Madden makes Tom Brady its top-rated quarterback

Posted by Mike Florio on July 22, 2022, 1:15 PM EDT
Capital One's The Match VI - Brady & Rodgers v Allen & Mahomes
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Most people who craft lists of the best quarterbacks in the NFL would not put 44-year-old Tom Brady at the top of the heap. The folks at Madden did.

The quarterback ratings are out, and Brady has the highest number of all quarterbacks with a 97.

Next is 2020 and 2021 MVP Aaron Rodgers. The Packers quarterback is a 96. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes comes in third, with a 95.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, this year’s preseason MVP favorite, is fourth with a 92. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow lands at No. 5, with a 90. Next comes Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at 89, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert at 88, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson at 87, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson at 87, and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at 85.

The second ten has Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (84), Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (84), Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (83), Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (83), Colts quarterback Matt Ryan (81), Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (80), Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (78), Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield (77), 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (77), and Saints quarterback Jameis Winston (76).

Sorry, TuAnon. Dolphins quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater are tied for No. 22, with 75s.

Here’s the link for the full list.

Brady, who retired for 40 days earlier this year, should not be No. 1. Reasonable minds may differ on who No. 1 should be, but it should not be Brady.

My own loose, seat of the pants ratings would go like this: (1) Allen 99; (2) Mahomes 98; (3) Rodgers 97; (4) Burrow 96; (5) Brady 95; (6) Herbert 95; (7) Wilson 93; (8) Jackson 92; (9) Stafford 91; and (10) Watson 91.

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28 responses to “Madden makes Tom Brady its top-rated quarterback”

  4. More of a lifetime achievement award, like the Grammy’s would do. Though, I’m glad he wasn’t 2 or lower – he’d use that as intense motivation.

    What’s up w/ the low ranking on Mac Jones? Haven’t they seen the time he put in at the gym? Don’t they know he’s the 1st at practice and last to leave?

  5. Maybe Brady shouldn’t be #1, but Allen shouldn’t be #1 when last season his QB rating was worse than Mac Jones, Carson Wentz, Teddy Bridgewater, Jimmy G. He’s still very close to being the best, but everyone is ignoring him falling from a rating of 107 in 2020 to 92 in 2021. That’s a big difference in his passing efficiency. There are reasons for that, and his 4400 yards was still a productive season, but at the end of the day which QB is he? Because 107 is Aaron Rodgers MVP season each year territory, 92 is usually not even starting QB territory anymore.

  6. Stafford got done dirty. & Josh Allen could use a couple more points for strength and speed

  7. billsrthefuture says:
    July 22, 2022 at 1:41 pm
    More of a lifetime achievement award, like the Grammy’s would do. Though, I’m glad he wasn’t 2 or lower – he’d use that as intense motivation

    ———

    How so? He led the league in both TDs and passing yards last season

  8. Rated him with 71 speed.

    Just can’t take this game seriously anymore.

  9. Madden ratings are for a video game that rewards speed and rushing ability quite favorably. Brady has no business being in the top 5.
    Joe Burrow being ahead of Stafford, Herbert or Wilson on any rating scale is a Joke at best.

  10. Brady has padded his stats against a lot of really easy teams the past two seasons…his numbers are misleading.

  11. Weird you wouldn’t put the reigning MVP at #1. Who has been better than Rodgers these last two years?

  13. Madden is pretty conservative on moving ratings. A player who has one great year doesn’t fly up the rankings. That’s why Jamar Chase was competitively low in the WR rankings.

    On the flip side, a player’s rating doesn’t fall rapidly either. If someone who’s been good for a long time has a a bad season or a season below their standard, the rating doesn’t drop quickly. That’s why Michael Thomas was comparatively high in the WR rankings.

    Seeing Burrow rated as highly as he is here without a ton of track record is a pretty big statement from Madden.

  14. Assuming you want the guy with the best chance to L-E-A-D your team to championship, it’s Brady by a mile and always has been since the first game he started. You want stats, entertainment, ooh ahh ; knock yourself out with a second tier guy.

  15. I more or less like Florio’s rankings, but I would dump Lamar Jackson from the top 10 and put in Dak Prescott at 9, just ahead of Watson by a nose.

  16. Also of note: Daniel Jones, the Steelers starter, and the Seahawks starter are the only starters not ranked in the top 32.

    Desmond Ridder is the highest rated rookie (70, Malik Willis is 69 and Kenny Pickett is 68).

    The closest starter and backup combos are Marcus Mariota and Ridder, Jones and Tyrod Taylor, and the Steelers situation (all with one point separating the starter and backup).

    Madden doesn’t think the Seahawks competition is particularly close with Drew Lock at 66 and Geno Smith at 60.

    Cam Newton isn’t even in the game apparently.

  17. Regarding Tom Brady being overrated

    “nhpats2011 says:
    How so? He led the league in both TDs and passing yards last season”

    Because you are rewarding volume of attempts. Stafford had 41 TD passes to Bradys 43. Stafford had 430 fewer yards passing then Brady….
    Stafford had 118 fewer pass attempts in the same 17 game schedule as compared to Brady which equals 3.5 more games worth of passes for Tom Brady over Stafford.

  18. Assuming you want the guy with the best chance to L-E-A-D your team to championship, it’s Brady by a mile and always has been since the first game he started. You want stats, entertainment, ooh ahh ; knock yourself out with a second tier guy.
    ==========

    Its a video game.

    Nobody is going to confuse Brady with Tecmo Bo, or Mike Vick

  19. pkrlvr says:
    July 22, 2022 at 2:23 pm
    Weird you wouldn’t put the reigning MVP at #1. Who has been better than Rodgers these last two years?

    Including playoffs? Regular season stats don’t mean much to me, largely dependent on team schedule. Including the playoffs moves guys like Brady, Allen and Burrow higher up. Yes, Brady. Under heavy pressure most of the game against the Rams and he almost crafted a comeback for the ages. For the record, I’m a Cowboys fan, so looking at this subjectively.

  20. Carson Wentz is way too low. Below Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields? That is ridiculous. He should be about 15th at worst. Nice to see someone finally rate Daniel Jones accurately though. Turnover machine.

  21. No links for Josh Allen or Lamar JAckson. All the other players in the article got one. What’s up with that?

  24. Too bad L Jackson has regressed so significantly the past few years. He was fun to watch in 2019 and seemingly got worse each succeeding year. I guess the talk about his legs as his career progressed turned out to be true.

  25. But but but Tom can only throw three yards? He’s a system quarterback? It was all BB? LOL. Haters gonna hate.

  27. I don’t normally care at all about these rankings and in real life I’d take Burrow over Herbert, but in a video game where the “it” factor shouldn’t matter, I’m not sure how Herbert is ranked below Burrow. From a pure skills perspective (which I’d think is what matters in a video game), Herbert should probably be 1 or 2.

  28. Patrick says:
    July 22, 2022 at 8:30 pm
    Mac Jones is rated wayyy too high. He’s terrible
    —-
    Jones is rated accurately. It’s Brady that is too high.

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