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Denver Broncos: Top-7 highest-rated players in Madden 22

By Graham Tiedtke

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 17: Strong safety Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos runs onto the field during player introductions before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 17: Strong safety Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos runs onto the field during player introductions before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 17, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos
Jul 29, 2021; Englewood, CO, United States; Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons (31) and Trey Marshall (36) during training camp at UCHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Safety Justin Simmons

Broncos safety Justin Simmons gets an overall rating of 91. Unfortunately, Simmons is tied with Cincinnati Bengals’ Jessie Bates as the third-highest rated safety in this year’s game, with Kansas City Chief Tyrann Mathieu coming in at 95 overall, Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker coming in at 93, and New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty coming in at 92.

This is surprising given that the Broncos made Simmons the highest-paid safety in NFL history this offseason. I guess it goes to show that that doesn’t matter to some people.

Let’s take a dive into the specifics of Simmons’ ratings:

  • Speed: 88
  • Acceleration: 91
  • Agility: 96
  • Catching: 76
  • Tackling: 75
  • Jumping: 96
  • Injury: 91
  • Stamina: 98
  • Toughness: 85
  • Change of Direction: 90
  • Press Coverage: 90
  • Man Coverage: 91

Several things stand out to me with these ratings.

For one, Madden 22 only gave Simmons a 75 overall tackling rating? That is disappointing. Hopefully, he can prove them wrong, but he did have a missed tackle percentage of 11.1 percent in 2020.

He missed 12 tackles in 2020, according to Pro Football Reference, but the big difference between him and most of the other free safeties is that he had the second-highest number of tackles in 2020 among the position.

Lastly, I want to talk about Simmons’ change of direction, which as you can see above, is 90 overall. That is respectable for sure. It’s crucial for a defensive back to have a strong change of direction so that they can move around more fluidly and cover wide receivers, tight ends, or running backs.

Overall, I am very pleased with Madden’s respect for Simmons, despite him not being a top-3 rated safety. I am sure many people would argue that he should be higher rated than 91. That is fair. It will be up to Simmons to show that he should have been higher, and I think that he will feel the same way.

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