The Lead
The daily rollout of Madden 23’s player ratings continued Wednesday, as EA Sports unveiled how they graded safeties and running backs ahead of the 2022 season, and star safety Justin Simmons graded out very well.
The seventh-year player received a 91-overall rating, which makes him the top-graded Bronco so far. His score is buoyed by ratings of 91, 95, 92, 96 and 93 in acceleration, agility, awareness, jumping and play recognition, respectively. Simmons' 91 overall places him as the fifth-best safety and No. 2 among free safeties.
His partner in the defensive backfield, Kareem Jackson, also graded out well with an 81-overall rating. So far, he has the nod as the hardest-hitting Bronco with an 89 hit-power rating.
On the other side of the ball, Denver's running back tandem of Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams received overall ratings of 83 and 82, respectively. Gordon got 90-plus ratings in speed (91), ball-carrier vision (90) and juke move (90), while Williams did so in acceleration (91), carrying (92), break tackle (94) and injury (90). Gordon's juke move rating tied for ninth-best, and Williams' break-tackle rating was third.
The ratings reveals continue Thursday with cornerbacks and defensive linemen.
Below the Fold
A productive preseason will be crucial for Jerry Jeudy, CBS Sports' Josh Edwards writes, as he selected the third-year receiver as one of eight players in the league who would benefit the most from a strong training camp.
"Jeudy had a statistically pleasing season in 2020 despite some drops along the way," Edwards wrote. "The most recent campaign was a bit of a setback as he missed six games. Most assume that an upgrade at quarterback will benefit the Alabama product, but he has to live up to his end of the bargain as well."
