EA Sports releases Patriots Madden 26 ratings

Ahead of the release of the new EA Sports Madden 26 game next week, the team at EA released the overall ratings for all the players in this year's game on Friday. That includes full ratings for the New England Patriots after the rookie ratings were announced earlier this week.

Much like the NFL Top 100 list or ESPN front office poll which are released around this time of year every year, the Madden ratings can be a good look at how the local team is viewed in a more national sense. With so much focus just on the Patriots during training camp, it's a good way to get some perspective on how the Patriots measure up with the rest of the league.

Big-picture, the biggest thing EA thinks the Patriots have going for them is their defense. The Patriots have the 10th-best defense in the game, rated at an 83 overall. EA did not release the full team grades past the top 10, with the 10th-ranked Buccaneers coming in at 85 overall on offense.

How about on a player-by-player basis? Let's take a look at their overall ratings. Keep in mind the Madden rosters max out at 75 players, so some players (mostly UDFAs) do not get initial ratings. They will get one if they make the team.

Drake Maye: 78
Joshua Dobbs: 69
Ben Wooldridge: 57

Maye jumps two overall points from where he was at the end of last year. EA has him ranked as the 19th-best quarterback in football. A breakdown of his individual skill ratings can be found here.

Rhamondre Stevenson: 80
Antonio Gibson: 78
TreVeyon Henderson: 76

It seems like it's becoming somewhat of an annual tradition of Madden under-rating Stevenson. This year, he's tied as the 31st-best running back in the NFL. However the game does seem to be high on rookie TreVeyon Henderson, who is one of the top rookies in the game despite being a second-round pick. UDFA Lan Larison, who has started repping more with the first team in training camp, did not get a rating.

Stefon Diggs: 88
DeMario Douglas: 78
Kendrick Bourne: 77
Ja'Lynn Polk: 74
Kayshon Boutte: 74
Mack Hollins: 74
Kyle Williams: 72
Javon Baker: 69
Efton Chism: 68

EA doesn't seem too worried about Stefon Diggs coming off of his torn ACL. They have him as the 13th best receiver in football. After that, the ratings do a good job representing how crowded the Patriots' wide receiver room is overall, but some of the individual ratings are more questionable (ex. Boutte and Polk having the same overall).

Hunter Henry: 83
Austin Hooper: 73
Jaheim Bell: 65
CJ Dippre: 62

Henry comes in as the 12th-best tight end in football, despite ranking top 10 in both catches (66) and yards (674) among all tight ends in the NFL last year. Austin Hooper is also arguably low, as he ranked top 25 in both categories last season.

G Mike Onwenu: 82
T Morgan Moses: 81
T Will Campbell: 79
C Garrett Bradbury: 75
G Cole Strange: 73
G Layden Robinson: 72
C Jared Wilson: 69
T Caedan Wallace: 68
T Demontrey Jacobs: 65
G Tyrese Robinson: 65
T Vederian Lowe: 65
T Marcus Bryant: 64
G Sidy Sow: 64
C Ben Brown: 63
G Jack Conley: 62

First, Madden will need to catch up with some players playing new positions - Wallace and Wilson have mostly been playing guard in training camp and Conley has seen more time at tackle. Overall though this does a good job of showing how the Patriots' offensive line is better than last year but still is a potential serious weakness, especially if players start getting hurt and the depth gets tested.

DT Milton Williams: 85
DT Christian Barmore: 80
EDGE Harold Landry: 80
EDGE Anfernee Jennings: 78
EDGE Keion White: 78
EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson: 73
EDGE Bradyn Swinson: 71
DT Joshua Farmer: 71
DT Khyiris Tonga: 71
DT Jaquelin Roy: 70
DT Jeremiah Pharms: 69
EDGE Truman Jones: 65

Madden got rid of the defensive end and outside linebacker positions this year, with one of the replacements being a defined 'EDGE position. Multiple Patriots ended up fitting into that category.

This group also includes the player that may be the most underrated by this year's game in Christian Barmore. This is the second year he's come in lower than expected - last year he was rated as a 78.

Robert Spillane: 82
Jahlani Tavai: 75
Jack Gibbens: 71
Christian Elliss: 68
Monty Rice: 68
Cam Riley: 63

Another position where the ratings do a good job of illustrating just how fast the depth falls off. The developers are not as high on Gibbens and Elliss as the coaching staff appears to be based on the first two weeks of training camp.

Christian Gonzalez: 95
Carlton Davis: 85
Marcus Jones: 78
Alex Austin: 70
D.J. James: 68
Marcellas Dial: 66
Isaiah Bolden: 65
Kobee Minor: 65

After opening with an 80 overall last year, Gonzalez jumps up to a 95 - making him the second best cornerback in the game. Overall these ratings show what a lot of fans already believe - that cornerback might be the Patriots' best position top to bottom if everybody is fully healthy.

Jabrill Peppers: 86
Kyle Dugger: 80
Marcus Epps: 77
Marte Mapu: 72
Craig Woodson: 71
Dell Pettus: 68
Jaylinn Hawkins: 67
Brenden Schooler: 66

Even after a down year last year as he dealt with injuries and off-field issues, Madden has Peppers as the 12th-best safety in football. The game has generally been high on him the past few years, and the Patriots need him to play up to that level to maximize their defense.

Meanwhile Dugger's down season due to injury did hurt him in the eyes of EA. He's down to an 80 after opening last season as an 84.

P Bryce Baringer: 79
K Andres Borregales: 73
K John Parker Romo: 69
LS Julian Ashby: 65

For the first time in the history of Madden, long snappers were given their own ratings. In the past, they've been very low-rated tight ends.