The Seattle Seahawks have more than a couple of players with head-scratching ratings in Madden NFL 26. There are always some Madden ratings that make you wonder if the fine folks at EA Sports have ever watched an NFL game, but this year - seriously?
It wasn't always this way. Back in Madden NFL 20, they rated Bobby Wagner at 99. Obviously, he should have been 100, but as 99 is the cap, I guess we'll let that slide. Seattle had at least two players rated at 90 or above in the following seasons, either Wagner and Russell Wilson or DangeRuss and Jamal Adams. By Madden 23, it was Adams and Tyler Lockett.
When Madden NFL 24 was released, the lamentations were heard throughout the PNW. No member of the Seahawks was rated in the 90s. The ever-reliable Lockett topped the ratings for Seattle at 89. Madden NFL 25 repeated the glaring disrespect, with Lockett topping the ratings at 88, joined there by Kenneth Walker III. Be prepared to get Mad all over again, 12s.
Leonard Williams not even ranked in the 90s is a joke, right?
I'm not sure whether I want to laugh, scream, or get violently ill. I guess I'll settle for writing an article. Once again, the Seattle Seahawks don't have a single player ranked in the 90s. EA Sports, you don't want to rate Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the 90s because you decided he has the strength of a toddler, at 63? Whatever.
He's rated in the 90s in every other category except injury, where he's rated at 87. Umm...okay, in the only game he didn't start, he played 50 snaps and made 10 catches.
But that's not the stupid rating. Well, not the worst. Neither is Devon Witherspoon's absurd rating of 88. Spoon is pulled down by a laughably inept strength rating as well, in his case, 60. He made a Seattle record of six tackles for a loss for a CB.
Doesn't seem weak to me. That 60 is the same as Sam Darnold's, by the way. Anyone want to lay odds on who wins in that collision? Again, has anyone at EA Sports actually watched a Seahawks game?
I can give you the definitive answer: no. Either that, or they're trolling at a Russian disinformation farm level. How else can we explain that Williams is rated at 87, tied for third on the team? That's right, Pro Bowler Leonard Williams. I know, you're thinking that they just confused him with Damarion, the 5'10" cornerback who may or may not make the 53-man roster. You'd think it would be hard to mistake the Big Cat for anyone else.
Nope; they've got him at 66. Apparently, they're really that far off base on the Seahawks' defensive lineman. His ratings of 70 and 58 in agility and change of direction significantly pull him down. For video game controls, cool. Agility is for minor tweaks of direction, while COD pertains to larger cuts. In the real world, agility is agility. Feel free to pile on, gamers.
No interior linemen score that well in those categories. Trey Hendrickson, the defensive end that every 12 would love to see in Seattle, rates at 81 and 65, but he's a little guy at 265 pounds. Last year's sack leader is rated at 92. Wonder who they're complaining about over at Stripe Hype? More to the point, Chiefs lineman Chris Jones is rated at 74 and 62 for the two categories. Fine, I'll give you that, EA.
But how in the name of all that is holy can you rate Leonard freakin' Williams as the 12th-best defensive tackle in the NFL? Chris Jones, okay, I can accept that. Cameron Heyward, maybe. But seriously, EA, check your own ratings. I'll just give you the chart from EA, and see for yourself how absurd this is.
Player | Overall | SPD | STR | AGI | COD | INJ | AWR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J Allen | 88 | 73 | 93 | 69 | 52 | 92 | 88 |
L Williams | 87 | 78 | 90 | 70 | 58 | 93 | 95 |
Those categories are Speed, Strength, Agility, Change of Direction, Injury, and Awareness, for the non-gamers out there. So the Big Cat is better in every category, in several cases significantly better, yet that three-point gap in strength overcomes everything else. Not that Pro Football Focus (subscription required) is the final word in all things NFL, but they're solid at the least. They graded Jonathan Allen at 54.6, 120th among DTs, compared to Williams' 87.1 and fourth overall.
As for that pathetic strength rating, Williams had 16 tackles for a loss and 41 defensive stops in 16 games. Allen had just three TFL and 13 stops in eight games. Seems that the guy who had twice as many TFL and stops per game was at least as strong, I don't know. Maybe that's just me. Jones is rated higher in strength and also had fewer TFL and stops. The same is true for Dexter Lawrence, also rated ahead of Williams, both in strength and overall.
Whatever, EA. You carried out your trolling assignment to perfection. I'm just gonna blow on my Tecmo Bowl cartridge and have some real fun.