Madden NFL 17 News Post

Madden NFL 17 Player Ratings - Top 5 Free Safeties

11:35 AM - August 1, 2016 by Steve_OS

EA Sports has continued revealing their Madden NFL 17 player ratings today, as they announce the top 5 free safeties in the game. More detailed ratings can be seen in the official blog.

Check them out and post your thoughts!

Tyrann Mathieu (Overall 96)
Harrison Smith (Overall 94)
Eric Berry (Overall 93)
Earl Thomas III (Overall 93)
Malcolm Jenkins (Overall 93)

Previously released Madden NFL 17 player ratings:

Madden NFL 17 screenshot gallery - Click to view

Game: Madden NFL 17Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 17 - View All

Member Comments

# 21 Facts @ 08/01/16 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheKingOfVa


	your name is facts but you refuse to look at the facts. Honey badger was a mile ahead of everyone in his PFF coverage ratings. He didn't need to cover Calvin or AJ because PP21 was on them. That's his role on the team.

Exactly, Pat Pete manning up against them because he's the better option in man coverage. Badger over the top because he's the better zone option and also offers better run support. PFF has you mixing up the 2 techniques.

Man and Zone are 2 different worlds. Don't believe me, ask Nnamdi Asomugha

# 22 manEATgod @ 08/01/16 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Facts


	You guys are confusing zone and man. Badger was everywhere last year, true. But I'm talking about just man coverage. Why isn't he on guys like Calvin Johnson and AJ Green taking them out of the game? Man 98? You're telling me he's just 1 point under guys like Prime Revis and Prime Sanders in man coverage? Man stop.

Sanders also had legendary speed and agility. In the game he will play as a much better man cover guy than Honey Badger because of those attributes. You need to understand the man coverage rating is only part of the equation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Facts


	Exactly, Pat Pete manning up against them because he's the better option in man coverage. Badger over the top because he's the better zone option and also offers better run support. PFF has you mixing up the 2 techniques. Man and Zone are 2 different worlds. Don't believe me, ask Nnamdi Asomugha

No Pat Pete has more speed and size to cover those types of receivers. I never thought Pat Pete had the best man coverage on the Cardinals.

Giving Honey Badger 98 man coverage in the game makes him play true to his real life counterpart. I'm going to leave it at that.

# 23 Facts @ 08/01/16 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manEATgod


	Sanders also had legendary speed and agility. In the game he will play as a much better man cover guy than Honey Badger because of those attributes. You need to understand the man coverage rating is only part of the equation. No Pat Pete has more speed and size to cover those types of receivers. I never thought Pat Pete had the best man coverage on the Cardinals. Giving Honey Badger 98 man coverage in the game makes him play true to his real life counterpart. I'm going to leave it at that.

Like I said earlier. Badger isn't covering WR1. He's got slots, TEs, and backs. 89 Man at most should lock them down. This guy isn't locking down great WRs on an island like Revis. Madden is making this guy a true lockdown corner playing saftey which he isn't.

He's the best man cover saftey in the league NOT the best man cover guy in the league. Don't get it twisted.

# 24 TheKingOfVa @ 08/01/16 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Facts


	Like I said earlier. Badger isn't covering WR1. He's got slots, TEs, and backs. 89 Man at most should lock them down. This guy isn't locking down great WRs on an island like Revis. Madden is making this guy a true lockdown corner playing saftey which he isn't. He's the best man cover saftey in the league NOT the best man cover guy in the league. Don't get it twisted.

So did you have a problem with Chris Harris's coverage rating? He covers number 3 and 4 wr's most of the time.

# 25 XtremeDunkz @ 08/01/16 05:20 PM

Damn HCD is only 13th...

I feel like he is massively underrated.

# 26 charter04 @ 08/01/16 05:59 PM

Yea Mathieu has coverage rating too high compared to the others.

I know PFF is not the only good source but, they have him listed at CB not FS. He plays mostly in the slot.

Here is how he stacks up at coverage with the top 5 CB's according to PFF

1. Mathieu 91.5
2. Jason Verrett 91.5
3. Johnathan Joseph 89.2
4. Josh Norman 87.8
5. Patrick Peterson 87.1

So to have Mathieu that far ahead of even CB's in his coverage ratings is not accurate according PFF data

# 27 87Birdman @ 08/01/16 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheKingOfVa


	So did you have a problem with Chris Harris's coverage rating? He covers number 3 and 4 wr's most of the time.

But according to PFF Harris was also the best in the slot with opposing qb rating against.

Harris also starts. That means covering the number 1 and 2 on the outside. It's nickel that he kicks down to the slot.

But according to this the honey badger could be put on the number 1 receiver and lock him down with no help.

Do you believe he could lock down Dez Julio dt those toe of receivers? Because that rating means he can because that is what people will do in madden because that rating will make it possible for him to cover anyone not just slot players.

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# 28 manEATgod @ 08/01/16 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charter04


	Yea Mathieu has coverage rating too high compared to the others. I know PFF is not the only good source but, they have him listed at CB not FS. He plays mostly in the slot. Here is how he stacks up at coverage with the top 5 CB's according to PFF 1. Mathieu 91.5 2. Jason Verrett 91.5 3. Johnathan Joseph 89.2 4. Josh Norman 87.8 5. Patrick Peterson 87.1 So to have Mathieu that far ahead of even CB's in his coverage ratings is not accurate according PFF data

Is this PFF category just looking at man coverage? Also Pat Pete is going to be better and more complete in man coverage due to his other attributes, just like in real life,which is why he follows the best around instead of Honey Badger.

# 29 ggsimmonds @ 08/01/16 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87Birdman


	But according to PFF Harris was also the best in the slot with opposing qb rating against. Harris also starts. That means covering the number 1 and 2 on the outside. It's nickel that he kicks down to the slot. But according to this the honey badger could be put on the number 1 receiver and lock him down with no help. Do you believe he could lock down Dez Julio dt those toe of receivers? Because that rating means he can because that is what people will do in madden because that rating will make it possible for him to cover anyone not just slot players. Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

No, completely wrong. The man coverage rating is only half the equation, the other part is the physical skillset. How many times must that be said?

Now having said that, I still think his MCV rating is too high.

# 30 87Birdman @ 08/01/16 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggsimmonds


	No, completely wrong. The man coverage rating is only half the equation, the other part is the physical skillset. How many times must that be said? Now having said that, I still think his MCV rating is too high.

But this is madden I've never seen the height weight make a difference on the receiving side. You can easily put a small corner on a big receiver because the ball is tethered to a receiver or dB. So with his coverage and his physical traits in madden he will stick to those guys and cover them.

So if he can't cover those outside receivers his rating is to high. Using PFF as a reason shouldn't be done unless it is equal. As in covering a number 1 vs covering a back. One takes more ability.

A safety shouldn't have a higher man coverage than a corner who is covering the outside receivers.

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# 31 charter04 @ 08/01/16 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manEATgod


	Is this PFF category just looking at man coverage? Also Pat Pete is going to be better and more complete in man coverage due to his other attributes, just like in real life,which is why he follows the best around instead of Honey Badger.

No it's just overall coverage. Mathieu has too high ratings for both IMO

# 32 Greenblood60 @ 08/01/16 08:18 PM

They got my man Malcolm in there ! Good work !

# 33 khaliib @ 08/01/16 08:22 PM

Got to love the functionality of Madden ratings!!!

Man Coverage is matched against Route Run to determine how much "separation" is achieved on the WR part, based on their Route Run rating.
- there are other functionalities at play like die-roll knock out chance etc...

Then you have to apply the AWR rating as a modifier against the rating to determine how close to 100% Man Coverage (or any other rating) will be played at.

Gameplay wise, there's no difference between 98 or 92, because as soon as a rating hits "90", that rating is considered top tier.

At 98, when regression is applied, it will take that 98 longer to fall out of the top tier level (90) than someone at 92.
- gameplay wise, this allows the Badger to have a greater advantage over WR's who's Route Run isn't 90 for a longer duration of his career.
- because of this longer advantage duration the 98 gives, he'll hold high value longer, until age/injuries etc... eventually drops his MCV.

Most WR/TE's don't have Route Run ratings in the 90's, so match ups (Man wise), will consistently be favorable to his side, thus, his value at a young age.

Unfortunately, because the game doesn't distinguish between the route running of a fleet footed WR and lumbering TE/FB/RB, the man rating has to be higher to balance high route run ratings that these lumbering players posses, which allows them to be wide open way too often.

The one rating that "all" defensive players will need to be modified downward on is "Zone Coverage".
From the vids, players are still redirecting with no regard to momentum as soon as the ball leaves the hand of the QB.
- up through M16, anything above 80 caused an "instant" reaction upon QB release, to the path of the ball.

The key to all ratings is only giving "90+" to an positional area (rating) were you want that player to shine above the rest at, plus a very high AWR rating so that there's little to no negative modification against that "90+" area (rating).

You have to look at Madden's ratings from a "Cause & Affect" functionality and not "Best & Worst" perspective.

At 98, he will be covering guys very close, well into his 30's.
If you don't think he's that type of player, lower it closer to 90, that when regression hits, he won't be as effective.

# 34 J.Cole @ 08/01/16 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrganizedChaos


	Malcolm Jenkins over Ha Ha? I also would put Harrison smith above other guys. But that is just splitting hairs, top four are all amazing at their craft.

Malcolm Jenkins is easily in the too 5 he has great versatility which for what ever reason is not reflected in his ratings and a great tackler. If he didn't have stone hands he would be top 3 for sure.

# 35 iLLWiLL @ 08/02/16 12:27 AM

# 36 manEATgod @ 08/02/16 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charter04


	No it's just overall coverage. Mathieu has too high ratings for both IMO

So then you can't really use the PFF coverage grades to say Mathieu's man coverage rating is too high, can you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggsimmonds


	No, completely wrong. The man coverage rating is only half the equation, the other part is the physical skillset. How many times must that be said? Now having said that, I still think his MCV rating is too high.

For some reason it's not getting through. I don't know how else to explain this.I too think its a tad bit too high but its not that bad. It's really splitting hairs at this point. Honestly I wish they would name the man coverage rating something else so that the people getting upset over this wouldn't be so confused.

It doesn't matter that his man coverage rating is higher than Pete's when we know that a Megatron type receiver will beat Mathieu a lot more than Pete, downfield.

# 37 Dj_MyTime @ 08/02/16 09:02 AM

To me Mathieu's rating for man should be somewhere between 88-91, since man coverage is global across the defense he should not be rated higher than a top 5 corner.

HE IS NOT A CORNER.

Can he come down and play the slot, sure, can he match up vs perennial number one receivers, game in and game out...no, if so he'd be a corner all the time in the NFL if he possessed that true skill set.

His value is in that he's a versatile coverage FS, similar to Earl Thomas (who was also a high rated DB coming put of college).

Just because he grades out high in coverage on a blog/statistical site doesn't garner the highest rating in the game, because you have to account for WHO HE IS COVERING, which is mainly a TE/HB/3rd or 4th receiver on the depth chart. So naturally as a cover FS he will grade out high vs players who are not on the same level as a true number one receiver.

# 38 charter04 @ 08/02/16 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manEATgod


	So then you can't really use the PFF coverage grades to say Mathieu's man coverage rating is too high, can you? For some reason it's not getting through. I don't know how else to explain this.I too think its a tad bit too high but its not that bad. It's really splitting hairs at this point. Honestly I wish they would name the man coverage rating something else so that the people getting upset over this wouldn't be so confused. It doesn't matter that his man coverage rating is higher than Pete's when we know that a Megatron type receiver will beat Mathieu a lot more than Pete, downfield.

Of course you can use that. His overall coverage is about the same as CB's. So why would his zone and man be way higher than all of them?

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