Madden NFL 18 ratings: Top 10 players for the Detroit Lions

Yesterday, the ratings for the first-round rookies were released, and much to the chagrin of Madden players who also happen to be Lions fans, the team at EA Sports didn’t do Jarrad Davis any favors with his 74 overall rating.

But thanks to NateWitt, a user over on the Madden Reddit, we can do a little code and link manipulation to see the ratings for other players in Madden NFL 18.

Here are the top ten players by overall on the Detroit Lions in Madden NFL 18:

*In parentheses are their ratings in Madden NFL 18, and in brackets, their ratings after the final roster update in Madden NFL 17*

1. Darius Slay (89 overall) [87 overall]
2. Matthew Stafford (87 overall) [85 overall]
3. T.J. Lang (87 overall) [87 overall]
4. Golden Tate (87 overall) [87 overall]
5. Ezekiel Ansah (84 overall) [83 overall]
6. Marvin Jones Jr. (84 overall) [84 overall]
7. Rick Wagner (83 overall) [83 overall]
8. Matt Prater (83 overall) [83 overall]
9. Glover Quin (82 overall) [83 overall]
10. Theo Riddick (82 overall) [83 overall]

The virtual Lions begin this Madden season without a single player rated in the 90s. Last season, both Ezekiel Ansah and Darius Slay started out with 90 overall ratings, but Ansah’s ankle injury caused his rating to plummet over the course of the season, while Slay’s fluctuated a bit before finishing three points lower than where it started at back in August.

As for Bob Quinn’s first draft class, here’s how those players have progressed in the eyes of EA Sports over their respective rookie seasons:

*In parentheses are their ratings in Madden NFL 18, and in brackets, their ratings at the beginning of the Madden NFL 17 season*

• Taylor Decker (82 overall) [76 overall]
• A’Shawn Robinson (72 overall) [72 overall]
• Graham Glasgow (69 overall) [69 overall]
• Miles Killebrew (67 overall) [68 overall]
• Joe Dahl (66 overall) [65 overall]
• Antwione Williams (65 overall) [65 overall]
• Jake Rudock (63 overall) [64 overall]
• Anthony Zettel (69 overall) [69 overall]
• Dwayne Washington (68 overall) [65 overall]

Taylor Decker obviously took big strides his rookie season and was rewarded for his stellar play by receiving a substantial boost in his overall rating. Aside from Jack Conklin, who received a +7 boost in his overall rating from a 79 to start last season, no other rookie tackles from the 2016 draft class improved as much as Decker.

Most are expecting more playing time and substantial contributions from second-year players like Killebrew and Williams, but until then, their ratings won’t show much change after a year of limited opportunities and not much production.

Keep an eye on Pride of Detroit for all things related to virtual football as I’m the Madden Wiz, and nobody beats me because I’m the Wiz!

Editor’s note: EA Sports finally got wise to people searching their ratings database for a player’s attributes and put the kibosh on it.