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Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN
Welcome back football! As teams return to the field this week for the start of training camp, gamers will soon return to the virtual gridiron as EA Sports’ Madden 25 releases worldwide Aug. 16.
San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey earned his first ever Madden cover this year, but who will join him among the game’s elite players? We’re unveiling the top position ratings each day this week, along with more content on ESPN, ESPN.com and our social platforms.
Madden Week kicks off with the top wide receivers and safeties in the game, as well as the first member revealed for the 99 Club in Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Here are the top 10 by position:
WIDE RECEIVERS
1. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins (99 overall)
2. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings (98 overall)
3. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys (96 overall)
T4. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles (95 overall)
T4. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (95 overall)
6. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders (94 overall)
7. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (93 overall)
8. Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans (92 overall)
T9. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (91 overall)
T9. Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (91 overall)
The preeminent deep threat in the NFL, Hill leads all players with 99 speed and is the highest-rated route runner in the game with 98 deep, medium and short route running. He also becomes the first Dolphins player to have a 99 overall in Madden. Tight coverage might not be enough to stop Jefferson, given his catch in traffic (98) and spectacular catch (99) ratings. He also trails only Hill in short (97), medium (97) and deep (97) route running. The NFL’s second-leading receiver from a season ago, Lamb ranks in the top-10 among receivers in deep (95), medium (94) and short (92) route running in his highest-ever ranking in Madden.
St. Brown makes his top-10 debut, and his catching (99) is the highest rating of any player in the game, and he’s an effective short (96) and medium (96) route runner. Diggs was traded this offseason after four productive seasons in Buffalo, but his arrival in Houston makes the Texans one of the most interesting teams on both the real-life and virtual gridiron. He’ll stretch the field with his medium (91) and deep (92) route running. Who knows where Aiyuk will play football this season, but he’ll be a problem for whoever he lines up against in Madden 25 after a career-best 1,342 yards last season. His strength in Madden stems from his reliability; he has the third-highest catch rating (98).
Dropped out from last year’s rankings: Cooper Kupp (T-4), DeAndre Hopkins (No. 7), Terry McLaurin (No. 8), Amari Cooper (T-9)
SAFETIES
1. Jessie Bates III, Atlanta Falcons (97 overall)
2. Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers (94 overall)
3. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers (93 overall)
T4. Derwin James Jr., Los Angeles Chargers (91 overall)
T4. Tyrann Mathieu, New Orleans Saints (91 overall)
6. Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals (90 overall)
T7. Kevin Byard III, Chicago Bears (89 overall)
T7. Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens (89 overall)
T9. Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers (88 overall)
T9. Jevon Holland, Miami Dolphins (88 overall)
The top safety in the game, Bates gets a large bump from his 91 overall at last year’s launch. He is as good as it gets in essentially every major category, leading all safeties in pursuit (93) and zone coverage (96), and trailing only Mathieu in man coverage (86). Winfield earned himself a new deal this offseason and a career-high Madden rating, as he gets a sizable bump from his 87 overall at last year’s launch. He’s relentless with a 92 pursuit rating, second highest among safeties, and is reliable in both man (82) and zone (90) coverage.
Fitzpatrick maintains his 93 overall rating from last year’s launch and is a monster in zone coverage (95), trailing only Bates in that category among safeties. Mathieu ranks in the top 10 among safeties in catching (82), man coverage (88), zone coverage (86) and pursuit (87) — making him a well-rounded option at the position. Holland earns his first top-10 ranking and is among the best at his position in zone coverage (90) and man coverage (84).
Dropped out from last year’s rankings: Justin Simmons (No. 3), Kevin Byard (No. 4), Jordan Poyer (No. 7), Harrison Smith (No. 9), Micah Hyde (No. 10)
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