Earlier this week, I peered into my crystal ball and gave you some insight into who will be the best offensive players in Madden 31, roughly five years before its release. Now that I’ve revealed my prescient abilities, I figured I might as well continue using my gifts for good rather than the mischievous and generally evil acts that I usually get up to. I decided to flip my original article and focus on the defensive side of the ball this time.
Just like my last article, I will compare the five best players at each position in Madden 26 to who I believe will be the best players at each position in Madden 2031. This involves comparing player ages, overall ratings, and performance for players in 2025 to what they’ll be in 2030 when Madden 31 is set to release. I will also be using some players and their subsequent overall ratings from EA CFB 26 to give you the most accurate picture of how the NFL and Madden will look in 2030.
Defensive Tackles
Current Top Five
- Chris Jones, 97 OVR, year 10
- Dexter Lawrence II, 97 OVR, year 7
- Derrick Brown, 95 OVR, year 6
- Cameron Heyward, 94 OVR, year 15
- Nnamdi Madubuike, 93 OVR, year 6
Predicted Madden 31 Top Five
- Jalen Carter, 99 OVR, year 8
- Dexter Lawrence II, 95 OVR, year 12
- Nnamdi Madubuike, 95 OVR, year 11
- Peter Woods, 94 OVR, year 5
- Braden Fiske, 91 OVR, year 7
Fallers
Chris Jones is currently 31 and should still be in the league in five years, but will likely be a mid to low 80s player like Calais Campbell is now. Cam Heyward should be retired by then, unless he manages to play into his forties. That leaves Derrick Brown, who is certainly young enough to still play at a high level, but is someone I don’t think has shown enough in the NFL to maintain a high 90s rating.
Risers
If Jalen Carter can stay on the field, he has already shown that he has the potential to be an elite interior disruptor who can have an Aaron Donald or Chris Jones-like impact for his defense. Braden Fiske showed a lot of promise in his young career as well and earned my fifth overall spot on my predicted spot. I ended up giving my fourth spot to an even younger player, current Clemson star Peter Woods, who has NFL scouts and talent evaluators excited about his incredible potential as an elite defensive lineman.
Edge Rushers
Current Top Five
- Myles Garrett, 99 OVR, year 9
- Micah Parsons, 98 OVR, year 5
- Maxx Crosby, 96 OVR, year 7
- T.J. Watt, 96 OVR, year 9
- Nick Bosa, 95 OVR, year 7
Predicted Madden 31 Top Five
- Aidan Hutchinson, 98 OVR, year 9
- Will Anderson, 97 OVR, year 8
- Abdul Carter, 96 OVR, year 6
- Micah Parsons, 95 OVR, year 10
- Dylan Stewart, 94 OVR, year 4
Fallers
No members of the current top five list for this position have played longer than ten years, which makes sense. We don’t often see elite pass rushers play deep into their thirties, which is what we would need to see for any of the current top five edge rushers not named Micah Parsons to remain in the top tier for Madden 31. As good as these pass rushers are, my best guess is that age will wear them down enough to push everyone except Parsons outside of the top five by 2030.
Risers
I’m betting on high draft picks dominating the pass-rushing game for the next five years. Hutchinson, Anderson, and Carter were all top-five picks within the last few years for a reason, and South Carolina superstar Dylan Stewart could very well be a top-five pick for the same reasons. They are all dominant pass rushers and could usher in a new era of pass-rushing excellence, along with Micah Parsons and other young premier pass rushers.
Linebackers
Current Top Five
- Fred Warner, 97 OVR, year 8
- Roquan Smith, 94 OVR, year 8
- Bobby Wagner, 91 OVR, year 14
- Demario Davis, 90 OVR, year 14
- Zack Baun, 89 OVR, year 6
Predicted Madden 31 Top Five
- Fred Warner, 95 OVR, year 13
- Roquan Smith, 92 OVR, year 13
- Zack Baun, 92 OVR, year 11
- Edgerrin Cooper, 90 OVR, year 7
- Anthony Hill Jr., 89 OVR, year 5
Fallers
Wagner and Davis have been so good for so long, but I’m sorry, there is no way that they are still in the league and are playing at the same level as they are now in five years. There’s no way!
Risers
Baun is one of my favorite players in the league; his versatility as a do-it-all defensive lynchpin is too good to think that he will disappear as fast as he appeared. I think he will rise in overall to meet Warner and Smith at the top of the rankings, even in their advanced years (linebackers have a much longer shelf life than other positions in this article). Another interesting player who has shown a lot of great potential in limited action so far in his career is Packers star Edgerrin Cooper. There is also Texas Longhorn Anthony Hill Jr., who has been generating draft hype since he arrived in Austin. Hill is currently a 95 overall Junior in CFB26.
Cornerbacks
Current Top Five
- Patrick Surtain II, 97 OVR, year 5
- Christian Gonzalez, 95 OVR, year 3
- Jalen Ramsey, 94 OVR, year 10
- Sauce Gardner, 94 OVR, year 4
- Trent McDuffie, 94 OVR, year 4
Predicted Madden 31 Top Five
- Will Johnson, 99 OVR, year 6
- Cooper DeJean, 98 OVR, year 7
- Devon Witherspoon, 97 OVR, year 8
- Sauce Gardner, 95 OVR, year 9
- Ellis Robinson IV, 93 OVR, year 3
Fallers
With the focus on speed and athleticism in modern-day football, especially on the perimeter, corners are being required to be more athletic and explosive, leading to the best players becoming increasingly younger. That’s why I expect many of the current stars at the position to fall out of favor by 2030. Sauce Gardner is the only player in the current top five to survive my Madden 31 list, with players like Surtain, Gonzalez, and McDuffie just falling out of the high to mid-90s in overall rating. As for Jalen Ramsey, I would be surprised if he were still playing in 2030.
Risers
I’m taking a big swing for my number one spot in my prediction, pouting up Will Johnson after his impressive start to the 2025 season has shocked some of his pre-draft doubters who questioned his versatility and athleticism. Along with the early frontrunners for the 2025 DROY, I also included front-runners for the 2024 and 2023 awards in Cooper DeJean and Devon Witherspoon, respectively. For the final spot, I put up Ellis Robinson IV, the Georgia Freshman (83 OVR in CFB26), who was the number two high school recruit in 2024.
Safeties
Current Top Five
- Jessie Bates III, 95 OVR, year 8
- Derwin James Jr, 94 OVR, year 7
- Xavier McKinney, 93 OVR, year 6
- Budda Baker, 92 OVR, year 9
- Minkah Fitzpatrick, 92 OVR, year 8
Predicted Madden 31 Top Five
- Caleb Downs, 99 OVR, year 5
- Kyle Hamilton, 98 OVR, year 9
- Brian Branch, 97 OVR, year 8
- Koi Perich, 92 OVR, year 4
- Camryn Bynum, 89 OVR, year 10
Fallers
Everybody in the current top five should still be in the league, but they will be well into their thirties by 2031, which doesn’t bode well for their chances of staying above 90 overall. We very rarely see 30+ year old safeties get rated highly in Madden. The current highest rated safety above the age of thirty is Harrison Smith at 88 overall, followed by Jimmie Ward at 83 overall. Older veterans don’t tend to last very long at the top of the Madden rankings, and I think these safeties will all fall off in the next half-decade.
Risers
Caleb Downs has the highest rating in CFB 26 with a 96, and could be one of the best safeties coming out of the draft in decades. Koi Perich of Minnesota (91 OVR in CFB26) could also be an elite younger player. Along with these college players, I believe Kyle Hamilton to be a generational talent and Bryan Branch and Camryn Bynum to be dynamic ballhawks who could raise their overall ratings each year over the next few seasons.
