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These elite talents often draw extra blockers, which free up other members of the defense to do some damage. They may not be stuffing the stat sheet like their teammates, but hardcore Madden NFL 23 gamers are well aware that these are the guys doing the work regardless of who is getting the credit.

Updated on November 22nd, 2022 by Hodey Johns: With the regular season about halfway over, it’s now time to have a new look at these players. As usual, there are some ratings that proved to be frighteningly accurate and others that have left gamers scratching their heads. There is no single rule of thumb regarding the way players dramatically exceed or fail to live up to expectations. The Madden franchise has generally not made changes due to injury, so that’s off of the table. Still, the year has a way of showing other sides of the previous estimations, giving ratings adjusters new estimations. This is where the players stand now at this point in the season.

12 Dexter Lawrence II - DT - 89 OVR

Dexter Lawrence II has been an unbelievable story of the year for the Giants. At the beginning of the year, Lawrence was sitting at a 79 OVR, ranked as a subpar defensive tackle. Since then, he’s climbed his way up ten total points and he’s earned it.

The Giants have taken a big step forward this year. Offensively, they’re a bit better but it’s their defense that has been so surprising. This must be because Lawrence has taken up several notches this season, becoming one of the most aggravating players to block in the league.

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9 Quinnen Williams - DT - 90 OVR

It can be challenging to predict to the top-rated players will be. Quinnen Williams was considered a good-but-not-great defensive tackle for the Jets. At one point, he was as low as 85 OVR this year. Not at all bad, but nothing noteworthy.

Partway through the season, Williams has already tied his career-high for sacks in a season. The Jets are getting pressure from every and it’s largely due to Williams’ ferocity up front. Even when he’s not getting the tackles, he’s demanding two blockers, allowing his teammates to get better opportunities.

8 Demarcus Lawrence - LE - 91 OVR

Demarcus Lawrence is not only the highest-rated left defensive end, he’s currently the only left defensive end on this list. To say he’s made a comeback is putting it mildly. Lawrence last saw a Pro Bowl in 2018 and broke his foot last year, both signs of a career winding down.

But Lawrence has been unreal in both sack and tackle departments, showing teammates how business gets done on the defensive side of the ball. If Dallas got improvements like the kind they got from Lawrence for some of their players, they’d be Super Bowl favorites.

7 Jonathan Allen - DT - 92 OVR

The Washington Commanders had a lot of surprises last year, almost all of them were bad. Between the injuries and stars failing to live up to expectations, very little worked out in their favor. Jonathan Allen was a colossal exception to the bad luck.

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Allen made his first Pro Bowl last year. This year, he’s remained one of the best tackles in the game. Few will doubt that the strongest unit for the Commanders is the defensive line and nobody debates that Allen spearheads the charge.

6 Cameron Heyward - RE - 93 OVR

While it’s fair to recognize that T.J. Watt is one of the best players in football, it should not be ignored how much Cameron Heyward contributes to his success. Heyward requires multiple blockers, freeing his teammate up to do some serious damage. With Watt out for the year, Heyward has remained a solid 93 OVR.

Since 2017, Heyward has made every single Pro Bowl and is a Steelers icon. When comparing the current game to the one last year, few players have the consistency that Heyward does. He acts as a modern iteration of the Steel Curtain.

5 Von Miller - RE - 94 OVR

When players get Super Bowl titles with different teams, they’re usually more than just a role player. Von Miller proved that he can still be among the best after his Super Bowl MVP performance with the Broncos. The Rams were grateful for his pressure.

Now he’s with a third contender hoping to stack the odds in their favor. Miller was maybe slighted a bit going into 2022 as he was rated at a mere 92 OVR. That’s now been corrected and Miller once again stands among the elites as he’s been making huge plays for the Bills.

4 Chris Jones - DT - 94 OVR

While everyone is getting distracted by Patrick Mahomes and the offensive stars for the Kansas City Chiefs, the defensive side of the ball has had to work miracles to keep the group in perennial championship contention. That group is spearheaded by Chris Jones.

As a disruptive defensive tackle, Jones has made the last three Pro Bowls, directly coinciding with the Chiefs’ return to dominance. Jones began the year just barely on the list at a 91 OVR. He’s now up a full three points and has taken the title of the top-rated defensive tackle thanks to an incredible first half of the year.

3 Nick Bosa - RE - 96 OVR

If player OVR was more based on recent production, Nick Bosa may actually lead this list. His Defensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl nod in 2019 was only a taste of things to come. In the 2021 season, Bosa got a second nod for the Pro Bowl and shattered his career highs.

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The forced fumbles, tackles, and sacks were all personal highs, and his 21 tackles for a loss led the entire league. Want to shake things up in franchise mode and free agency? Find a way to get Bosa signed on the team. He started the year at an impressive 94 OVR and yet has still found a way to increase his value.

2 Myles Garrett - RE - 99 OVR

Coming onto the scene hot, Myles Garrett started off making the Pro Bowl and has only gotten better. The 2021 season was his best as he recorded 16 sacks and 51 combined tackles, both career highs for him.

If players are permitted to progress midseason, Garrett could see his stock rise even further. Though his OVR can’t get any higher as the ratings adjusters saw fit to give him a perfect 99 at the start of the season and he has not budged since.

1 Aaron Donald - RE - 99 OVR

If it was possible to be a 100 OVR player, Aaron Donald might just be that player. Since he was drafted in 2014, Donald has been to every single Pro Bowl and won the Defensive Player of the Year award three times. When he was revealed to be a perfect 99 OVR again, no one was shocked.

The only thing missing from his resume was a Super Bowl title, but he fixed that error last year. The only debate left isn’t if he’s the best defensive player of this lifetime, it’s if he’s the best defensive player of all time. The Rams are having some issues this year, but Donald is still as beastly as ever.

Madden NFL 23 releases on August 15th, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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