Madden 19: Review of Elite Player Ratings, Achievements and More

Before the NFL season begins, you'll have a chance to play out the entire set of regular-season games on Madden NFL 19. 

The historic video game comes out August 10, with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown donning the cover for the first time in his career. 

Brown is one of a handful of NFL stars with an impressive rating in the video game, but there's still plenty of debate surrounding the grades given to others who are highly thought of across the league. 

While critiquing player ratings is one of the top pastimes to come out of a Madden release, once you delve into the game, there's an opportunity to achieve a wide range of success with the stars of NFL regardless of their ratings. 

Elite Player Ratings

Seven players were handed the top honor in Madden in terms of ratings, with Tom Brady, Aaron Donald, Rob Gronkowski, Luke Kuechly, Von Miller and Aaron Rodgers joining Brown with a 99. 

Julio Jones, J.J. Watt and Khalil Mack fell one point short of the best mark, as they are the only three players with a 98 rating. 

D. Ross Cameron/Associated Press

Although running back is one of the most important positions on the field, the highest-rated rusher in Madden 19 is Le'Veon Bell, who earned a 96.

Outside of kickers and punters, running back has the worst top rating of any positional group, and the ratings aren't favorable if you go further down the list, as only six running backs have a grade of 90 or higher. 

The Madden 19 ratings will also encourage debate about the game's the top quarterbacks.

Andrew Luck, who hasn't started a game since Week 17 of the 2016 season, is rated higher than Carson Wentz, who took the NFL by storm before his season-ending ACL injury a year ago.

Another intriguing comparison comes from the quarterback list, as Baltimore's Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson both garnered a 79. 

Twenty defensive backs, seventeen offensive and defensive linemen each, 10 wide receivers, nine linebackers, six tight ends, six running backs and four quarterbacks make up the collection of players with a rating of 90 or higher. 

In addition to Wentz, 2017 interceptions co-leader Kevin Byard, Kareem Hunt and Alvin Kamara received less respect than their talent demands by ending with a rating beneath 90. 

While some experienced players should have reasonable gripes with their respective ratings, the rookies who haven't proved themselves in the NFL yet are further down the chart.

No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield earned an 81, while No. 2 selection Saquon Barkley picked up an 82 for his inaugural appearance in Madden. 

Of course, all of these ratings couldn't mean a thing to certain players, as they strive for on-field success, and if they thrive on the gridiron, their stature in the video game will grow. 

Achievements

There are 38 achievements available to earn in Madden 19, per SportsGamersOnline.com. 

One of the most notable achievements is Full Set, which rewards gamers for winning a game with each of the 32 NFL teams. 

While some of the achievements are easy to unlock, like learning how to call audibles, others will be much more difficult to reach. 

Perhaps one of the toughest to achieve will be the Triple Crown, which awards gamers for recording a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery on the same play. 

Legacy scores also play a role in unlocking achievements, as certain scores dictate what a gamer earns, including the Tom Brady Legacy Award, which can be earned with a legacy score of over 27,000 from a created player, coach or owner. 

The full collection of achievements totals a gamer score of 1,000, and given the difficulties of some tests the game presents, it will be a tough task for some to attain. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Game information obtained from EASports.com unless otherwise noted