Madden 23: Analyzing Player Ratings, New Features and Ultimate Team (2024)

The start of the 2022 NFL season is only a little more than a month away. That means it's also almost time for gamers to hit the virtual gridiron with the newest edition of the annual Madden NFL series from EA Sports.

It's as much a yearly tradition as fantasy football drafts and the kickoff to a new NFL campaign, as Madden games have been coming out since 1988. A lot has changed between then and now, and Madden 23 has the potential to be one of the most advanced editions of the series yet.

This year's game will be the third to be released on the newest generation of consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X). It's set to come out Aug. 19, though those who preorder the All Madden edition can get access three days earlier.

Here's everything you need to know about Madden 23 before it comes out.

Even though Madden 23 isn't out yet, you can already see the ratings for every player in the game. Those are available at EA.com.

Only four players are members of the elusive "99 Club" this year: Los Angeles Rams right end Aaron Donald, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, Cleveland Browns right end Myles Garrett and San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams. Each of those standouts are clearly worthy of having 99 overall ratings.

The Rams are the defending Super Bowl champions, so it makes sense they have some of the best players in the game. In addition to Donald, they also have two players with 98 overall ratings: wide receiver Cooper Kupp and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Their fourth player in the 90s is linebacker Bobby Wagner (91), who signed with the team as a free agent in April.

It's always fun to see who the best rookies are when the game comes out, as they're making their Madden debuts and have yet to play an NFL snap. There are three rookies who got a 78 overall rating: Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner.

The top rookie QB in this year's game is the Atlanta Falcons' Desmond Ridder, who has a 70 overall rating.

With updates released throughout the season, players' ratings will change. And for many of the star rookies, those will go up as they prove themselves at the NFL level.

The biggest addition to this year's edition of Madden is exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It's called FieldSENSE, which EA Sports has described as "a new foundation for consistent, ultra-realistic gameplay."

FieldSENSE should make the game even more realistic because of its animation branching technology. The four ways that it will improve the gameplay are through the "Hit Everything" mechanic, the skill-based passing system, 360-degree cuts and wide receiver vs. defensive back battles.

These gameplay advancements will be present in every game mode in Madden 23.

Some other notable new features in this year's game are present in franchise mode. The scouting system has been improved, and free agency has been modified, making it more frenzied to resemble real life.

Face of the Franchise career mode has returned, and players can now enter the league as a cornerback in addition to the four positions from last year's mode (quarterback, running back wide receiver or linebacker).

EA Sports has revealed the 10 players who will have the best Madden Ultimate Team cards when the game drops. But as experienced MUT gamers know, there will be tons of cards getting released over the course of the next year.

There doesn't appear to be much that's changed in MUT this year. So if you've enjoyed the mode in the past, it's likely you will again in Madden 23, as players will complete challenges and play online games to try to improve their team by purchasing packs and bidding for players off the auction house.

Those who preorder the standard edition of the game will get their choice of two elite MUT players and one strategy item. People who preorder the All Madden edition will get those bonuses, as well as 4,600 Madden points.