Madden 19 Ratings: All the best Quarterbacks (QB)

Quarterback is the most important single position in sport. He marshalls the offense, distributes the ball, and is responsible for how the offense functions on the field. Winning without stellar play from your quarterback is a tough task that can require years of preparation. Having the best signal caller under center is your surest route to success. So who are the best QB's in Madden 19?

How to choose the best quarterbacks on Madden’s Franchise Mode

We are looking for the best gunslingers on the game, and that means throwing accuracy and power are vital. While in some positions you could favor young potential over experience, with quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Drew Brees playing brilliantly into their late 30's and even their 40's, this is the era of veteran know-how over youthful exuberance. Even if your star quarterback may retire in two years, he puts you in a far better position to win the Super Bowl than a 24-year-old who is all upside and potential.

These are the best quarterbacks in Madden 19 with an OVR rating of 80 or more.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (OVR 99)

Age: 34

Development Trait: Superstar

Contract: 2 years/$57.8m

2018 Cap Hit: $16.9m

Best stats: Throw Under Pressure (96), Throw Power (97), Short Accuracy (98), Mid Accuracy (94), Play Action (96), Speed (79), Break Sack (90)

Aaron Rodgers is rated 99 overall and is the best quarterback in the game. While there is indeed another 99 OVR passer, what separates Rodgers from Tom Brady is his athleticism. Rodgers' ability to escape pressure, extend plays, and still fire the ball downfield with exceptional accuracy, makes him the perfect Madden 19 quarterback. You can't run a read option with Tom Brady, but you could with Rodgers.

The Packers star comes into 2018 after an injury-hit 2017 in which he managed to play just seven games due to a broken collarbone. Still, in those seven games he threw 16 touchdowns, completed 64.7% of his passes, and threw just six interceptions.

Tom Brady, New England Patriots OVR (99)

Age: 41

Development Trait: Superstar

Contract: 2 years/$14.5m

2018 Cap Hit: $10.3m

Best stats: Throw Under Pressure (96), Throw Power (96), Short Accuracy (99), Mid Accuracy (97), Play Action (99)

Unsurprisingly, Tom Brady is also a 99 overall. The 2017 MVP fell just short of adding a sixth Super Bowl to his glittering career, but he still holds his 99 rating in Madden 19.

Brady comes into this year on the back of a monstrous 2017 campaign, throwing for a league-high 4,577 yards with 32 touchdowns, just eight interceptions, and completing 66.3% of his passes. He is the quintessential pocket passer, with the ability to get rid of the football quickly and accurately across the field. If dropping back and firing darts into short and intermediate routes is your kind of game, then Tom Brady is the perfect quarterback for you.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (OVR 93)

Age: 29

Development Trait: Superstar

Contract: 2 years/$44.1m

2018 Cap Hit: $19.4m

Best stats: Speed (86), Elusiveness (84), Throw Power (93), Short Accuracy (94), Throw On The Run (96), Break Sack (92), Throw Under Pressure (95)

There is a bit of a drop after the big two, but the number 3 option is still a strong one. Russell Wilson is a frustratingly elusive quarterback that can be impossible to sack. His mobility and improvisation in the backfield have tortured defenses for years now, and yet there is still no easy way to defend him, either in the NFL or in Madden 19. 

Wilson led the NFL in touchdown passes last season, throwing for 34 with just 11 interceptions, while amassing 3,983 yards and completing 61.3% of his passes.

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (OVR 91)

Age: 39

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 2 years/$36.5m

2018 Cap Hit: $18.5m

Best stats: Short Accuracy (97), Play Action (90), Throw Under Pressure (97), Throw Power (90)

Drew Brees is in a very similar mold to Tom Brady. Short routes are money, it's incredibly hard to rattle him, and he can be a killer on play action. Like Brady, Brees is at home in the pocket and dominating defenses with short, quick passes.

He isn't going to be able to run around and get outside the pocket much, and while he is very much the opposite of Russell Wilson when it comes to breaking sacks, he is going to be nearly impossible for defenses to stop consistently. Why? Because he is one of the most prolific passers in NFL history.

Brees set the record for completion percentage in a single season last year by finding the mark with a staggering 72.0% of his passes, and if he stays healthy in 2018 will overtake Peyton Manning for the most passing yards thrown in a career.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (OVR 89)

Age: 33

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 6 years/$125m

2018 Cap Hit: $19m

Best stats: Throw Power (94), Short Accuracy (94), Deep Accuracy (85), Play Action (95), Throw Under Pressure (94)

Rodgers, Brady, and Brees make up a "big three" in the NFL, and Wilson's physical traits as well as his arm allow him to compete with them. Behind those four though, there is a drop off, but there are still plenty of useful players.

Matt Ryan's 2017 season was something of a disappointment after his 2016 MVP campaign, but the Atlanta Falcons signal caller still registered 4,095 passing yards, completed 64.7% of his passes, and threw 20 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions.

Ryan is perhaps the pocket passer heir to Brady and Brees, with elite short accuracy (94), but he pairs that on Madden 19 with quality deep accuracy (85) as well, and he's trickier to sack than Brady and Brees too. If you want a pocket passer that will definitely be playing five season into your Franchise Mode, then Matt Ryan is the QB for you.

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (OVR 88)

Age: 29

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 3 years/$83.3m

2018 Cap Hit: $15.7m

Best stats: Speed (85), Juke Move (87), Throw Power (97), Break Sack (98), Throw Under Pressure (93)

Cam Newton is a hybrid. He's got running back level stats as a ball carrier, especially with that juke move, but he also has world class power in his right arm, making defenses have to defend far more of the field than they have to against any other quarterback.

Newton isn't brilliantly accurate like the those ranked ahead of him, but he is accurate enough to run a good passing offense. He is also incredibly difficult to sack in the pocket and capable of getting the ball out under pressure, making him a terrific option for a classic passing game as well as an option/rollout-heavy offense. Like Ryan, Newton has one brilliant season under his belt (2015) but has struggled to hit that level again. However, he has plenty of time to get close to it, especially under your expert guidance on Madden 19.

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (OVR 88)

Age: 36

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 2 years/$51.8m

2018 Cap Hit: $20.3m

Best stats: Throw Power (95), Short Accuracy (91), Throw On The Run (93), Break Sack (88)

Big Ben is not quite the beast he used to be. Injuries and age have sapped his speed and durability, and he's not as accurate as he used to be. Still, the two-time Super Bowl winner is a terrific quarterback option for the short term in Franchise Mode.

He can play the short passing game like the best quarterbacks in the game, and is still capable when he does get outside the pocket. While passing on the move is the downfall of many Madden quarterbacks, for Roethlisberger it's a strength.

Big Ben comes into 2018 after a strong 2017 campaign. He threw for 4,251 yards, 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. One thing to worry about with Roethlisberger is that he has talked publicly about retirement in the last few years, but as long as he is on the field you have a good chance of winning a Super Bowl.

Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts (OVR 87)

Age: 28

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 4 years/$87.5m

2018 Cap Hit: $21.3m

Best stats: Throw Power (92), Short Accuracy (92), Deep Accuracy (85), Throw Under Pressure (90)

Andrew Luck is a tough one to judge this year. He missed all of the 2017 season with shoulder problems after labrum surgery. That issue is reflected in his decrease in throw power (92) from years past, and also a reduced injury rating (81) that means you need to be careful exposing him to pass rushes.

Still, Luck has all the traits you'd look for in a young quarterback, with terrific accuracy both underneath and deep down the field. He still has strong physical traits (speed 83, agility 84) to help him avoid trouble and open up some option plays too. He may take some management due to that shoulder issue, but Luck is still a wonderful quarterback for Madden 19.

Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers (OVR 87)

Age: 36

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 2 years/$44.8m

2018 Cap Hit: $15m

Best stats: Short Accuracy (93), Mid Accuracy (85), Play Action (94), Throw Under Pressure (95)

Rivers is quickly becoming a forgotten man. The Chargers "golden era" was almost 10 years ago, and since then the team has fallen away competitively. They are now starting to rebound, but bad luck and their recent move to Los Angeles has stymied their progress.

Now at 36, Rivers is not the force he once was, but he's still a good option for Madden players that want to run classic passing offenses. Rivers has terrific short accuracy (98), and his play action (94) and throw under pressure (95) stats will allow users to lean on the running game and hold the ball to wait for the perfect window to open up.

He comes into the 2018 season after another good campaign last year. He threw for 4,515 yards, completed 62.6% of his passes, and threw 28 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles (OVR 86)

Age: 25

Development Trait: Superstar

Contract: 2 years/$13.63m

2018 Cap Hit: $6.42m

Best stats: Speed (82), Throw Power (94), Short Accuracy (89), Throw On The Run (91), Break Sack (93)

If you want a quarterback for the next decade-plus in your Franchise Mode, then Carson Wentz is the man for you. The Eagles star has been in the league for just two years, but he was the unquestioned MVP of 2017 until he tore both his ACL and LCL in mid-December.

Wentz has the athleticism stats on his side despite that injury, and is impressively elusive too. His accuracy stats feel a little lower than they should be, but he is young enough that you will have plenty of time to improve those. Wentz threw 33 touchdowns in just 13 games last season, but perhaps most remarkably he had just seven interceptions. This is a young playmaker of supreme quality.

Other star quarterbacks (QB)