Madden NFL 16 Player Ratings: NFC North Division Revealed

EA Sports continued its daily release of Madden 16 ratings Saturday, with the NFC North moving into the spotlight. 

Not surprisingly, the division is led by the defending NFC North champion Green Bay Packers, whose overall rating of 90 is second only to the New England Patriots (91) among the six divisions that have been released thus far. 

The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears are all bunched together, though the Lions still have a comfortable edge over the other two teams despite losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. 

Here's how the rankings for the NFC North look in this year's Madden:

Team	Rating	Key Players
Green Bay Packers	90	QB Aaron Rodgers (99), LG Josh Sitton (97), WR Jordy Nelson (93), G T.J. Lang (92), WR Randall Cobb (91), LB Clay Matthews (90), RB Eddie Lacy (90)
Detroit Lions	83	WR Calvin Johnson (95), LB DeAndre Levy (93), DT Haloti Ngata (92), FS Glover Quin (90), WR Golden Tate (88), DE Ezekiel Ansah (88), QB Matthew Stafford (84)
Minnesota Vikings	77	RB Adrian Peterson (95), FS Harrison Smith (93), DE Everson Griffin (89), DT Sharrif Floyd (87), CB Xavier Rhodes (86), WR Mike Wallace (86), QB Teddy Bridgewater (82)
Chicago Bears	75	TE Martellus Bennett (90), RB Matt Forte (90), WR Alshon Jeffery (90), LB Pernell McPhee (87), QB Jay Cutler (79), LB Jared Allen (79), CB Kyle Fuller (78), WR Kevin White (78)

Morry Gash/Associated Press

As you would expect for a team that led the NFL in scoring last season, the Packers offense is loaded. Aaron Rodgers boasts the highest possible overall rating of 99, which seems appropriate for the reigning league MVP. 

Behind Rodgers, the Packers have five other players on offense listed with a rating of at least 90. The defense isn't lacking for talent, either, with Clay Matthews leading the charge with a 90 overall rating. Julius Peppers had a strong bounce-back season in Green Bay last year, jumping up to an 88 overall. 

The Lions may have lost Suh, but Haloti Ngata isn't a bad replacement in the eyes of EA Sports. He checks in with a 92 overall rating. For the record, Suh is a 96.

After last year's injury-plagued campaign, Calvin Johnson checks in at "only" 95, down four points from Madden 15. He's still the Lions' best player, though star linebacker DeAndre Levy isn't far behind at 93. 

The most interesting player rating is for Adrian Peterson, who checks in at 95 overall. He may prove to be worth that lofty standard, but the 30-year-old played only one game in 2014. The Vikings' strength lies in the secondary, with free safety Harrison Smith (93), strong safety Robert Blanton (86) and cornerback Xavier Rhodes (86) all really good. 

Second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did show promise in 2014, completing 64.4. percent of his passes, but EA still needs to see more, keeping him at an 82 heading into the season. 

Bringing up the rear is Chicago, which is fair after going 5-11 in 2014 and allowing the second-most points in the league. There's a weird imbalance on the Bears roster, which consists of three skill players (Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett, Alshon Jeffery) rated at 90. 

The problem starts with Jay Cutler, who is the lowest-ranked starting quarterback in the division at 79. There is hope for the future, though, with young players like rookie wide receiver Kevin White (78) and second-year cornerback Kyle Fuller (78) having enough promise to take huge jumps soon. 

It's no secret this is a one-team division, with everyone else fighting for second place. The Packers were a bad fourth quarter against Seattle away from playing for a Super Bowl last season. They return virtually all of the key players from that team, so another 12-win campaign seems likely. 

The Vikings are the team that can blow these ratings out of the water, assuming Bridgewater continues to build on the promise he showed at the end of 2014 and Peterson doesn't hit that running back wall.