Posted August 5th at 10:00am.

The NFL is stacked with elite level quarterbacks. Drew Brees himself has at least 18 seasons with 5,000 passing yards. Don’t bother checking the numbers, they’re right here on my stat sheet. And by stat sheet, I mean napkin. And by napkin, I mean nothing. There’s nothing there. I’m lying to you. Don’t believe everything on the Internet. Lesson learned. Point is, there’s a lot passing going on. It’s only natural that to defenders will get better against the pass. Here, we have an elite group of cornerbacks who are extremely effective at making QBs regret throws. Let’s look at the top 5 corners in Madden NFL 18.





1. Chris Harris Jr., Denver Broncos So, technically this is a tie between two players at 94 OVR, but let’s give it to Harris based on last name. Just like in grade school. Harris has great base stats, but his 60 Hit Power is the lowest of the top 5. That means little though since Harris has the best coverage ratings of the CB , carrying scores of 97 in Man Coverage and 93 in Zone Coverage. He’s not the guy in the secondary that’s going to rock a receiver with a big hit, but good luck finding any separation.





2. Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos Oh man, the Broncos’ D already has Von Miller, but they also have the top two cornerbacks in Madden 18. There’s a lot of potential for turnovers here, and Talib is dangerous once he grabs the ball. He’s a great pairing to Harris, not as fast, but a bit stronger. He’s only slightly lower in coverage ratings, and his Jump and Catch ratings are enough to snag interceptions. Talib is basically a receiver when he has the ball with a 77 Elusiveness, 87 Ball Carrier Vision, 80 Spin, and 89 Juke. So if you can’t make a throw in Harris’ direction because of his coverage skill, just remember that Talib is on the other end waiting for a pick-six.





3. Malcolm Butler, New England Patriots Butler is the ultimate Longshot story (shameless plug for Madden 18 story mode). He’s gone from no-name, to Super Bowl hero, to one of the most consistent corners in the league. Balanced down the board in terms of ratings, Butler scores a 70 Tackle, highest of the top 5. Butler also has a 95 Man Coverage and 93 Zone Coverage. No matter the assignment, Butler can handle it.





4. Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals Peterson is a freak show athlete. His coverage ratings aren’t as high as the other guys listed here, but his 92 Speed is the fastest of the elite CBs, and he has a 97 Agility rating. Peterson is going to be the return specialist, with a Kick Return rating of 88, and scores an outstanding 93 Elusiveness, 95 Ball Carrier Vision, 87 Spin Move, and 92 Juke Move. Yikes. Those are game-changing ratings.





5. Josh Norman, Washington Redskins Norman’s passion for football and personality make easy headlines. For all the attention the sports world gives Norman, it’s easy to forget that Norman is one of the smarter players in the NFL. Along with being physically capable to cover anyone, Norman is constantly reading QBs to cause a turnover. He scores a best in class 95 in Awareness and Play Recognition. Norman deservedly rounds out the top 5. Honorable Mentions Richard Sherman is the final CB that hits the 90s, with a 90 OVR. Still one of the best in the game, Sherman is one of the key components to the Seattle Seahawks’ loaded defense. The New York Giants is the only team besides the Broncos to have two CBs in the top 10. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins both score an 89 OVR. This makes the Giants a sneakily good defense to play in Madden. -Daniel Williams