Whether it’s Aaron Rodgers only being a 97 this year, or Jerry Jacobs being a 67, Madden 2022 ratings have been controversial. Today this article will fix the Lions defensive ratings. There is already an article posted for the offensive players so if you enjoy this article go check that one out afterwards.
The players that are having their overalls fixed are the projected starters by ESPN.
Starting off with the defensive line. Romeo Okwara should be a seventy-six overall. Okwara had a career year in 2020 and couldn’t follow that up due to an injury in 2021. Okwara’s overall shouldn’t be hurt by this injury too much as is still young.
At the other edge position, is number two pick in the NFL draft this year, Aidan Hutchinson. Hutch deserves a seventy-six overall. While this may be a little high for a rookie, he was highly regarded as the best player in this year’s draft and deserves it.
Now for the big boys in the middle: the defensive tackles. Alim McNeil deserves to be 72 overall. Although Alim McNeil has the potential to be one of the players who’s overalls increase the most over the season, his rookie season wasn’t good enough to truly deserve more than a 74 at the most.
Micheal Brockers deserves to be a 70 overall. Brockers had a rough season in 2021 and is declining as he gets older. His purpose for the Lions is more to be a veteran and leader in the locker room, and less as a star player on the field.
Next up are the linebackers. Starting with the middle linebacker. Alex Anzalone deserves to be a 78 overall. Although Anzalone struggles a bit in pass coverage, he’s an excellent run stopper and his strengths are strong enough to get him up to that overall. Next is the younger brother of Romeo, Julian Okwara. Julian Okwara earned a 73 overall based on his play last season. After missing most of his rookie year with an injury, The younger Okwara made up for it by stepping his play this past season. Lastly for the linebackers, new signing Chris Board. I truly can’t say I’ve ever heard of this guy before researching for this article. I think rookie Malcolm Rodriguez is more fitting for the starting role but as of right now, it’s Board. Board gets a 67 overall as he’s easily the worst starter on this defense.
Now to the secondary, starting with the corners. Cornerback one is 2021 standout, Amani Oruwariye. Amani earned an 83 overall following a season with six interceptions. Oruwariye is truly an excellent corner and is still getting better as he is still extremely young.
Next is Jeff Okudah. Okudah is truly one of the most difficult players to rate because he was the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, but hasn’t really played many games since then. Okudah spent plenty of his rookie year injured and tore his Achilles week one of last year. This upcoming season is gonna be huge for Okudah to prove he can stay healthy and live up to his draft position.
The third corner is Jerry Jacobs. Jerry Jacobs was one of the most underrated rookies last season. Jacobs recorded excellent coverage stats when the Lions were missing a lot of corners. Unfortunately he tore his ACL in week 14 versus the Denver Broncos. Jacobs earns a 75 overall for his excellence in locking up any receiver lining up in front of him. The last corner is new signing Mike Hughes. Hughes is an extremely solid rotational corner and deserves a 74 overall.
Now to the last position, the safeties. The first safety is one of the biggest signings for the Lions this off-season, DeShon Elliot. Elliot is an extremely solid safety coming from Baltimore and earned a 79 overall. Lastly, is Tracy Walker. Walker had a spectacular season last year and got a huge contract. Tracy is a big part in the Lions future and deserves an 81 overall.
I hope this was a good read and will continue to push for these guys to get the overalls they deserve!
