Colts’ Darius Leonard Laughs at Being Madden 23’s 5th Best Rated Linebacker Overall

Indianapolis Colts 4x NFL All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard could only laugh when he discovered that he was Madden 23’s 5th best linebacker in overall rating—regarding the popular video game series’ much anticipated release that’s expected every August:

With a bit low of a 90 overall rating, Leonard finished behind Fred Warner (94), Demario Davis (93), Lavonte David (92), and Bobby Wagner (91) respectively.

For what it’s worth, he does lead all linebackers with a 98 pursuit rating this year.

Wagner remains a high-end linebacker in his own right, but at age 32, he’s understandably lost a little from what he once was as the cornerstone of the Seattle Seahawks vaunted defense and indisputably the game’s best linebacker.

The remaining three: Warner, Davis, and David are all great linebackers, so choosing between them, and Leonard is really splitting hairs and could be a matter of personal preference of playing style.

My bigger gripe is that these truly elite league linebackers should be rated higher in overall rating generally speaking—as Leonard should be rated no lower than a 93 overall in the grand scheme of things. It just seems like Madden was a little stingy this year with the linebacker ratings, with Leonard barely making the 90’s club—which seems stupid.

We’re not the only ones who think Leonard got at least slightly snubbed:

At the end of the day, Madden is just a video game—and it’s one that could withstand to be drastically overhauled in both gameplay and franchise mode, as it seems like it’s been the same fairly stale game for at least a few years with little to non-existent meaningful updates.

That being said, it doesn’t take much for the Maniac to play with an extra chip on his shoulder—which he’s consistently done since coming out of South Carolina State in 2018.

This could just be more motivation to stick in his tool belt and remember during the 2022 campaign with a lot of extra channeled energy and anger—unfortunately for all opposing ball carriers.

Next time, just rate him a 93-96 overall.