Sports.
1. Patrick Mahomes (98): Obviously, the reigning Super Bowl MVP is a no-brainer No. 1. The only question is if Mahomes, who was a 98 overall last season, will crack the aforementioned 99 Club.
2. Joe Burrow (95): The Cincinnati signal-caller finished second to Mahomes in last year’s final Madden’s rankings and in last year’s conference final. Nonetheless, Burrow’s been aces out of the gate in his still-burgeoning career. He’s thrown for over 9,000 yards and 69 touchdowns in the last two seasons combined.
3. Josh Allen (93): Josh Allen has developed a reputation for being a bit more turnover-prone than some of his contemporaries. Still, he regularly accounts for over 5,000 scrimmage yards and 40+ touchdowns a season. His skill set is transcendent in numerous ways.
4. Jalen Hurts (87): Jalen Hurts should be among the biggest risers. On the back of his 35 total touchdowns, the Eagles finished the regular season 14-3 and on the precipice of a Super Bowl championship.
5. Justin Herbert (88): There is some room for debate here. Some folks might be partial to Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, or Aaron Rodgers. But compare each of their most recent seasons, as well as Herbert’s sky-high potential, and the Chargers QB is the logical choice for QB5.
Top 5 Running Back Rankings in Madden 24
1. Nick Chubb (97): Chubb was Madden’s top back last season with a 97 overall rating, and there’s no reason to suggest he won’t retain that crown. After all, he set career-highs with 1,525 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago.
2. Christian McCaffrey (96): McCaffrey’s return to full health last season was a joy for pigskin enthusiasts to witness. The do-it-all back racked up 1,880 yards from scrimmage and 13 total scores in a year split between two teams.
3. Josh Jacobs (95): Jacobs had been a sturdy presence during his first three years in the league. In Year 4, though, he was something closer to spectacular. He amassed over 2,000 scrimmage yards and could vie for the top spot by the season’s end if he matches that output.
4. Saquon Barkley (93): Much like McCaffrey, folks had begun to write off Barkley due to his injury woes. He silenced doubters with a return to form in 2022, setting a career-high in rushing yards and scoring double-digit touchdowns for the first time since his rookie season.
5. Derrick Henry (94): Some have doubts about King Henry’s staying power now that he’s on the cusp of his 30s. But he was his usual battering ram self in 2022, racking up 1,538 yards, 13 touchdowns, and a career-best receiving output to boot.
Top 5 Wide Receiver Ranking Predictions in Madden 24
1. Justin Jefferson (96): After a third straight uncoverable season, Jefferson is entrenched atop the receiver hierarchy. 128 catches and 1,809 yards should tell you all you need to know.
2. Tyreek Hill (98): The man known as “Cheetah” was last year’s top dog, and he performed like it too. In his first season sans Patrick Mahomes, Hill had a career-best 1,710 receiving yards. He still has a worthwhile case for the spot, but Jefferson being five years his younger dooms him to second here.
3. Davante Adams (98): Adams, like Hill, is a proven veteran who changed teams (and quarterbacks) last year. And, like Hill, he responded with one of his best efforts. Adams ranked near the top of the NFL last year with 1,516 yards and had a league-best 14 touchdown catches.
4. Ja’Marr Chase (92): Despite missing five games last year, Ja’Marr Chase had a season that would rival many’s all-time best year. He finished with 87 catches, 1,046 yards, and nine touchdowns. Extrapolated over a 17-game season, those totals project to 123 catches, 1,481 yards, and 13 scores.
5. Stefon Diggs (97): This came down to Cooper Kupp and Diggs. Kupp had a down year due to injury. Diggs was dependable as ever, going well over 1,000 yards for the fifth straight year and setting a career-high with 11 touchdown grabs.
Top 5 Tight End Predictions in Madden 24
1. Travis Kelce (99): Much like Mahomes, you knew this one was coming. Kelce’s argument for being the all-time best tight end is strengthening by the season. He’s had 1,000 yards every year since 2016, during which time Barack Obama was still in office.
2. Mark Andrews (95): Another obvious choice. Andrews has been among the league’s best tight ends since being drafted and might be set up for an even better year in Baltimore’s reformed passing attack.
3. George Kittle (96): Kittle’s statistical output can vary quite substantially on a week-by-week basis. That has more to do with the wealth of offensive talent in San Francisco than it does with his reliability. The four-time Pro Bowler has been a beacon of consistent production since being drafted in the fifth round in 2017 and set a career-high with 11 touchdowns a season ago.
4. T.J. Hockenson (90): Much like McCaffrey, Hockenson was involved in a midseason trade. Getting swapped from the Detroit Lions to the Minnesota Vikings in a rare in-division deal. He had no trouble acclimating, however, having a career-best 914 yards in a season split between two teams.
5. Dallas Goedert (89): Tight ends go chalk from a year ago, with no one among David Njoku, Dalton Schultz, or Pat Freiermuth proving a worthy enough foil for Goedert. The Philadelphia standout amassed over 700 yards last year despite missing five games.
Predicting the Best Defensive Players in Madden 24
The defensive side of the ball doesn’t garner the same headlines in Madden circles, but plenty of upper-tier defenders will receive their due nonetheless.
Starting on the defensive line, you can expect well-known interior linemen like Chris Jones (96), Quinnen Williams (93), Dexter Lawrence (94), Aaron Donald (99), and Jeffery Simmon (89) to be ranked highly.
As far as edge rushers go, guys like Nick Bosa (97), Myles Garrett (99), Micah Parsons (96), T.J. Watt (94), and Maxx Crosby (94) should all be north of 90.
Only a few off-ball linebackers will receive that same distinction, the most notable candidates include Dre Greenlaw (86), Fred Warner (96), Roquan Smith (91), and Bobby Wagner (89).
In the defensive secondary, young cornerbacks like Sauce Gardner (89) and Patrick Surtain II (91) will join veterans Jalen Ramsey (97) and Darius Slay (93) near the top. Likewise, safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick (92) and Derwin James (94) will wind up near the top at their positions.
Who Will Be in the 99 Club this Season?
Four players finished the 2022 season as members of the much-ballyhooed 99 Club: Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett, Travis Kelce, and Trent Williams.
You can expect a few among them to receive a slight downgrade in their ratings.
Donald had a career-low five sacks in a season stunted by injuries. He’ll still get his flowers, but he won’t see a 99 anywhere but on his jersey this season.
Similarly, at age 34, Trent Williams might finally be slipping a little bit. Noticeably? No, probably not, but enough to knock him out of the penthouse, at least.
Lastly, Myles Garrett might wind up being the victim of recency bias. He was great last year with 16 sacks, but another edge rusher had an even better season than Garrett and will usurp him in the 99 Club.
That someone would be Nick Bosa, who won Defensive Player of the Year last season on the back of a career-best 18.5 sacks. In fact, his two-year sack total of 34 betters Garrett’s as well.
Bosa will appreciate the high rating, but he’ll likely hope to end his season sacking Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Mahomes is our next new inductee to the 99 Club.
If you’ve read this far, you probably don’t need Mahomes’ résumé recited to you. Let’s just say he’s the only one who can make a 98 overall rating seem like a snub.
And, yes, his buddy Travis Kelce will be right alongside him in the club once again. Kelce had a career-best season in receptions (110) and touchdowns (12) last year — it’s hard to justify any kind of demotion with that production.
While it’s tempting to pick a defender to round out the group for balance, it doesn’t feel right. There’s one glaringly obvious candidate who stands out above the rest: Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson is on a blistering pace. At his current rate, he’ll be threatening 10,000 career receiving yards after his sixth season while still being all of 27 years old. Few have dominated so quickly and so emphatically before.