Madden 12 News Post

Madden NFL 12 Rookie Ratings: Top Ten Linebackers

02:05 PM - July 21, 2011 by brettmickey

Von Miller was selected second overall by the Denver Broncos in the latest NFL Draft, and looks to be a future Madden star coming in at a 79 OVR. Here's the top ten rookie linebackers in Madden NFL 12.

A fresh infusion of talent by way of the NFL draft is the surest way your favorite team can build for the future. Why do you think we always debate the top draft classes and not the top free agency classes of all time? We get excited adding rookies to Madden NFL 12 too. Rather than tweaking and adjusting ratings for the same old veterans we get to build new guys from scratch, projecting how they�ll transition to the pro game. If only their coaches could do that.

The group of rookie linebackers in Madden NFL 12 covers a lot of defenders. Some are pass rushers or runstoppers and they can line up in the middle, on the weakside or even on the line in a three-point stance. Speed at this position can make even the most mediocre defensive Madden NFL player a dangerous opponent.

10. Bruce Carter � OLB - DAL - 67 OVR

9. Kelvin Sheppard � MLB - BUF - 67 OVR

8. Colin McCarthy � MLB - TEN - 67 OVR

7. Martez Wilson � MLB - NO - 68 OVR

6. Brooks Reed � OLB - HOU - 69 OVR

5. Casey Matthews � OLB - PHI - 71 OVR

4. Akeem Ayers � OLB - TEN - 72 OVR

3. Ryan Kerrigan � OLB - WAS - 74 OVR

2. Aldon Smith � OLB - SF - 76 OVR

1. Von Miller � OLB - DEN - 79 OVR

Nobody from this group breaks into the 80s but make no mistake, Bronco and Niner fans are expecting big things out of Von Miller and Aldon Smith, respectively. With those new linebackers in the mix Tennessee will have a formidable defense in Madden NFL 12 once again. Smothering with defense may not look pretty but it can be a winning gameplan.
Don�t forget, we�ll be consistently updating all rosters and all players during the 2011 NFL season, so these lists are just a starting point. Keep it here for more on Madden NFL 12 rookies, ratings and info.

Source: Madden NFL 12 Rookie Ratings - Top Ten Linebackers

Game: Madden NFL 12Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 44 - View All

Madden NFL 12 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 iBlievN5 @ 07/21/11 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldphoenix42


	I feel like alot of the ratings are lower so that the dynamic performance will shine and make an impact. If you play as the eagles and casey struggles then his stats go down, if he thrives than they go up. this seems to be the same with a lot of the rookie ratings considering the rookies this year seem (to me) to be lower rated than last years. My thoughts are that rookies will probably have huge (or bloated) potential compared to overall and that their consistancies will be lower so that you really see an impact in how they play as the season goes on. id like to mention that im a seahawks fan, so the way these ratings look makes me think carpenter will be 65 or so overall which is disheartening at first but will allow more challenge in building him up in franchise along with the rest of the team!

Exactly. I feel as if they're also rated for "nfl readiness" rather than the ability to potentially be good, eventually.

# 22 infemous @ 07/21/11 05:22 PM

The issue about roster updates is that Donny manages to mess those up too. One great game, give him a boost! stinks for 5 games, reduce him a little bit. Then the league gets saturated by great players and rookies should seldom get ovr boosts, and should just be rated on the talent they had coming out of college. Any idiot knows that Casey Matthews sucked, especially in comparison to other pure 4-3 OLBs like Carter, Foster even Ayers (and I don't rate him either) The fact he was drafted so late is an example of this.

Who can seriously trust a dude who made JJ Watt an 80 OVR, Prince Amukamara an 81 OVR, put Dareus as an 82 and joint best rook coming in, when everyone knows that before a snap is played to prove otherwise, that in terms of prospect, Pat Peterson is number one, AJ Green is number one and a half, Von Miller is three and Dareus is four. So why is JJ Watt up there with guys like AJ Green?

Inexcusable that this guy routinely messes up ratings, and not only the useless OVRs, but the more important individual attributes. Who else thinks Donny will see Rodgers' size and agility and make him a 90+ speed back?

# 23 infemous @ 07/21/11 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iBlievN5


	Exactly. I feel as if they're also rated for "nfl readiness" rather than the ability to potentially be good, eventually.

You give this idiot too much credit. He wouldn't know NFL Ready if it slapped him across the face a million times.

# 24 Checmate101 @ 07/21/11 06:32 PM

Yup, Can't wait to go wild with Rakpo and Kerrigan

# 25 boritter @ 07/21/11 06:33 PM

Von Miller's rating is the first positive news for Broncos fans since the day they hired McDaniels.

# 26 Palo20 @ 07/21/11 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boritter


	Von Miller's rating is the first positive news for Broncos fans since the day they hired McDaniels.

Hmmm, hopefully Von turns out a little better than McDaniels??

# 27 Broncos86 @ 07/21/11 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boritter


	Von Miller's rating is the first positive news for Broncos fans since the day they hired McDaniels.

There's a lot of talent on the Broncos that McDaniels brought in. Problem is, he shipped out a lot of talent and didn't put proper emphasis on defense.

I'm hoping Coach Fox can get that talent to perform.

# 28 Lofton @ 07/21/11 08:01 PM

casey matthews way to high

No Justin Houston, Mason Foster ?

# 29 brettmickey @ 07/21/11 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lofton


	casey matthews way to high No Justin Houston, Mason Foster ?

Oh dang I forgot about Houston. I would rather have him than Matthews...

# 30 angels eclipse7 @ 07/21/11 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lofton


	casey matthews way to high No Justin Houston, Mason Foster ?

Yeah, wow. Justin Houston not being on this list is insane. He was a late first-early second round talent.

# 31 mojo6911 @ 07/21/11 09:39 PM

Casey Matthews is a joke rating.

# 32 SuperNoVa27 @ 07/22/11 12:46 AM

Coming from an Eagles fan

Who in the hell is Casey Mathews, he better not look anything like this guy

EDIT : Really, his brother. SMH

# 33 dust247 @ 07/22/11 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperNoVa27


	Coming from an Eagles fan Who in the hell is Casey Mathews, he better not look anything like this guy EDIT : Really, his brother. SMH

, looks almost exactly like him.

I'm surprised to see Casey rated that high, especially higher than Justin Houston and Bruce Carter.

# 34 Hooe @ 07/22/11 09:22 AM

Put me on the "I don't understand how Casey Matthews is rated significantly better than Bruce Carter" bandwagon as well.

# 35 saintsyadig @ 07/22/11 12:28 PM

I'm ok with Martez Wilson's rating. But he better be faster than all those linebackers. He had the fastest 40 time for linebackers. Come on Ea...

« Previous 12Next »

More Links

Madden NFL 12 Rookie Ratings: Top Ten Linebackers