Predicting Each Vikings' Starter's Madden NFL 25 Rating: Secondary Edition (2024)

We’re back with another installment of my official Madden NFL 25 rating predictions for the purple and gold, and this time, we’re covering the secondary.

The first time we looked at the offensive skill positions, at the beginning of that piece, I went over all of the details about how Madden ranks their players, and I would recommend going over that if you aren’t familiar with it.

I will reiterate this time, however, that these aren’t how I would personally rank these players; more of a prediction on how I believe EA Sports themselves will rank the players based on my years of playing the game as a fan and their tendencies of how they assign players their 0-99 rating.

CB Byron Murphy Jr. – 80ovr

Madden NFL 24 End of Season Rating: 79OVR

Byron Murphy Jr. is heading into his second season as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, a tenure where he walked in as CB1 and will remain that going into 2024 and potentially beyond.

While he may not be exactly who you want as your best cornerback on the roster, he is a solid defender who will potentially elevate his game to another level with another year of getting acquainted with Brian Flores’ defense that relies on its corners to stick to their man for about two or three seconds until the blitz that Flores probably sent produces pressure on the opposing signal-caller.

Murphy stepped into a leadership role quite immediately when he stepped foot into TCO Performance Center, but he really didn’t have any other choice given the very young and raw cornerback room that inhabited it. His veteran presence will be essential, and maybe even vital, to the development of guys like Mekhi Blackmon and Khyree Jackson.

CB Shaquill Griffin – 74OVR

Madden NFL 24 End of Season Rating: 75OVR

Griffin was at one point a very sought-after name in free agency a couple of years back before the Vikings decided instead to sign legendary Arizona Cardinal Patrick Peterson, but better late than never, right?

I hope so, as Griffin hasn’t been the corner he once was. Griffin may win a top-three corner position here in camp, depending on if Akayleb Evans or Andrew Booth Jr. show enough to stop that from happening. Although, in hindsight, it should probably be preferred that one of those guys or rookie Khyree Jackson keeps Griffin out of the top three.

However, for this exercise, we’ll go the safe route and presume that Griffin is a “starting” corner, given that Madden will have him rated higher than any of the aforementioned young guys.

Griffin will have a somewhat similar role to fellow corner Byron Murphy Jr. in the locker room, providing a solid veteran presence in a room full of guys who are 24 years old and below. Griffin started 2023 in Houston, where he would appear in ten games while starting six. He would be released by the Texans and eventually picked up off of waivers by the Carolina Panthers, where he would appear in three games and start in one.

Per PFF, Griffin allowed 30 receptions on 47 targets, 327 yards, one TD, one INT, four pass break-ups, and an 82.5 passer rating against. He would also post an NFL 57th-best 67.0 coverage grade.

CB Mekhi Blackmon – 76OVR

Madden NFL 24 End of Season Rating: 75OVR

Rounding out the corners, we have second-year USC product Mekhi Blackmon.

Blackmon performed well relative to the lower expectations from Vikings fans, seeming to already be the best of the young corners that fill the cornerback room in Eagan. This is unwelcome news to the other young players trying to find their footing on the depth chart in Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans, and we’ll see how Khyree Jackson can compare in his rookie campaign to Blackmon’s.

Mekhi produced solid enough numbers, allowing 28 receptions on 44 targets, 285 yards, 2 TDs (most notably the Courtland Sutton game-winner in Denver), one INT, eight pass break-ups, and an 87.8 passer rating against, per PFF. They would go on to give him an NFL 39th-best 71.8 coverage grade.

I would expect this rating to go up a good bit as the 2024 season rolls on, and his role potentially expands as he builds on his impressive rookie season from a year ago. After all, it probably helps his development that he has to go against Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in practice every day.

S Harrison Smith – 87OVR

Madden NFL 24 End of Season Rating: 87OVR

There’s not much to say here as The Hitman enters what may be the final year of his career, as the signs seem to point that he will hang up the cleats and half-arm sleeves after the final whistle of the 2024 season.

Throughout what should be a Hall of Fame-worthy career, Harrison Smith was consistently one of the best safeties in football, meaning he was consistently one of the top-rated safeties in Madden. Smith held a rating of 90 overall or greater in eight consecutive installments of the game from Madden NFL 16 to Madden NFL 23. His rating peaked right in the middle of that stretch at the launch of Madden NFL 19, with a rating of 97 overall.

Not only has Harrison Smith created huge plays on the real-life gridiron in what will be a thirteen-year NFL career in 2024, he’s made even more countless huge plays for me in Madden dating back to his rookie year of Madden NFL 13 across all modes of the game, and I looked forward to what might be the final year of his regular roster appearance in the EA Sports franchise.

He’s probably going to get some neat Ultimate Team cards for years to come, though.

S Camryn Bynum – 83OVR

Madden NFL 24 End of Season Rating: 79OVR

Vikings free safety Cam Bynum had the most notable year of his young NFL career yet in 2023 under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

He is seemingly taking the torch from Harrison Smith for “Most Beloved Viking in the Secondary” as Smith’s playing time draws to a close, although Josh Metellus may be giving him a run for his money.

2023 wasn’t the best year for Bynum in terms of just looking at the box score, as he allowed by far the highest completion percentage and yardage of his career to date. However, he faced double the number of targets last season compared to the first two years alone, but that is what comes with being a free safety in a Flores-style defense.

PFF would still award him with total defense (73.2), run defense (79.1), and coverage (69.7) grades that were right in line with the best of his career. Bynum also didn’t commit a single defensive penalty while in coverage in 2024. He will look to build upon his 2023 season, as he is surely currently in extension talks with Minnesota, with his rookie deal ending after the conclusion of the 2024 season.

Defensive Weapon Josh Metellus – 84OVR

Madden NFL 24 End of Season Rating: 76OVR

Admittedly, Madden is very lacking when it comes to being able to use players in a way that the Vikings use Josh Metellus, but EA is going to have to find a way to include it because I’m predicting that they jump his overall eight entire points from his year-end Madden 24 rating of 76 overall to 84 overall.

2023 saw the breakout of Josh Metellus, who proved to be one of the most versatile players in the sport.

The definition of “Swiss Army Knife” Metellus proved to be potentially the player that brings the most value to the Vikings not only from his pure ability but also from his contract, despite signing an extension last offseason. The extension gave Metellus a chance to make $13 million over the two-year life of the deal while only guaranteeing $6 million, a deal that will most certainly be dwarfed by his next extension very soon.

Going back to the lack of versatility for players in Madden, it is plenty feasible that for that reason, EA Sports decides to only jump his overall a couple of points since he will be restricted to being a traditional strong safety in the eyes of the game, but that’s not to say you can’t sub him in at linebacker in-game. There just probably won’t really be many people having him play on the defensive line, seeing as the game will prioritize the individual ratings that hold the most weight for the positions in that grouping and drop him down into the 45 overall range.

Long story short, Josh Metellus is a good player, so he should get a good player rating.