Protecting the quarterback and running back are huge jobs in Madden NFL 23. There is a reason that the best offensive linemen make well more than some of the quality players they are protecting. Their value might not be recognized by casual fans, but statisticians and hardcore analysts understand their importance.
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When it comes to building a good team in Madden NFL 23, gamers might start by picking an elite quarterback or playmaker. But if those playmakers are hit the instant they receive the ball, what's the point? These offensive linemen are the ones that shut down anyone and everyone that comes their way.
Updated on February 24th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: The regular season, playoffs, and Super Bowl have concluded. With that all in the books, gamers will be bracing for a long off-season. Ratings adjusters have been working overtime, week-to-week, shifting players based on their performance in the previous weeks. Now, with the last performance in the books, players can pick up and drop players knowing what their stats will be. The ratings adjusters do, sometimes, inexplicably make small changes to player statistics during the offseason. However, this list will likely remain intact and the player statistics won't change substantially enough to merit a significant alteration.
10 Tristan Wirfs - RT - 92 OVR
While Tom Brady undoubtedly deserves some credit for the turnaround in Tampa Bay, championships don't happen without a complete team effort. Tristan Wirfs, for that entire 2020 rookie season, only allowed one sack. He was ready in no time.
Wirfs somehow improved after that initial season, making the next two Pro Bowls, including this last season. Because Brady and the Bucs had a bad year, the new offensive line received too much blame. The other positions struggled, but Wirfs continued to dominate at the right tackle spot.
9 Terron Armstead - LT - 92 OVR
The Miami Dolphins went on a spending spree this last offseason and fans couldn't stop raving about the acquisition of Tyreek Hill. That's been incredibly exciting and paid off big time, but Terron Armstead has been just as big an addition.
Armstead made three straight Pro Bowls from 2018 through 2020. After missing one with the Saints, analysts were divided about whether it was New Orleans or Armstead that was slipping. With another Pro Bowl in his first year with Miami, Armstead put those doubts to bed.
8 Quenton Nelson - LG - 92 OVR
What's there to say about Quenton Nelson that his accolades don't already tell the fans? He's played for five years. He has five Pro Bowl appearances. That's about as simple as it gets for the dominant guard. Looking to improve franchise mode? Bring in this guy to the left guard spot.
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The Colts have had a rough year doing anything right. Nelson's rating is way down from where he started. But it's clear that this is more about coaching than about Nelson's play; he's still one of the best. If Indianapolis wants to return to glory, they'll keep Nelson around.
7 Joel Bitonio - LG - 92 OVR
The only new player to make the top-ten list of offensive linemen at the mid-season, Joel Bitonio has been a part of the success of Nick Chubb, the Browns' running back. The Browns have been disappointing, even when their expensive quarterback returned from his suspension, but Bitonio remained a bright spot.
It's surprising that Bitonio didn't crack this list at the start of the season. He had four straight Pro Bowls before this year and made an easy fifth as the widely-recognized best left guard in the league. So long as he's in Cleveland, the team will have at least one running lane.
6 David Bakhtiari - LT - 93 OVR
David Bakhtiari has experienced the highs and lows in ways that few other players can relate to. The former fourth-round pick in 2013 didn't get the attention he deserved until 2016 when he made his first Pro Bowl. He got another two, then saw injuries pile up. Bakhtiari tore his ACL at the end of the 2020 season (another Pro Bowl year) and barely played at all in 2021.
When players compare last year's game to this year's, they will see Bakhtiari has fallen a bit. The Packers have taken a backslide in their passing game. But because of Bakhtiari, both A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones can run around the left side with great success. Bakhtiari is still elite.
5 Laremy Tunsil - LT - 93 OVR
Laremy Tunsil isn't as flashy as the game's cover art. He wasn't on the top ten list to start the season. He wasn't even on this list in the middle of the season. And given how the Texans were one of the worst teams in football, it's easy to see how Tunsil would get lost in the shuffle.
But Tunsil kept his head down and kept playing, earning his third Pro Bowl appearance this last season. The Texans are in dire straights, in need of a revival in a big way. But their left tackle negates some of the best pass rushers in the game, so if they're going to build around anybody, it should be Tunsil.
4 Jason Kelce - C - 93 OVR
It's hard to think of a guy who has shattered more expectations than Jason Kelce. Early in his career, despite his strength and speed (tops in his class for his position), he was labeled as undersized and generally not respected by scouts.
Then came all the Pro Bowls. Since he was drafted in 2014, Kelce has made six Pro Bowls, including the last four in a row. He's somehow getting better. The league is thinking about changing the rules on quarterback sneaks due to the dominance of Kelce in these situations. Opponents simply can't get past him.
3 Lane Johnson - RT - 95 OVR
There are so many great memories Eagles fans will have about their Super Bowl win in the 2017-2018 season. While that team has largely changed, Lane Johnson joins Kelce on this list as not only still being part of the Eagles but still playing at an elite level.
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What Lane Johnson did this year cannot be understated. He got the Eagles to the Super Bowl playing with a torn adductor. He put off the surgery for the team. And somehow, during that time, he played better than what could be fathomed, rising on the ranks of this list instead of going down. If Johnson is this amazing playing hurt, he's absolutely the best right tackle in the game when healthy.
2 Zack Martin - RG - 98 OVR
It's usually challenging to try and predict how players will be rated in the game, but Zack Martin makes it easy. He's always going to be in the high nineties unless his production stops being what it is. Given his consistency, he is still rolling over his opposition.
During this last season, fans were shocked to see backup Tony Pollard running as well as Ezekiel Elliott. Experts who know what Martin does up the middle understand that any running back can get a consistent lane when running to the right of the center.
1 Trent Williams - LT - 99 OVR
Gamers would like to see big changes to franchise mode to make the experience better. But if the developers fail to come through, players can still get a huge bump in their experience by getting Trent Williams to defend the blindside with his perfect 99 OVR, the only offensive lineman to be granted the designation.
The 49ers almost made it to the Super Bowl this past season despite having to use their fourth-string quarterback. That shouldn't be possible, but when Williams makes it so they never have to worry about pressure on the blindside, it gives quarterbacks all the time they need to make the best pass.
Madden NFL 23 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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