Detroit Lions Madden 17 Player Ratings Released

The Defense

Ansah (90) leads the Lions pass rush for obvious reasons. With a speed of 85, he is the fastest highly-ranked defensive end in the game and is even faster even than most outside linebackers. Haloti Ngata (82) comes in second on the line after taking a ten-point deduction from last year’s rating (which is really more a correction than anything else, as he was clearly overrated last season). His 94 strength rating is far and away the highest on the defensive line. Like the offensive line, through, there’s little to be excited about after the first couple of names. Wallace Gilberry and Devin Taylor garnered 74 and 72 ratings, respectively, and Tyrunn Walker and rookie A’Shawn Robinson were both given 72 overall.

Levy (87) is the Lions’ highest rated linebacker. His coverage skills are a bit low, but his 90 awareness and 96 tackling rating more than make up for that. Tahir Whitehead garnered a respectable 83 as a left outside linebacker, although many players will probably move either him or Levy to the middle linebacker spot. Josh Bynes got a 79, which is a pretty good grade for him, but no one else in the unit scored higher than Kyle Van Noy‘s 72, so like most of the roster, depth will be an issue.

The defensive backfield is fairly wince-worthy. Slay (90) leads the team with a 93 speed rating and 92 man and zone coverage grades, but after him, the cornerbacks are a crapshoot. Quandre Diggs is the next-highest rated at 74 while Nevin Lawson was only awarded a 70. The other four corners on the roster are all ranked below 70. The safeties are no better. Glover Quin took a hit from last year’s 90 rating down to an 83. Rafael Bush was given a barely passable 77, and the next highest listed safety is special teamer Johnson Bademosi at 74.

Next: Special Teams And A Soapbox