Madden 19 Ratings: All the best strong safeties (SS)

The role of a strong safety is one of the most changeable in the NFL. They have to be able to do a little bit of everything. They are the first man in to support against the run, they will have a package of blitzes for them to get after the quarterback, they are often the person tasked with covering tight ends one-on-one and they also need to be able to drop deep and play zone coverage all over the field. As a result, finding a good strong safety is a hard task.

How to choose the best strong safeties in Madden 19 Franchise Mode

Speed and acceleration are vital at the safety position, but they also have to be able to tackle and play both man and zone coverage. Understanding what is happening in front of them is also key, making the play recognition stat important. Here are the best strong safeties in Madden 19 with an OVR rating of 81 or more.

Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs (OVR 96)

Age: 29

Development Trait: Superstar

Contract: 5 years/$48.32m

2018 Cap Hit: $8.63m

Best Stats: Speed (90), Acceleration (90), Tackle (79), Man Coverage (91), Zone Coverage (95), Play Recognition (93)

Berry has been among the best at his position since he entered the league as the fifth-overall pick in 2010. A complete player, Berry tackles well and covers even better. He has locked up the likes of Rob Gronkowski with regularity and is a vital piece of the Chiefs defense.

In Madden 19 Berry has the best man coverage (91) and zone coverage (95) of any strong safety. Put that next to his sixth-best tackle rating (79) and it's easy to see why Berry is rated so highly.

Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia Eagles (OVR 94)

Age: 30

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 2 years/$15.42m

2018 Cap Hit: $6.78m

Best Stats: Speed (85), Acceleration (91), Tackle (77), Man Coverage (90), Zone Coverage (91), Play Recognition (94)

Jenkins is coming off a brilliant 2017 in which he went to his second Pro Bowl and won his second Super Bowl ring. He picked off two passes in the regular season as well as forcing a fumble, made 69 tackles, and was a constant thorn in the side of every opposing quarterback.

The Madden 19 version of Jenkins doesn’t have elite speed (85), but strong acceleration (91) will help him with shorter coverage assignments. He's also the only strong safety other than Eric Berry to rate at least 90 in both man and zone coverage, making him the perfect fit for any defense you want to run.

Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills (OVR 92)

Age: 27

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 4 years/$16.27m

2018 Cap Hit: $3.72m

Best Stats: Speed (88), Acceleration (89), Tackle (72), Man Coverage (89), Zone Coverage (93), Play Recognition (95)

Hyde came to Buffalo from green Bay in free agency last season and was an immediate impact player for the Bills. He was a dominant force in the middle of their defense, picking off 5 passes and breaking up 13 more while finishing the year with 82 tackles.

Hyde can see what the offense is doing immediately on Madden 19 thanks to that 95 play recognition, so he's rarely out of position. He has the second-best zone coverage (93) after Berry, and is strong in man (89) too.

Reshad Jones, Miami Dolphins (OVR 91)

Age: 30

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 5 years/$47.8m

2018 Cap Hit: $8.81m

Best Stats: Speed (86), Acceleration (89), Tackle (80), Man Coverage (83), Zone Coverage (88), Play Recognition (88)

Jones has had two great years for Miami broken up by injury in 2016. He’s had 8 interceptions and scored 4 touchdowns since 2015, as well as making two Pro Bowls.

Jones’ man coverage (83) isn’t great, but he makes up for that by having an excellent tackle stat (80) and having far and away the best block shedding (74) of any strong safety, making him great in run support as well as a good player to run blitz with.

Adrian Amos, Chicago Bears (OVR 89)

Age: 25

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 1 year/$670k

2018 Cap Hit: $670k

Best Stats: Speed (93), Acceleration (92), Tackle (75), Man Coverage (82), Zone Coverage (88), Play Recognition (87)

It may surprise some people that Adrian Amos is rated so highly, but the young Bears safety has become a great player over the last 12 months. Rarely out of position and one of the most reliable defensive backs around in 2017, Amos looks like a star of the future.

Madden 19’s version of Adrian Amos lacks the technical and mental skills of other players, but makes up for it with sheer athleticism. With the second-best speed (93) and third-best acceleration (92), Amos can cover so much ground that his relative disadvantage in play recognition (87) and man coverage (82) all but disappear.

Kam Chancellor, Seattle Seahawks (OVR 90)

Age: 30

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 3 years/$25.09m

2018 Cap Hit: $7.71m

Best Stats: Speed (86), Acceleration (86), Tackle (83), Man Coverage (75), Zone Coverage (85), Play Recognition (91)

Kam Chancellor is perhaps the most well-known strong safety in the NFL. His play with the Seahawks and the “Legion of Boom” left a mark on any receiver that dared to come across the middle or try to catch a ball in his presence. A neck injury has sidelined Chancellor since November of last year, and he is expected to miss the 2018 season.

The Madden 19 version of Kam Chancellor is a beast as well. A little slow, he makes up for it with a position best 82 strength and 97 hit power to go along with a second-best 83 tackle. If you want a run stopper who can light up receivers underneath and force fumbles, then Chancellor is your man.

Keanu Neal, Atlanta Falcons (OVR 89)

Age: 23

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 2 years/$5.56m

2018 Cap Hit: $2.57m

Best Stats: Speed (87), Acceleration (88), Tackle (77), Man Coverage (79), Zone Coverage (85), Play Recognition (85)

Keanu Neal has only been in the NFL two years but he is already making his mark. His introduction into the Falcons secondary in 2016 helped mitigate the absence of Desmond Trufant and he was a vital piece of the fast, vicious defense that went to the Super Bowl. Last year he picked off his first NFL pass and finished the year with a massive 113 tackles.

Neal has nice speed (87) but he hits like a train. A hit power stat of 94 effectively makes him the next Kam Chancellor, except his coverage skills are a little better. Play recognition (85) is a little bit of a problem but he is just 23, giving you plenty of time to improve that.

Landon Collins, New York giants (OVR 88)

Age:

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 1 year/$1.48m

2018 Cap Hit: $1.48m

Best Stats: Speed (88), Acceleration (90), Tackle (84), Man Coverage (70), Zone Coverage (81), Play Recognition (87)

Landon Collins had a brilliant 2016. He was named First Team All-Pro, picked off 5 passes, had 4 sacks, and made 125 tackles. His 2017 was not the successful sequel he had hoped for though. He flopped, as did the whole giants defense, and finished the year with just 2 picks and 99 tackles. Is he the All-Pro safety of 2016? Or the also-ran of 2017?

In Madden 19, Collins looks more like the bruiser of 2016. He's a ferocious tackler (tackle 84), and while his man coverage (70) is not great, he can cause some real problems for offenses at the line of scrimmage with his acceleration (90) to the ball and big hitting style (hit power 89).

Andre Hal, Houston Texans (OVR 87)

Age: 26

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 3 years/$11.6m

2018 Cap Hit: $3.66m

Best Stats: Speed (92), Acceleration (90), Tackle (61), Man Coverage (86), Zone Coverage (87), Play Recognition (86)

Andre Hal has become something of a force in the back end of the Texans defense over the last few years. He didn't start a game in his rookie year (2014), but he soon had a big role in sub packages and by 2017 was the every down starter at free safety. He's picked off 9 passes over the last four years, but unfortunately Hal was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma recently and his participation in the 2018 season is in doubt.

In Madden 19 there are no health concerns, and Hal pairs great speed (92) with coverage skills (man 86, zone 87) to be one of the better coverage safeties around. Unfortunately, Hal's tackling (61) is really poor and that will be a problem in the open field.

DJ Swearinger, Washington Redskins (OVR 87)

Age: 26

Development Trait: Quick

Contract: 2 years/$6.26m

2018 Cap Hit: $2.97m

Best Stats: Speed (85), Acceleration (91), Tackle (66), Man Coverage (85), Zone Coverage (89), Play Recognition (91)

Originally drafted by the Houston Texans in 2013, DJ Swearinger is already on his fourth team, but he seems to have found a home in Washington. Swearinger finished last season with 79 tackles, a forced fumble, and 4 interceptions in his most productive NFL season so far.

Much like Hal, Swearinger has good coverage skills (man 85, zone 89) but struggles to make tackles. He isn't quite as bad as Hal, and when he does hit he does so with malice (hit power 92), but he isn't as fast as the Houston man.

Other star strong safeties