A review of the Top 10 players from Madden 23

Last Updated: August 9th, 2022

The official release for Madden 23 will be taking place in less than two weeks. With all of the player ratings from each position available for fans to see alongside the fact that NFL preseason kicks off in full swing on Thursday, the buildup and excitement circulating around Madden 23 has really begun to take shape as gamers begin to assess who they would like to play as.

Similarly to that of other sports games, each athlete possesses a unique variety of skills, strengths, and weaknesses that allows them to generate their own special impact within their position, something that changes every year.

And exploring with the best players in particular, grants gamers a fun experience for who they can succeed with and how they can learn the ins and outs of the game through each player’s skillset.

The Top 10 Players in Madden 23 are just the tip of the iceberg. But whether you’re a beginner looking to try out Madden or a seasoned veteran who’s bought the game multiple times before, seeing who made the Top 10 and why, usually begs the questions of which players got disregarded and which deserved the selection most.

Well on that note, we’re going to analyze those very questions with the Top 10 players from Madden 23 and see what we can expect from the next edition of this franchise.

Top 10 Madden 23 Players

1. Aaron Donald (DE) – 99
2. Davante Adams (WR) – 99
3. Myles Garrett (DE) – 99
4. Trent Williams – 99
5. Cooper Kupp – 98
6. Jalen Ramsey – 98
7. Travis Kelce – 98
8. Zach Martin – 98
9. Derrick Henry – 97
10. George Kittle – 97

Biggest Snubs:

1. Patrick Mahomes: After being a part of the 99 club last year, dropping Mahomes down to 95 was pretty harsh considering how gifted he is. Though the quarterback ratings order does remain to be pretty accurate with Tom Brady in first (97) and Aaron Rodgers in second (96), the fact that Mahomes was knocked down that low was quite surprising.

   Last season, Mahomes threw for 4,839 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He completed 66.3% of his passes (matching his career high) and was elected to his fourth straight Pro Bowl. Mahomes also ran for 381 yards and gathered two rushing touchdowns.

   Prior to leading an iconic divisional playoff comeback victory over the Buffalo Bills last season, Mahomes also threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-21 thrashing over the Pittsburg Steelers in the previous round. In those two games alone, Mahomes proved that a 95 rating is not justified.

2. T.J. Watt: This was a shocker. After leading the league in sacks in 2020 with 15, Watt went on to secure 22.5 last season, tying Michael Strahan’s all-time single season record despite only playing 15 games (there’s 17 games in the regular season). Aside from Aaron Donald, Watt is the most imposing defensive player in this league off the defensive line and proved that with a phenomenal, career year that included 64 combined tackles and five forced fumbles as well.

   Watt went on to win the Defensive Player Of The Year Award (his first) and was named First Team All Pro for the third time in his career. In short, any defensive player coming off that kind of a season needs to be in the Top 10 and Madden snubbed him of that honor this year.

3. Jonathan Taylor: Some of you reading this might feel that putting Taylor on this list is a reach. But in reality, it’s really not and here’s why. As a sophomore, Taylor exploded onto the scene and had himself an incredible breakout season. On 332 attempts over 17 games played, Taylor led the league with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 106.5 per game.

   This led him to be named First Team All Pro and he finished second in the Offensive Player Of The Year Award race. Despite all of this success, Taylor was limited to just a 95 rating on Madden 23. Although Derrick Henry had himself quite an incredible campaign in 2020, he only played eight games last season and his 97 rating should have been conceded to Taylor after the performance he had.

Most Deserving Selections:

1. Cooper Kupp: Cooper Kupp’s ascendance from his previous Madden 22 rating to Madden 23, is wholeheartedly connected to the reality to the kind of performance he had last season. Entering the 2021-22 season with an 86 overall rating, Kupp had such an epic season that he wound up as Madden 23’s second best wide receiver with a 98 overall rating, landing behind none other than Devante Adams (which some felt was a major snub).

   Despite such, Kupp is the most deserving player on this Top 10 list. In all 17 games played, Kupp won the Triple Crown receiving honors, recording a league leading 145 receptions for 1,947 yards (the second most a receiver has recorded in a single season) to go with 18 receiving touchdowns. He went on to be named Offensive Player Of The Year, was named First Team All Pro, and just so happened to help his team win a Super Bowl.

2. Myles Garrett: After a very impressive showing during the 2020 season that led him to earn a 98 overall in Madden 22, Garrett followed that up with an even better season, pushing himself to receive his first 99 overall appearance in Madden 23 and deservedly so.

   In all 17 games he played last season, Garrett had himself 16 sacks to go with 51 combined tackles (a career high) and one forced fumble. This would lead him to be named First Team All Pro for the second straight year. Aside from Aaron Donald, there’s no one else that is more physically imposing than Garrett with his height and hulky size. And his 99 overall rating this year was very well deserved.

3. Aaron Donald: To give you an idea just how special this man truly is, this is the sixth time Aaron Donald has been elected to the 99 overall club. If there was any legal cheat code you wanted to try in Madden 23, it’s Donald and terrifyingly so. After recording 20.5 sacks in 2018, Donald has still produced at a very high level, securing 12.5 sacks in 2019, 13.5 in 2020, and another 12.5 in 2021.

   Donald also gathered a career high 84 combined tackles to go along with four forced fumbles. The three-time Defensive Player Of The Year was named First Team All Pro for the seventh straight time and was a major factor why the Rams won the Super Bowl this year as well. And if there’s one thing we can be sure about, his sixth 99 overall rating likely won’t be his last.

For all the other news and information pertaining to the release of Madden 23, click here.