After a first-team All-Pro season, New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams expected more respect. The best he’s gotten in most places, though, is an honorable mention.
Most recently, it’s the Madden 25 ratings that drew Williams’ ire. The official Madden NFL 25 X account posted about the top 10 linebackers in Madden. Williams was not on the list.
😒iight now @EAMaddenNFL we ain’t gone start this this year https://t.co/uFvcophIEq
— Quincy Williams (@quincywilliams_) August 6, 2024
To be fair, Williams fell just short, landing at an 84 OVR. The fact that C.J. Mosley is above him is interesting, as Williams beat Mosley in virtually every statistical category last season, including defensive stops (80 vs. 60), tackles for loss (15 vs. 5), yards per target (5.6 vs. 8.6), targeted passer rating (96.1 vs. 101.4), passes defensed (10 vs. 7), and forced incompletion rate (9.8% vs. 7.6%). Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner are getting by based on reputation from years past rather than current performance.
It’s always hard to know how Madden ratings come about. There’s definitely a significant amount of past history taken into account, which is why Williams did not make it to their top 10 list. He was mostly a journeyman linebacker until 2023, making some splash plays but also lacking discipline and coverage skills. He vastly improved in those areas, showcasing his athleticism on the regular.
Williams is no stranger to the honorable mention category on linebacker lists, though. Both ESPN and Pro Football Focus had him there. The NFL Top 100 list was far kinder, ranking him at No. 32 overall. He was behind only Fred Warner (No. 11) and Roquan Smith (No. 19) among off-ball linebackers.
That was ahead of Demario Davis (No. 44), David (No. 99), Foyesade Oluokun (unranked), Dre Greenlaw (No. 76), Matt Milano (unranked), Bobby Wagner (No. 59), and Bobby Okereke (unranked). All of these players have a higher OVR in Madden.
Ultimately, these rankings don’t matter on the field. Reputations don’t help win games. But Williams is keeping receipts of all the rankers who doubted him in his quest for another dominant season.