Predicting Vikings Madden NFL 26 Ratings: Skill Positions Edition
It’s that time of year again: Madden Season!
Well, truth be told, it’s not Madden season yet, as EA Sports won’t release Madden NFL 26 until August 11th this year at the earliest, but with the official trailer coming out recently, as well as the beginning of the game’s closed beta program for its most loyal players of years past, it’s the perfect time to predict the overall ratings of our beloved favorite Vikings’ players in the newest installment of this year’s simulation football video game.
If you’re interested in seeing how these ratings are formulated, or even what the heck a “Madden rating” is, refer to my piece from last year where I started this yearly prediction and broke it all down.
QB J.J. McCarthy – 75 OVR
Madden NFL 25 End-of-Season Rating: 72 OVR
I predicted EA Sports to give the young QB a 71 overall rating in his introduction to the Madden NFL series, and that’s exactly what they gave him upon the game’s release. It seems silly to think that they would bump his rating up four entire points when he didn’t even play a single snap in the season that they’re using to base their ratings off of, but EA Sports may give him a good-faith boost, as all signs point towards the fact that McCarthy has everything he needs to succeed around him.
The proof is somewhat in the pudding, as the game’s publisher randomly decided to boost McCarthy’s overall rating from a 71 to a 72 when they released updated rankings during Week 11 of the NFL regular season.
RB Aaron Jones – 85 OVR
Madden NFL 24 End-Of-Season Rating: 88 OVR
EA Sports isn’t the nicest to aging running backs not named Derrick Henry, and this adds to the narrative, although it’s understandable to have their hesitancy with a position that trends downward after the age of 28. Jones is 30, and with a season that was nothing truly special in 2024, they could cut his rating down just a few points going into 2025.
RB Jordan Mason – 80 OVR
The new addition to the Vikings RB room saw a +6 point increase from Week 1 to the final ratings update during Super Bowl week, to a 79 OVR from a 73 OVR.
Mason was very good last season when healthy on a sputtering 49ers team, and I predict Madden to give him a little respect going into the new year.
WR Justin Jefferson – 99 OVR
Madden NFL 25 End-Of-Season Rating: 99 OVR
EA Sports is prone to overthinking sometimes, and that’s what they did with the launch of Madden NFL 25 last August when they gave Justin Jefferson a 98 OVR instead of the max rating of 99. Yes, he was coming off a season where he missed seven games, but he’s not just anyone else: he’s Justin Jefferson. They did eventually return him to 99 OVR in their Week 7 roster update.
They right their wrong from a year ago, and since Jefferson played all 17 last year, they return him to 99 OVR on the game’s launch this time.
WR Jordan Addison – 86 OVR
Madden NFL 25 End-Of-Season Rating: 84 OVR
Addison jumped from an 82 OVR to an 84 OVR over the course of the 2024 season, as he put up another solid season as the Robin to Justin Jefferson’s Batman. I expect a good-faith respect bump from EA Sports, one that Addison deserves going into year 3 of his NFL career.
TE T.J. Hockenson – 88 OVR
Madden NFL 25 End-Of-Season Rating: 89 OVR
The tight end dropped from a 91 OVR down to an 89 OVR over the course of the 2024 NFL season, and understandably so; he missed the first chunk of the season due to the torn ACL he sustained at the end of 2023 against the Lions and he didn’t really do anything in the numerous games he played after his return to 100%.
For that reason, I predict EA Sports docks him another point as they revise their ratings going into 2025.
