In the latest sign that football is right around the corner, EA Sports has spent this week revealing the full overall ratings for players around the league in the latest edition of the Madden football series, Madden 24. That, of course, includes the Patriots.
Some people get annoyed by Madden ratings, simply responding with “who cares what a video game thinks?” But for fans whose main sports media consumption is made up of hyper-local outlets (not that there’s anything wrong with that), it can be a good chance to see what the national or league-wide view is of the local team, both on a player-by-player level and overall.
Right away, it stands out that no Patriots player ended up with an elite (90+) overall grade. That seems to line up with the projections that the Patriots will be on the outside looking in at the playoff picture this year.
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Last year, the Patriots graded out as the 20th-best overall team in the NFL on Madden heading into the season. That proved to be a slight underestimation but not totally inaccurate, as they ended the season tied for 18th in terms of winning percentage.
So how do the Patriots grade out this year? Which players did Madden get right, and which did they get wrong? And who are really the top players on the team? Let’s take a look at this year’s ratings position-by-position.
Note: Not every player appears in the initial version of Madden, with rosters capped at 75 players. UDFAs and other late free agents are often not included at launch, with those that make the team added in a later roster update.