Madden 13: Top 10 Wide Receiver Ratings Released

The release of Madden 13 is only 15 days away and with the release of the demo tomorrow, hype for the annual football game is beginning to hit it’s high. EA is capitalizing (and also generating) a lot of hype by releasing the ratings for the players on a weekly basis. Last week they did the running backs and now this week, EA has made available the Top 10 wide receivers in this year’s installment.

Well enough with the small talks, let’s get to the goods. And be sure to check back on Friday when we reveal the rest of the wide receiver ratings in Madden 13.

Top 10 WR in Madden 13

10. Hakeem Nicks  94OVR

Madden 12 Rating: 89OVR

What, were you expecting Victor Cruz here? Don’t worry, he’s not far behind. Want to boost your Madden rating? Get on a Super Bowl caliber team and have Eli Manning explore your skill set. That’s the case with Hakeem Nicks who enters the top 10 with a 94 overall rating. It’s not the biggest leap we’ve ever seen, but Nicks is on his way to the top of the NFL and cracking the top 10 wide outs in Madden is a nice first step.

9. Roddy White 94OVR

Madden 12 Rating:  96OVR

Another guy in the top tier of wide outs, White has risen nicely in his career with the Falcons and that ha a lot to do with the success of quarterback Matt Ryan. White constantly gives defenses head aches and is always a threat for the long ball. Like other top receivers, he’s elite but still considered to be second best. And he’s the only member of the Top 10 to see his rating drop in Madden 13.

8. Wes Welker  95OVR

Madden 12 Rating: 90OVR

Welker’s rating probably has more to do with who he plays for and what he’s done then his actual skill. No way are the folks at EA and Madden going to rate a No. 1 receiver for the Super Bowl runner ups anything less than a 90 overall and that’s probably why Madden has him ranked this high. I’m not calling a conspiracy here, but Welker isn’t the 8th best receiver in the NFL.

7. Steve Smith 95OVR

Madden 12 Rating: 89OVR

This has got to be more about respect then talent. Yes, Steve Smith had an incredible season last year when Cam Newton revived his career, but the seventh best receiver in the game? Well the folks at Madden think he is and have awarded him a ratings boots of 6 points. Smith is probably going to have a nother solid season in Carolina but 95 overall is a bit high.

6. Jimmy Graham 95OVR
Madden 12 Rating:  77OVR

You want to talk about leaps in ratings, look no further than Saints tight end Jimmy Graham who jumped from the high-70s to the sixth best receiver in the game. The NFL has shifted to a game where the tight end isn’t just a fat guy who occasionally catches the ball, it’s a viable receiving option. When Drew Brees is the guy throwing you the ball, that tends to help you in certain aspects of the game. Graham is a shining example of that.

5. Vernon Davis  95 OVR

Madden 13 Rating: 91OVR

Just about everybody that plays for the 49ers got a ratings boost this year and Vernon Davis is no exception. He continues the trend of ‘The Year of the Tight End’ by getting a 4 point ratings boost and a jump to the fifth best receiver in the game. Davis finally came into his own last year with the 49ers and he finally has cracked the top 5 in terms of Madden ratings.

4. Andre Johnson  97 OVR

Madden 13 Rating:97 OVR

He’s oft been injured it seems, but Andre Johnson remains one of the games best receiving targets. Madden 13 shows him the same resect it showed him last season by giving him the exact same rating. Fans might take issue with this since he barely played last season, but Johnson is a top flight receiver in the NFL and he remains as such in Madden.

3. Larry Fitzgerald

Madden 12 Rating:  96OVR

He’s another guy who’s a staple and common candidate in all debates over who’s the top wide receiver in the game. Fitzgerald is in an interesting position: he’s an elite wide receiver who consistently puts up numbers but he’s never considered the best in the game. You can blame the lack of a quarterback for that but that didn’t stop the folks at EA from giving Fitzgerald his due and putting him in the top 10.

2. Rob Gronkowski 97OVR

Madden 12 Rating: 84OVR

Gronkowski had one of he best season’s a tight end could hope for last year and that’s thanks in large part to Tom Brady, but the Gronk showed off his skills as a receiver last season and the folks over at Madden have given Gronkowski a nice boost in his rating and have surprisingly made him the second best receiver in this year’s game.

1. Calvin Johnson   99 OVR

Madden 12 Rating:  93OVR 

This one was pretty obvious. You don’t put a guy on the cover of your game and not have him rated the best wide out in said video game. But Calvin Johnson earned that rating, which is a nice bump from his previous rating of 93 overall in Madden 12. Johnson signed a massive contract and is geared up for an even more epic career. The next question is, could the folks at EA eventually double-dip on their cover boy?