Who The Best Linebackers In Madden NFL 25 Are

Summary

Fred Warner leads Madden NFL 25's top Middle Linebackers with a 97 overall rating, likely due to exceptional tackle numbers last season.
TJ Watt excels as the game's top Outside Linebacker with a 97 overall rating.
All the top Middle and Outside Linebackers are likely to contribute greatly to their team's overall defense in Madden 25.

EA Sports recently shared the top 10 Linebackers from Madden has rankings for all positions, including the three kinds of Linebackers, making distinctions between Middle Linebackers, and Right Outside and Left Outside Linebackers. While all Linebackers share some commonalities, there are unique aspects when comparing Outside Linebackers to Middle Linebackers.

Middle Linebackers usually fill a similar role on defense as the quarterback does on offense, though Madden's highest-rated quarterbacks tend to get more fanfare. They receive play calls from the sidelines and are responsible for relaying information to their team. Middle Linebackers are also very versatile players who are asked to do everything from coverage to blitzing on top of their play-calling responsibilities. MLBs typically put up the highest numbers of tackles on their teams, meaning a strong Middle Linebacker is a big part of any team’s defense.

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Top 10 Middle Linebackers In Madden NFL 25

Big Name Defensive Players Top The List

A Vikings player running from a Packers defender in Madden NFL 25

Player	Team	Overall
Fred Warner	San Francisco 49ers	97
Roquan Smith	Baltimore Ravens	95
Demario Davis	New Orleans Saints	92
C.J. Mosley	New York Jets	90
Lavonte David	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	90
Foyesade Oluokun	Jacksonville Jaguars	89
Bobby Wagner	Washington Commanders	87
Bobby Okereke	New York Giants	86
Patrick Queen	Pittsburgh Steelers	85
Nick Bolton	Kansas City Chiefs	84

Madden NFL 25’s top Middle Linebacker spot goes to Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers, per the EA website. Warner earned his spot on top by putting up a huge number of tackles, not just last year, but throughout his six years in the NFL. A large percentage of his tackles each year are also solo tackles, which combined with his four interceptions from last year are a good indication of his strong ability to read plays.

The Baltimore Ravens’ Roquan Smith is a close second to Warner. Last year, he actually put up more tackles, both solo and total, than Warner, though he trailed in stats like interceptions and sacks. Still, Smith is undeniably a strong player, and will likely make Baltimore’s defense hard to contend with in Madden NFL 25.

The Highest Ranked Outside Linebackers In Madden NFL 25

EA Didn't Put The Highest Ranked Outside Linebackers On Their Shared List

Kansas City Chiefs Center pointing out a Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Lineman.

Looking at the top Outside Linebackers on EA’s website, Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt is the clear winner based on his 97 overall rating in Madden NFL 25. There is a six overall point spread between him and second-place Josh Hines-Allen of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Watt led the NFL in sacks in the 2023 season with 19. Hines-Allen wasn’t far behind, tying for second during the season with 17.5 sacks.

Player	Team	Position	Overall
T.J. Watt	Pittsburgh Steelers	LOLB	97
Josh Hines-Allen	Jacksonville Jaguars	ROLB	91
Khalil Mack	Los Angeles Chargers	ROLB	90
Alex Highsmith	Pittsburgh Steelers	ROLB	89
Matthew Judon	New England Patriots	LOLB	88
Dre Greenlaw	San Francisco 49ers	ROLB	87
Joey Bosa	Los Angeles Chargers	LOLB	87
Matt Milano	Buffalo Bills	ROLB	87
Brian Burns	New York Giants	ROLB	86
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah	Cleveland Browns	ROLB	85

Looking at the differences in stats between these Outside Linebackers and the Middle Linebackers shows why Madden NFL 25 chose to highlight mostly MLBs on Twitter. While TJ Watt has the same overall score as Fred Warner, Warner also put up nearly double the amount of total tackles last season. This means even the lower-ranked MLBs in of stats will likely be making more tackles in Madden NFL 25 than their outside counterparts. That said, it isn't clear why EA chose to highlight Outside Linebackers like Dre Greenlaw over Watt, when he has a lower overall score.

Sources: Madden NFL 25/Twitter, EA