With less than a month until Madden NFL 19 is released, EA Sports revealed its player ratings. Five of the players rated have ties tro Canada.
The five Canadian-linked players that received ratings were David Onyemata of the New Orleans Saints, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the Kansas City Chiefs, Tyrone Crawford of the Dallas Cowboys and T.J. Jones and Luke Willson of the Detroit Lions. Four of the five were born in Canada, while Onyemata is from the United States, but played collegiately at the University of Manitoba.
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T.J. Jones
Wide receiver T.J. Jones received the lowest overall ranking for the five Canadian players, receiving a 76-overall rating. That is up seven points from last year’s game, where he had a 69-overall rating. Madden did give Jones two good traits, giving him a 92 for acceleration and 90 for speed.
Jones, a Winnipeg-native, is coming off his best season in his four years in the league. In 2017, he had 30 catches for 399 yards and a receiving touchdown for the Lions. Detroit re-signed Jones to a one-year deal this off-season.
Luke Willson
Next up on the list is Jones’ teammate, tight end Luke Willson. Willson received a 77-overall rating from Madden this year, up a point from his 76-overall rating last year.
Like his Lions teammate, Willson’s two highest-rated traits were acceleration (90) and speed (86). Willson, a Windsor-native, had 20 receptions for 272 yards and a receiving touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. He signed a one-year deal with the Detroit this off-season.
David Onyemata
Defensive tackle David Onyemata received the third-highest overall rating for a player with Canadian ties, getting a 79-overall rating from Madden. That is up seven points from his 72-overall rating in Madden 18.
Onyemata had 38 total tackles and two sacks in his second year as a pro. His two highest-rated traits were strength (89) and acceleration (85).
Tyrone Crawford
A second defensive lineman with Canadian roots received a rating from Madden in this year’s game as Dallas Cowboys defensive end Tyrone Crawford received an 80-overall rating. This is up three points from the 77-overall rating he got in Madden 18. Crawford’s two highest rated traits are acceleration (84) and awareness (82).
Crawford, a Windsor-native, recorded four sacks and 18 tackles for the Cowboys in 2017.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
The highest-rated player with Canadian roots in Madden NFL 19 is guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. He received an 81-overall rating for this year’s game, up from his 78-overall rating from last year. His highest rated traits are strength (92) and awareness (83). He started in 11 games for the Chiefs last season.
Duvernay-Tardif, a Montreal-native, made headlines this off-season when he graduated from McGill University’s medical school, making him the first active NFL player to become a physician.
The Madden NFL 19 Hall of Fame edition is set to release on August 7, while the Madden 19 standard edition comes out on August 10 on the XBox One, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows. Pre-order here.