EA Sports dropped the Madden 27 rookie ratings this week, and the list has some surprises right out of the gate. The highest-rated rookie in this year’s class isn’t the guy who went first overall. It’s actually a tie between two players, and neither one is Fernando Mendoza.
Jeremiyah Love and Caleb Downs both landed at 82 overall, making them the top-rated rookies when the game launches in August. Love, the Arizona Cardinals’ third overall pick out of Notre Dame, has been a force in college football for two years straight. He racked up nearly 2,500 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns in that span. He’ll now line up alongside Trey McBride, who already has a 99 overall rating at tight end. That Cardinals offense just got a little more dangerous on paper.
Caleb Downs, the 11th overall pick, heads to a Dallas Cowboys defense that really struggled last season. Downs won a national championship at Notre Dame and took home the Jim Thorpe Award. He’s expected to step in immediately at strong safety and try to fix what’s been broken in Dallas. The Cowboys also drafted Malachi Lawrence, who came in at 78 overall, so they’re clearly trying to rebuild that side of the ball through this draft class.
Here’s the full top 10 at launch, according to EA Sports:
- Jeremiyah Love, RB (Arizona Cardinals) — 82 OVR
- Caleb Downs, SS (Dallas Cowboys) — 82 OVR
- David Bailey, REDG (New York Jets) — 81 OVR
- Rueben Bain Jr., LEDG (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) — 80 OVR
- Arvell Reese, WILL (New York Giants) — 79 OVR
- Mansoor Delane, CB (Kansas City Chiefs) — 79 OVR
- Akheem Mesidor, REDG (Los Angeles Chargers) — 79 OVR
- Spencer Fano, LT (Cleveland Browns) — 79 OVR
- Malachi Lawrence, LEDG (Dallas Cowboys) — 78 OVR
- Francis Mauigoa, RG (New York Giants) — 78 OVR
David Bailey, the second overall pick, sits just behind Love and Downs at 81 overall. The Jets got a close look at him after a 14.5-sack season and decided that was enough to take him early. Rueben Bain Jr., who went fourth overall to Tampa Bay, rounds out the 80-plus club after posting 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in his final college season. The Buccaneers are hoping he can bring that heat to an already tough defense.
But the real eyebrow-raiser is where Fernando Mendoza landed. The No. 1 overall pick, who led Indiana to a perfect 16-0 season and a national championship, starts at just 74 overall. That feels low for a guy who did nothing but win at the highest level of college football. Fans online have already started questioning the logic. EA hasn’t explained the rating, but it’s worth noting that Mendoza’s game might not translate as cleanly to the sim engine right away. Or maybe they just want room to bump him up after a few good weeks.
Because that’s the thing with these ratings — they’re not locked in. EA pushes roster updates every week during the NFL season, so a slow start could drop you down, and a hot streak will send you climbing. That top 10 list is almost certainly going to look different by December. Players like Love and Downs have a chance to stay on top if they produce early. And Mendoza could end up being the biggest steal if he plays like a No. 1 pick should.
We’ll find out how it all shakes out when Madden 27 hits shelves in August. Until then, the ratings are set, the debates are already starting, and somebody out there is probably already planning a franchise rebuild around Jeremiyah Love.
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