Fans who love to watch the defense will have no position filled with more excitement than the linebacker. These players are capable of leading the league in tackles, forced fumbles, interceptions, and sacks. When playingMadden NFL 23, they are certainly the most exciting.
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But not every linebacker is made equally. Some are weak at coverage or rushing the passer. That can be a huge problem for gamers to exploit inMadden NFL 23. With these stars, players don’t have to worry, they’ll be doing what they do best, destroying offensive gameplans from start to finish.
Updated on February 24th, 2023 by Hodey Johns:The regular season, playoffs, and Super Bowl have concluded. With that all in the books, gamers will be bracing for a long off-season. Ratings adjusters have been working overtime, week-to-week, shifting players based on their performance in the previous weeks. Now, with the last performance in the books, players can pick up and drop players knowing what their stats will be. The ratings adjusters do, sometimes, inexplicably make small changes to player statistics during the offseason. However, this list will likely remain intact and the player statistics won’t change substantially enough to merit a significant alteration.
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16Bobby Wagner - MLB - 89 OVR
This list has many middle linebackers that didn’t get the recognition they deserve. Bobby Wagner has been established as one of the league’s best and it’s easy topredict the ratingof his being high. He’s led the league in tackles, solo tackles, assisted tackles, safeties, and defensive touchdowns before, so there is nothing he can’t do.
Wagner has been punished for being on a bad Rams team despite his excellent play, sinking in OVR, and missing his first Pro Bowl in eight years. Wagner set a new career high in sacks with 6, a remarkable feat for middle linebackers. If Los Angeles turns things around, voters need to remember how badly they misjudged Wagner in 2022.
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14Haason Reddick - LOLB - 90 OVR
To say that Hasaan Reddickimproved as the season went onwould be an understatement. He started off not even on this list and ended up on a squad that almost got the NFL record for sacks in a season. He made his first Pro Bowl in his first season with the Eagles.
The defense had a tough time in the Super Bowl but that doesn’t negate a season’s worth of contributions from Reddick. He tied for second in total sacks with 16. Having as many sacks as Myles Garrett is not something that just anybody can do. If he stays this good, Philadelphia is geared up for another Super Bowl run next year.
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10Demario Davis - MLB - 90 OVR
It’s hard to epitomize how overlooked middle linebackers are quite like Demario Davis. Despite leading the league in solo tackles in 2017 and not missing a game since 2012, Demario Davis only got his first Pro Bowl nod in 2022.
Thankfully, the ratings adjusters see his true value. He has been one of the major reasons that the Saints, even without Drew Brees, had been competitive at all. New Orleans has tanked, but Davis has added an interesting facet to his game, picking off four passes from a tackle-first position.
9Roquan Smith - MLB - 90 OVR
Gamers who arewanting the franchise mode to make improvementscan’t control the developers but they can pick up players. Roquan Smith was a hot commodity embattled with a Chicago front office that he refused to negotiate with after talks fell apart. The Ravens got him midway through 2022 and got a steal.
Smith made it to his first Pro Bowl in 2022, making a combined 169 tackles, good for third in the league. His 4.5 sacks as a middle linebacker also stand out. Baltimore has some contracts to worry about, but picking up Smith is a gamble that paid off in spades.
