Photo credit: Bill Wippert/Buffalo Bills
Madden 22 releases on Friday, but a 10-hour early trial was released for EA Play members.
SMU saw four former football players added to the NFL ranks in the offseason. That brings the Mustangs up to 20 total players on NFL rosters.
In this article, we’ll primarily be looking at the overall rating for the standard Madden rosters. However, the ratings for each player’s Ultimate Team cards will be addressed as well.
For those unaware of what Ultimate Team is, it’s a game mode where players can build a team of players throughout the league by acquiring their ‘cards’.
To see the spreadsheet with all of the Mustangs, that can be found here.
T18. Ryan Becker, Shane Buechele, Delontae Scott – Not in Game (Yet)
Come on, EA Sports. They’re not in the game at all? A game with 2,368 football players, and they’re just not there yet?
One important note to make – this is being written the afternoon of Aug. 16. There are likely to be a lot of changes, hence why they are listed as not in the game yet.
The Atlanta Falcons signed Ryan Becker on April 13.
Delontae Scott was on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad last season, and he also signed a reserve/future contract on Jan. 26.
Shane Buechele signed one of the most lucrative deals of the undrafted free agents. Within hours of the 2021 NFL Draft ending on May 1, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Buechele to a 3-year deal with $175,000 guaranteed.
17. Zach Wood, LS, New Orleans Saints – 26
Long snappers have historically had incredibly low ratings in Madden.
Part of the reason long snappers’ overall rating is so low is that they have yet to create a long snapper position, and instead list them as tight ends.
I guess when they say, “EA Sports, it’s in the game,” the “it” isn’t referring to respect for the long snapper position.
And for anyone curious, this 26 overall designation is his second consecutive season at 26 overall.
The reason for this? They did not adjust his ratings at all from Madden 21.
Despite being included in the main game, Wood does not have an Ultimate Team card. Wood did not make an appearance in Madden 21’s Ultimate Team game mode, either.
16. Evan Brown, C, Detroit Lions – 51
Evan Brown leads all Mustangs in the strength attribute at 90.
He also has the seventh-highest jumping rating of the 17 Mustangs in the game.
Even though Brown has a 51 rating in the main game, he does have a Madden Ultimate Team card with a 62 overall. This is down from 63 overall last season.
Similar to Wood, Brown’s main game ratings are the same ratings that EA Sports gave him last season.
15. Garrett Gilbert, QB, Dallas Cowboys – 56
Of the 108 quarterbacks in Madden 22, EA Sports has Garrett Gilbert tied for 76th best.
Interestingly enough, Gilbert has the lowest injury rating of any Mustang in the NFL: 83.
This seems like a peculiar choice given that Gilbert only missed two total games in college. He has no listed injury history online at the pro level.
Compared to last season, Gilbert received a massive overall bump: 48 to 56.
Gilbert’s Ultimate Team overall is 66. This is up from 62 overall in Madden 21.
14. Rodney Clemons, S, Kansas City Chiefs – 60
Former holder of the honored No. 23 jersey at SMU, Rodney Clemons finds himself with a 60 overall rating in the main game for the second season in a row.
Clemons is now in Ultimate Team, having been given a 63 overall. Last season, he was not in Ultimate Team, although this might be because he was on the Chiefs’ practice squad.
13. Xavier Jones, RB, Los Angeles Rams – 63
Second-year running back Xavier Jones is in Madden for the first time in his career.
Jones was in neither Madden 21 Ultimate Team nor the main game despite playing over 200 total snaps for the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. Albeit, they were on special teams.
This season, Jones is vying for meaningful carries, so it will be interesting to see if his ratings are adjusted at any point.
Jones was awarded a 63 overall in Ultimate Team, too.
Jones has the highest stiff arm and carrying of the Mustangs in the game, with ratings of 75 and 85, respectively.
T-10. Brandon Stephens, CB, Baltimore Ravens – 64
Rookie Brandon Stephens clocks in with a blistering 91 speed.
His man and zone coverage ratings of 65 and 70 leave a lot of room for improvement as the season goes on.
In Ultimate Team, Stephens has a 66 overall card.
T-10. Chris Naggar, K, New York Jets – 64
Chris Naggar finds himself with a 64 overall rating as an undrafted rookie.
As far as kickers go in Madden, the only stats people look at are kick power and kick accuracy.
There, he has 89 kick power and 69 kick accuracy.
The only area for pushback might be that Naggar has yet to miss from inside of 45 yards over the last few years.
He has been shaky in terms of accuracy from beyond there, even though he has shown on a few misses that he has the leg from 60-plus yards. But because Madden only has one accuracy rating, we’ll give it a pass.
Naggar is not currently in Ultimate Team.
T-10. Justin Lawler, LB, Los Angeles Rams – 64
Justin Lawler is another instance of EA Sports not changing any of its ratings for a player in the main game. After being everywhere for the Rams in their first preseason game, hopefully EA Sports reconsiders copying and pasting Lawler’s ratings from last season.
Lawler was in Madden Ultimate Team last season, at 66 overall. He was knocked down this season to a 65.
9. Kylen Granson, TE, Indianapolis Colts – 65
With 85 speed and 88 acceleration, Madden definitely got his speed attributes correct.
The Indianapolis Colts’ staff is high on Granson, so it will be interesting to see if he can carve out a role with the team. Could a ratings bump result from that?
Granson is in Ultimate Team with a 66 overall.
8. James Proche, WR, Baltimore Ravens – 66
James Proche saw an overall bump to 66 from 65 last season. His Ultimate Team card did not see an increase, though; that remained a 65.
Proche has tied for the second-highest return rating of the Mustangs: 77.
Fans can expect to see Proche be one of the main punt returners for the Baltimore Ravens this season.
A couple big returns and who knows what that might be able to do for his Madden rating?
7. Chris Banjo, S, Arizona Cardinals – 68
Chris Banjo sees a bump from last season, going from 65 overall to 68 overall in the main game. And in Ultimate Team, he sees a bump from 65 to 67.
Last season, Banjo saw a major increase in playing time, and he took advantage. While he took advantage, the Madden ratings adjustor took note, awarding him a three-point overall bump.
T-5. Trey Quinn, WR, Las Vegas Raiders – 69
Trey Quinn has unfortunately seen a three-point overall decrease from 72, in both Ultimate Team and the main game from last season.
This is likely in large part to injury issues.
Hopefully Quinn can find the field; he’s only played in more than three games in a season once out of three seasons thus far.
T-5. Margus Hunt, DT, Arizona Cardinals – 69
Margus Hunt is going into his ninth season and his first with the Arizona Cardinals. Hunt sees the largest decrease of any Mustangs in the main game, going down five overall from 74 last season.
As far as Ultimate Team goes, Hunt was a 74 last year as well. EA Sports has yet to include him in Madden 22.
4. Kelvin Beachum, T, Arizona Cardinals – 72
Beachum is going into his 10th season in the NFL and his second with the Cardinals.
Despite it being his 10th season, Beachum was not included in Madden 21 in either the main game or Ultimate Team.
Kelvin Beachum has two cards at launch in Ultimate Team – a 75 base card or an 84 Team Builders card that can be unlocked by beating challenges.
3. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos – 82
Courtland Sutton saw minor decreases in overall, from 84 to 82 in the main game and from 80 to 79 in Ultimate Team.
Sutton also has an 84 Team Builders card that can be unlocked by beating challenges.
After having missed much of 2020 with injury, it will be interesting to see if Sutton can pick up where he left off after being named a Pro Bowler in 2019.
2. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Buffalo Bills – 83
Emmanuel Sanders is down from an 87 overall last season. His Ultimate Team card is listed as a 79 for this season, down from 82 to start last season.
Last season, Sanders saw the fewest targets of his career since 2012 and fewest receptions since 2017. This decrease in production likely explains Sanders’ overall decrease.
1. Cole Beasley, WR, Buffalo Bills – 86
The highest-rated Mustang is Cole Beasley at an 86 overall. He’s also the only player to have his base card in Ultimate Team crack an 80 with an 81 overall rating in that game mode.
Beasley has the highest catching rating of the Mustangs, by far, with a 97.
The next closest of the Mustangs are Sanders and Sutton with 90.
The only players in Madden with a higher catching rating than Beasley are Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins with 99, and Allen Robinson and Robert Tonyan with 98.
His 86 overall in Madden 22 is a three-point overall increase from 83 in Madden 21, and his 81 overall card in Ultimate Team is a two-point overall increase from 79 in Madden 21.