J.J. Watt leads Arizona Cardinals’ front 7 in Madden 23 ratings

Another Arizona Cardinal was near the top of his respective position in Madden 23’s ratings released Tuesday.

After Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins landed fourth among NFL wideouts with a 96 rating, J.J. Watt found himself at sixth among defensive ends (third among left ends) with an 87 rating.

Watt’s strength (95), awareness (93), toughness (98), impact blocking (94) and play recognition (92) were considered his strong suits.

In his first year with the Cardinals last season, Watt recorded a sack, 10 QB hits and a forced fumble over seven games played before a shoulder injury that required surgery sidelined the lineman for the rest of the regular season.

He would eventually return for the team’s NFC Wild Card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, registering three tackles, one of which for a loss, in the defeat.

Looking at the rest of the team’s front seven, the next highest rated Cardinals are middle linebacker Isaiah Simmons and outside linebacker Markus Golden, who both garnered a 78 rating from the gaming franchise.

Simmons’ rating is highlighted by his speed (93), acceleration (93), agility (91), jumping (93), injury (93) and stamina (92).

The young linebacker’s NFL progression took another step forward in Year 2, with Simmons racking up 105 tackles, four QB hits and seven passes defensed over 17 starts, all career marks.

Golden on the other hand was much more consistent across the board for the linebacker, with Madden 23 giving Golden one rating of 90 for his ability to stay healthy.

The linebacker figures to be the team’s anchor on the outside following Chandler Jones’ departure to Las Vegas. Last season, Golden paced the team with 11 sacks to go along with 19 QB hits and 10 tackles for loss.

A look at Madden 23’s ratings for Arizona’s front seven:

Arizona Cardinals front seven Madden 23 ratings

– DE J.J. Watt — 87
– ILB Isaiah Simmons — 78
– OLB Markus Golden — 78
– OLB Devon Kennard — 74
– OLB Dennis Gardeck — 73
– ILB Zaven Collins — 73
– DE Zach Allen — 72
– DE Kingsley Keke — 70
– ILB Nick Vigil — 70
– ILB Ben Niemann — 67
– OLB Cameron Thomas — 66
– ILB Joe Walker — 66
– DE Michael Dogbe — 66
– OLB Myjai Sanders — 66
– ILB Tanner Vallejo — 66
– OLB Jesse Luketa — 63
– DE Jonathan Ledbetter — 62
– OLB Victor Dimukeje — 61
– ILB Ezekiel Turner — 56

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