Knee-jerk reactions to Saints’ Madden 23 ratings: Defense edition

Does any topic generate more controversy in the NFL offseason than Madden ratings? The New Orleans Saints’ ill-advised pursuit of Deshaun Watson takes the cake, but the Madden 23 ratings release ranks as a solid second.

To preface: I have never played Madden before and I probably never will. My opinions on players’ Madden ratings were carefully cultivated through Twitter and relative grades of players at the same position.

That being said, Madden ratings are an inevitable part of any offseason, and while they shouldn’t be taken too seriously, they do initiate an intriguing conversation about which players are “better” than others.

Here are my knee-jerk reactions to the Saints’ Madden 23 ratings, defense edition.

Saints’ Cam Jordan, 91 OVR: Very appropriate

Cam Jordan is widely considered around the league as a top-10 defensive end, so it’s only fitting that he makes Madden’s top-10 list, too.

Jordan received a 91 overall grade that ties Chargers’ Joey Bosa, and overall I think the score is right on the money. The likes of Garrett, Watt, Bosa, and Mack all reasonably rank above Jordan as more productive pass-rushers for their respective teams, and aside from Von Miller, all pose as younger players in their prime who carry more upside.

Current Bills edge-rusher Von Miller recorded just five regular season sacks with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, yet Miller played an integral part in helping the Rams win the Super Bowl with an additional four sacks in the postseason. The 33-year-old deserves his high rating.

Jordan, also age 33, is coming off a Pro Bowl year in which he played in every game he started and finished with 12.5 sacks — he was arguably the only reliable defensive end for the Saints last season and should continue terrorizing quarterbacks in 2022.