Madden 12 News Post

Madden NFL 12 Rookie Ratings - Top Ten Defensive Linemen

02:08 PM - July 21, 2011 by brettmickey

Marcell Dareus charged from the Crimson Tide to the #2 overall pick for the Buffalo Bills, and also has the distinction of being the top rated DL 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.
Here�s a look at the top rookie defensive linemen in Madden NFL 12. These guys can make all the difference in your blitz packages as the CPU is going to be in control of most of your D-linemen more often than not. The 2011 NFL draft was deep in defensive line talent, at least on paper. In Madden NFL 12, as in the NFL itself, these guys can be penciled in as anchors to any defense.

10. Da�Quan Bowers � DE - TB - 74 OVR

9. Cameron Heyward � DE - PIT - 74 OVR

8. Phil Taylor � DT - CLE - 74 OVR

7. Corey Liuget � DE - SD - 75 OVR

6. Nick Fairley � DT - DET - 77 OVR

5. Cameron Jordan � DE - NO - 77 OVR

4. Adrian Clayborn � DE - TB - 78 OVR

3. Robert Quinn � DE - STL - 78 OVR

2. J.J. Watt � DE - HOU - 80 OVR

1. Marcell Dareus � DE - BUF - 82 OVR

Two quick observations: a) Marcell Dareus� skills and athletic ability must be tremendous if he�s sharing the honor of top rookie with Patrick Peterson and b) Tampa Bay�s 4-3 is going to be a force in Madden NFL 12. Also, it will be interesting to go through Nick Fairley�s individual ratings with a microscope after everybody flipped at the thought of him teaming up with Ndmukong Suh during the NFL Draft.
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 Defensive Lineman

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

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Member Comments

# 1 tatmanfish @ 07/21/11 02:31 PM

Bowers being a 74 is the biggest flub in the rookie ratings yet.

wow, just wow. The best DE in the draft is a 74 because of injury concerns. He doesnt have talent concerns, just a matter of how long his knee will hold up.

I knew his INJ would be low, but come on. INJ doesnt even have an effect on OVR.

Donny blew this one.

# 2 Matt Diesel @ 07/21/11 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tatmanfish


	Bowers being a 74 is the biggest flub in the rookie ratings yet. wow, just wow. The best DE in the draft is a 74 because of injury concerns.

None of these dudes have played a snap in the NFL yet. It is all speculative to a point. Dont worry about it.

Arron Maybin, 78 in Madden 10 as a rookie.

# 3 Broncos86 @ 07/21/11 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tatmanfish


	Bowers being a 74 is the biggest flub in the rookie ratings yet. wow, just wow. The best DE in the draft is a 74 because of injury concerns. He doesnt have talent concerns, just a matter of how long his knee will hold up. I knew his INJ would be low, but come on. INJ doesnt even have an effect on OVR. Donny blew this one.

The question is, is he 100% He says so, but is the strength there? Can he drive off the line? We don't know yet. I'm thinking Donny is taking this into possible consideration.

Or, he bought into the negative press about Bowers. /shrug

# 4 tatmanfish @ 07/21/11 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Broncos86


	The question is, is he 100% He says so, but is the strength there? Can he drive off the line? We don't know yet. I'm thinking Donny is taking this into possible consideration. Or, he bought into the negative press about Bowers. /shrug

he had his pro day after his injury and before his kneee was 100% and still put up decent numbers. pretty sure it isnt going to fall off between then and TC.

Im just saying that the top rated DE despite injury should still be rated with the top rookies at that position. If you think rookies as a whole are over rated is a completely seperate issue as all we have to go bye is comparisons to ther rookies in the draft class.

# 5 Broncos86 @ 07/21/11 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tatmanfish


	he had his pro day after his injury and before his kneee was 100% and still put up decent numbers. pretty sure it isnt going to fall off between then and TC. Im just saying that the top rated DE despite injury should still be rated with the top rookies at that position. If you think rookies as a whole are over rated is a completely seperate issue as all we have to go bye is comparisons to ther rookies in the draft class.

I think the worry would be the history of injuries, especially the kind of injury Bowers took. Courtney Brown was plagued with injuries. It's what made me a bit skeptical in the Broncos taking Demaryius Thomas. Demaryius Thomas was plagued by his feet all year; and while he showed flashes of talent, he couldn't stay on the field. I have more hope for Eric Decker, who has talent and his injury was merely a sprain.

# 6 TeamBuilder @ 07/21/11 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tatmanfish


	Bowers being a 74 is the biggest flub in the rookie ratings yet. wow, just wow. The best DE in the draft is a 74 because of injury concerns. He doesnt have talent concerns, just a matter of how long his knee will hold up. I knew his INJ would be low, but come on. INJ doesnt even have an effect on OVR. Donny blew this one.

Couldn't agree more.

# 7 LBzrule @ 07/21/11 04:29 PM

I wonder what Marvin Austin is rated?

# 8 tmab @ 07/21/11 04:40 PM

Marcel dareus was taken at 3 not 2, and these ratings are ridiculous but I'm not complaining, I'll be changing them myself. Just wish they had a roster share feature.

# 9 Pizzle012 @ 07/21/11 05:13 PM

how is Nick fairley only a 77 the guys at EA must be smoking theres no way that there were 6 d linemen better than him he was on many peoples boards considered the top prospect in the entire draft and the best d linemen by far this is ridiculous im glad he fell to my lions hes gonna make all 12 teams that passed on him pay

# 10 scottyo60 @ 07/21/11 05:44 PM

The question is Ryan Kerrigan... He had better numbers than JJ Watt against similar talent! What am I missing here? No not a Purdue fan at all, but being in Big 10 country I think most would agree Kerrigan is as good, if not better than Watt. Kerrigan led the Big 10 in Sacks, TFL and Forced Fumbles. Third in the nation in sacks, first in the nation in TFL

This is the biggest blunder of all the ratings.

# 11 Palo20 @ 07/21/11 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottyo60


	The question is Ryan Kerrigan... He had better numbers than JJ Watt against similar talent! What am I missing here? No not a Purdue fan at all, but being in Big 10 country I think most would agree Kerrigan is as good, if not better than Watt. Kerrigan led the Big 10 in Sacks, TFL and Forced Fumbles. Third in the nation in sacks, first in the nation in TFL This is the biggest blunder of all the ratings.

He's a 74 OVR OLB.

# 12 Scoop 24 @ 07/21/11 07:27 PM

No love for Mo Wilkerson?

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk

# 13 Lofton @ 07/21/11 08:06 PM

Yes take Bowers injury into account but damn, he should be 77 overall with a high injury occurrence. No knee problem and he's at the top with Von Miller.

# 14 suthrnthug @ 07/21/11 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottyo60


	The question is Ryan Kerrigan... He had better numbers than JJ Watt against similar talent! What am I missing here? No not a Purdue fan at all, but being in Big 10 country I think most would agree Kerrigan is as good, if not better than Watt. Kerrigan led the Big 10 in Sacks, TFL and Forced Fumbles. Third in the nation in sacks, first in the nation in TFL This is the biggest blunder of all the ratings.

Ryan Kerrigan is in no way similar to JJ Watt! JJ Watt is a 6'6 290 lb NFL DE, period. Kerrigan can not play DE in a 3-4 defense he is an OLBNFL. There is a huge difference in talent. Stats don't always tell you the measure of the player. Case in point, D Revis for the Jets had zero ints last year and he is still considered the best CB in the NFL.

# 15 TDavis45 @ 07/22/11 02:07 PM

Great to see Adrian Clayborn rated a 78!

# 16 Circusboy39 @ 07/22/11 04:25 PM

Anyone else see EA already messed up the Bills new uniforms? That helmet stripe is supposed to be wider in the back for one...

# 17 TWOSILK @ 07/22/11 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circusboy39


	Anyone else see EA already messed up the Bills new uniforms? That helmet stripe is supposed to be wider in the back for one...

Really????????

# 18 aTTckr @ 07/22/11 07:39 PM

Bowers is rated too low imo. Yes he has injury concerns but that's what the injury rating is for. Ratings shouldn't take in account where the player was picked.

# 19 brettmickey @ 07/22/11 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circusboy39


	Anyone else see EA already messed up the Bills new uniforms? That helmet stripe is supposed to be wider in the back for one...

That was the very first thing I noticed. They better fix this in a patch

# 20 iva-chargers-fan @ 07/25/11 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tatmanfish


	Bowers being a 74 is the biggest flub in the rookie ratings yet. wow, just wow. The best DE in the draft is a 74 because of injury concerns. He doesnt have talent concerns, just a matter of how long his knee will hold up. I knew his INJ would be low, but come on. INJ doesnt even have an effect on OVR. Donny blew this one.

For real!!! How is Clayborn and Jordan better than Fairley!!! Fairley should be #2 and Bowers #3, but if Bowers didnt have INJ problems and was the #1-5 pick in the Draft he would of been an 85!!! Easy!!!

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