Madden ranks Willis McGahee as 19th-best RB

EA Sports has been revealing player ratings for Madden NFL 13 in weekly announcements leading up to the game’s August 24th release.  On Friday, they announced complete running back ratings.

Denver’s Willis McGahee saw a +6 rating jump from 2011, going from an 79 overall rating last year to 85 overall in 2012.

Ranked 19th overall among running backs (24th overall including fullbacks), McGahee is the highest-ranked back in Denver and features ratings of 93 (trucking), 86 (speed), 85 (acceleration), 83 (strength) and a brutal 58 (elusiveness).  Seven backs who rushed for fewer yards than McGahee in 2011 are rated higher than the veteran in this year’s Madden.

Related: EA Sports ranks Peyton as sixth-best QB in NFL

Rankings 1-through-23 and beyond after the jump.

1.  Maurice Jones-Drew, rated 97 overall.

2.  Adrian Peterson, rated 97 overall.

3.  Arian Foster, rated 96 overall.

4.  LeSean McCoy, rated 95 overall.

5.  Ray Rice, rated 95 overall.

6.  Matt Forte, rated 93 overall.

7*.  Vonta Leach, rated 92 overall.

7.  Frank Gore, rated 92 overall.

8.  Steven Jackson, rated 92 overall.

8*.  Greg Jones, rated 91 overall.

9.  Jamaal Charles, rated 91 overall.

10.  Michael Turner, rated 91 overall.

11.  Marshawn Lynch, rated 90 overall.

12.  Chris Johnson, rated 90 overall.

13.  Mike Tolbert, rated 89 overall.

13*.  Michael Robinson, rated 89 overall.

14.  Fred Jackson, rated 89 overall.

15.  Darren Sproles, rated 89 overall.

16.  Ahmad Bradshaw, rated 88 overall.

17.  Ryan Matthews, rated 87 overall.

17*.  John Kuhn, rated 86 overall.

18.  Rashard Mendenhall, rated 86 overall.

19 (24).  Willis McGahee, rated 85 overall.

61.  Knowshon Moreno, rated 76 overall.

99.  Lance Ball, rated 71 overall.

118.  Ronnie Hillman, rated 68 overall.

136, Chris Gronkowski, rated 65 overall.

141, Jeremiah Johnson, rated 65 overall.

*Denotes fullback.

It’s hard to argue for higher ratings for any of the backs besides McGahee, who rushed for 50 more yards than Tolbert and Bradshaw combined in 2011.  It was nice of EA however to give McGahee a (much deserved) higher ranking from Madden 12.

The Top Ten wide receivers in the game will be revealed by EA Sports on Monday, with complete WR ratings coming out next Friday.  Denver’s Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker are expected to see significant rating jumps from last season (73 and 69, respectively), but are unlikely to crack the Top Ten.

This year’s Madden will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Vita and Wii. The Denver Broncos are expected to have an 81 overall rating (a +7 improvement from last year).

McGahee, 30, is coming off a Pro Bowl season and is looking to prove that he still has some gas left in the tank.  After several years of minimal wear on his tires in Baltimore, McGahee’s goal is to rush for 1,200 yards in 2012 — one more yard than he rushed for last season.