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But not every linebacker is made equally. Some are weak at coverage or rushing the passer. That can be a huge problem for gamers to exploit in Madden NFL 23. With these stars, players don’t have to worry, they’ll be doing what they do best, destroying offensive gameplans from start to finish.
Updated on November 20th, 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.
14 Rashan Gary - LOLB - 89 OVR
It can take years and lots of accolades for players to break the top ten list, but Rashan Gary did so this year despite his inexperience and lack of honors. That’s not a slight to Gary’s inexperience; if anyone should feel slighted, it’s the Packers for not starting him earlier.
Gary got no starts during his rookie year and only four starts after that. Finally getting the starting job last year, Gary put together an incredible season, forcing fumbles, making tackles, and getting to quarterbacks. Gary was on pace for another career year before a season-ending injury.
13 Roquan Smith - MLB - 90 OVR
Gamers who are wanting the franchise mode to make improvements can’t control the developers but they can pick up players. Roquan Smith was a hot commodity embattled with a Chicago front office that he refused to negotiate with after talks fell apart. The Ravens got him and probably got a steal.
Smith has been a Second-Team All-Pro for the last two years. He was on pace to have career highs in tackles before the trade. If they set him loose in Baltimore, Smith might just now be hitting his stride. He wasn’t on this list to start the year and he is now, so the direction he’s going is a good one.
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10 Bobby Wagner - MLB - 91 OVR
This list has many middle linebackers that didn’t get the recognition they deserved. Thankfully, Bobby Wagner has been established by gamers and voters as one of the league’s best and it’s easy to predict the rating of his being high. For the past eight seasons, he’s made the Pro Bowl as a veteran of the Legion of Boom.
Moving from the Seahawks to the Rams, he could make the Super Bowl champs even better, which is a scary thought. He’s led the league in tackles, solo tackles, assisted tackles, safeties, and defensive touchdowns before, so there is nothing he can’t do.
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8 Khalil Mack - MLB - 90 OVR
From 2015 through 2020, no player terrorized offensive backfields like Khalil Mack. During that time, Mack was in overdrive, improving as the season went on, racking up Pro Bowl nods in each year, and winning Defensive Player of the Year once (2016).
The transition to Los Angeles has been rough for the team. Mack is still finding success but has oddly been moved to middle linebacker enough times that the game has altered his primary position. This usually means more tackles but less sacks. Mack has been as successful as can be expected, making something out of nothing for a team riddled with injuries.
7 Joey Bosa - LOLB - 91 OVR
In seasons where Joey Bosa plays all of the games, he’s never racked up less than 11.5 sacks. Unfortunately, that has only happened twice in his career. Despite injuries plaguing him, Bosa puts up huge numbers, even when he does miss games.
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In fact, in six years, Bosa has made it to four Pro Bowls, including every one of the last three. When he plays for entire seasons, he contends for Defensive Player of the Year. Sadly, 2022 has also been injury-plagued for him and the rest of the Chargers’ team. He can still salvage something this year if he recovers quickly.
6 Maxx Crosby - LOLB - 92 OVR
When Chandler Jones came to Las Vegas, everybody was excited for him to take off. But while Jones has landed with a thud, as have the Raiders this year, Maxx Crosby is still stuffing the box. Crosby didn’t even begin the year on this list. Now, he’s taken Jones’ place.
Crosby is about the only thing going right for the Raiders’ defense as he’s got 70% of their sacks. Outlets are calling for him to move to defensive end due to his strength and ferocity. Here’s hoping Crosby finds a way to share his passion with his squad.
5 Lavonte David - MLB - 92 OVR
Despite being ranked so highly, Lavonte David is yet another middle linebacker who doesn’t receive the accolades he deserves. His single Pro Bowl appearance from 2015 may make gamers think he’s past his prime or simply on the verge of greatness.
David, over a ten-year career, has never once gotten less than 87 combined tackles in a year. When amateur fans try to say that Tom Brady singlehandedly won a Super Bowl for Tampa Bay in 2020, remind them that David locked down that defense. And then remind them again that while the offense is in the pits, the Tampa Bay defense is still winning games.
4 Demario Davis - MLB - 92 OVR
It’s hard to epitomize how overlooked middle linebackers are quite like Demario Davis. Despite leading the league in solo tackles in 2017 and being an All-Pro for the last three seasons, Davis has yet to attend his first Pro Bowl.
Thankfully, the ratings adjusters see his true value. He has been one of the major reasons that the Saints, even without Drew Brees, have stayed competitive. This year, things have gotten ugly in New Orleans, but the defense is still contending due to Davis’ contributions.
3 Micah Parsons - ROLB - 93 OVR
It seems thirteen sacks, three forced fumbles, and a defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2021 weren’t enough to land Micah Parsons on the top-ten list at the start of this season. That proved to be a mistake and the ratings adjusters have both recognized that and compensated for it in a big way.
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Now, Parsons is the highest-rated right outside linebacker in the game. He’s been completely destructive for the gameplans of opponents, forcing them to change everything they like to do just to avoid getting him involved. Because when parsons is involved, the results are devastating.
2 Fred Warner - MLB - 96 OVR
Those who compare last year’s game to this year’s will find that Fred Warner remains the top-rated middle linebacker. As a middle linebacker, his top priority is tackling and he set a personal career high last season with a whopping 137 combined tackles.
Despite Warner’s improvement, Warner missed the Pro Bowl last year after making it in 2020. He’s also not on track to hit the tackles goal this year. Yet he’s up two points in OVR. The rationale is that he’s so dangerous, opposing teams are calling plays that stay far away from Warner.
1 T.J. Watt - LOLB - 97 OVR
Although T.J. Watt is the highest-rated linebacker, even those who don’t follow football or gaming closely might have heard the outcry when he was given a mere 96 OVR to start the season. This is the reigning defensive player of the year who just tied the single-season sack record last season.
Over the last two seasons, Watt has led the league in sacks, tackles for loss, and quarterback hits. When the franchise debuts another 99 OVR player, it had better be Watt. Watt was on track for another incredible season, but suffered a season-ending injury during the second game. Even then, his single game was diminant enough to bring him up a point.
Madden NFL 23 releases on August 15th, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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