"Madden NFL 18" is out. Virtual Von Miller is waiting for you to take control and sack cover boy Tom Brady. As you're sitting at work or on a plane, train or bus waiting to get home (don't read and drive ... seriously) to start playing the game, here's what you need to know.

If you're home and reading this right now, why aren't you playing yet? Get after it. Start practicing because it's the only way you'll become a Madden champion -- or preparing for your fantasy Madden draft.

(As a note, we stuck with players only listed on teams here -- not listed free agents in the game, too -- of which the highest-rated one is former Lions (and current Bears) fullback Michael Burton, with an 85.)

More 'Madden 18' coverage

Top-rated players at every position | Ratings for every 2017 first-round pick | All 32 teams to participate in Madden Club Championship

PLAYERS

The 99 overalls

EA Sports

Von Miller, OLB, Broncos

Tom Brady, QB, Patriots

Aaron Donald, DE, Rams

Fun facts: Miller is the only returning 99er from last year. His former 99er mates -- Rob Gronkowski, Luke Kuechly and J.J. Watt -- have all dropped slightly to 98 ratings. Brady's dominance last season was well documented. He returns to Team 99 for the fourth time, according to Madden Ratings, and might be the first player ever to notch 99 ratings a decade apart. His first 99 came in Madden NFL 08. As far as Aaron Donald, he might hold out into the regular season, so the only place you could use him is in Madden. So enjoy it, Rams fans. Might not be much else to like this season.

Best rookies

EA Sports

Myles Garrett, DE, Browns (83)

O.J. Howard, TE, Bucs (82)

Leonard Fournette, RB, Jaguars; Jamal Adams, S, Jets; Christian McCaffrey, RB, Panthers (81)

Fun facts: If Garrett is as good in real life as the Browns hope, he could end up joining the 99ers at some point in his career. He's also a full 40 points better than the worst-rated rookie on a team in the game, Colts tight end Thomas Hennessy, who has a 43 rating. (Hennessy is one of three rookies -- along with Packers tight end Derek Hart and Steelers tight end Colin Holba -- to have ratings under 50.) Those guys, if they play, might edit their ratings just a tiny amount. Howard might be overranked, mostly because of the difficulty of transitioning to the NFL as a tight end. The game is high on rookie running backs this year, with four in the top 10 (McCaffrey and Fournette at 81, Dalvin Cook at 80 and Joe Mixon at 79). All should be high-impact players in real life, fantasy and virtually -- the trifecta of football glory. Garrett is rated higher than last year's top rookie (Jalen Ramsey, 82), and last year only two rookies had ratings of 80 or better -- Ramsey and Ezekiel Elliott. This year six do.

Most/least aware

Drew Brees, QB, Saints (99)

Tom Brady, QB, Patriots (99)

Julio Jones, WR, Falcons (99)

Giorgio Tavecchio, K, Raiders (37)

Blake Bell, TE, 49ers (38)

Jonathan Jones, CB, Patriots; K.J. Brent, WR, Raiders; Henry Krieger-Coble, TE, Broncos; Marcus Tucker, WR, Steelers; Kyle Carter, TE, Vikings (40)

Fun facts: Brady keeps his elite awareness, and really, is anyone surprised? He'll likely keep this awareness until he's done with football (and even then, he'll have it in many other places). He's joined by Brees, who had a 98 awareness last year, and receiver Julio Jones, who has the concentration and ability to make every play. The first defensive player listed is at 96 (Kuechly and Dallas' Sean Lee). That's 19 players deep (including three quarterbacks and six wide receivers). I covered Tavecchio briefly when he was with the Lions; he has really good awareness both of kicking and '80s music. He should have won the Lions' kicking job in 2014 that went to rookie Nate Freese, who was cut after three weeks. And Blake Bell is a former college quarterback, so I just don't get it. Poor choices, Madden. Poor choices.

Strongest/weakest

EA Sports

Ndamukong Suh, DT, Dolphins (98)

Russell Bodine, C, Bengals; Linval Joseph, DT, Vikings; Jared Veldheer, RT, Cardinals; J.J. Watt, RE, Texans (97)

Phil Dawson, K, Cardinals (20)

Robbie Gould, K, 49ers (25)

Aldrick Rosas, K, Giants (30)

Fun facts: This game continues to give kickers no love (although it makes sense here). Suh is logical as the strongest in the game considering his massive body frame. (Standing next to him makes an average kicker look like a twig.) That the top players, strengthwise, in the game are all linemen makes total sense. They are the biggest bodies with the most power. The lowest-rated non-kicker is Niners receiver Aldrick Robinson (35), and he has a reason for annoyance here: He put up 17 reps at the 2011 combine -- the same number as Julio Jones (78) and one more than Randall Cobb (56).

Fastest/slowest

John Ross, WR, Bengals (98)

Tyreek Hill, WR, Chiefs (97)

Seven players tied at 96

Ramon Foster, LG, Steelers (50); Chris Scott, RG, Panthers (51); Danny Shelton, DT, Browns (51)

Fun facts: If Ross wasn't the fastest man in the game, that'd be disappointing. He broke the combine record with a 4.22 second 40-yard dash. Given that he's a rookie, age hasn't slowed him yet. The slowest non-lineman is a kicker. I know, I'm surprised, too. Poor Phil Dawson. He's rated with a 55 speed, and combined with his low strength in the game, Madden is clearly unimpressed with his athletic abilities. To add to Dawson's bad athletic ratings, his 60 acceleration is the slowest in the game.

Most/least agile

Tavon Austin, WR, Rams (98)

Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers (98)

Donald Hawkins, RG, Chiefs (43)

Josh Walker, RG, Texans (45)

Rob Havenstein, RT, Rams (45)

Fun facts: If you've watched Austin or Brown play, their ratings are valid. Brown is one of the game's most electrifying players, and Austin can destroy ankles. Was surprised to see Le'Veon Bell so low -- not that 95 is a poor rating, but he is behind many players. He's more agile in real life than some of those he's behind or tied with, including Giovani Bernard (95). The lowest non-lineman is, again, a kicker. But not Phil Dawson! So, good for Phil. It's Matt Prater, who has a 46 agility rating and is one of two kickers below 50. Ryan Mallett is the lone non-lineman or kicker below 50 with a 49 agility rating. That doesn't fare well for his ability to move out of the pocket if you're forced to use him. If you're playing as the Ravens, hope for Joe Flacco's eternal health.

TEAMS

Best offenses

EA Sports

Patriots (92)

Packers (90)

Steelers (89)

Falcons (89)

Well, duh: This is about as surprising as the Patriots making the playoffs at any point in the past decade. New England has the best quarterback (Brady) and tight end (Gronkowski) with a highly versatile set of running backs and receivers. Of course they'll be No. 1. The Packers have the second-best QB (Aaron Rodgers) and comparable players to the Pats everywhere else. Atlanta has MVP Matt Ryan, the game's best receiver Julio Jones and the No. 2 in offense last season (415.8 yards per game.). Pittsburgh has another top quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger), the top running back (Le'Veon Bell) and the second-best receiver (Antonio Brown). The Saints' rating, at 87, is kind of surprising after leading the league in offense (426.0 YPG), still having Drew Brees and Michael Thomas while adding Adrian Peterson. Guess the Brandin Cooks trade made that much of a difference. The surprises here are the Colts' low rating (83) despite the Andrew Luck-Frank Gore-T.Y. Hilton grouping. I have the same thoughts with the Chargers (80) with Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen and Hunter Henry. That the Jets, with a 73 rating, are at the bottom is no stunner. The quarterback situation is a mess, and while they have good running backs (Bilal Powell, Matt Forte) and good in-game receivers (Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson), that's just not a good offense. At all. And it could be worse once the game adjusts with Enunwa's neck injury.

Best defenses

EA Sports

Chiefs (91)

Texans (90)

Seahawks (89)

Vikings (89)

Wait, what? Wow, Madden got it wrong here. So very wrong. Sure, Denver's defensive line isn't that imposing, but have you seen the rest of it? Miller is one of the 99s. Chris Harris and Aqib Talib -- both Broncos corners -- tied for being the best corner in the game. And still an 87 rating? That's pretty off, even going off last year's stats, when the Broncos were No. 4 in overall defense (316.1 YPG) and No. 1 in pass defense (185.8 YPG). Kansas City didn't rank in the top five in total defense, pass defense or run defense and got the No. 1 rating. Sure, there are some great players on that defense, including Eric Berry (93) and Justin Houston (94), but c'mon. The worst defense is the Colts, which is kind of odd considering the 49ers (76) were the only team in the league to give up more than 400 yards a game last season, and they didn't get that much better. But the Colts weren't very good, either, so it makes sense.

Overall teams

EA Sports

Patriots (93)

Falcons (91)

Cowboys (88)

Steelers (88)

Packers (88)

Legacies rule: That some of the most popular teams in the league are also the best makes sense. New England is a dynasty and has the cover boy and the best coach out there, Bill Belichick. Atlanta was last season's NFC Super Bowl rep, didn't lose a ton and still has a young defense and one of the most potent offenses in the league. Dallas has the best offensive line in the game and an electric offense -- with the defense knocking it down a bit (83 rating). Same theory with Green Bay and Pittsburgh: great offenses; questionable defenses (to Madden, at least). The lowest-rated teams in the game? The Jets and Rams are tied with 75 ratings. The Jets make sense. They might be the NFL's worst team right now. Los Angeles might see a bump in the first update with the Sammy Watkins trade -- and the defense should be good enough to push the Rams ahead of the Niners and Browns, no matter the quarterback situation. Either way, if you want a real challenge, try to win with the Jets' roster intact this season. Good luck.