Building a Super Bowl-contending Madden franchise requires precise and the utmost care. While it might seem more fun or exciting to focus only on offensive players, it’ll be a different story when you play defense. You know what they say, “defense wins championships.”An underrated and consistently overlooked position on defense is safety. The job of the safety is to roam in the secondary to provide additional defensive assistance. Having a well-skilled ball hawk deep in the secondary is a great counter against the top quarterbacks in the game. With that said, these are the best overall safeties in Madden 22.Updated March 8, 2022, by Avery Lawrence Feyrer: Since the publication of this article, Madden 22 has received considerable updates to the player roster. Other than properly updating the listed player ratings, we've also added more entries to provide additional options in building a competitive team on the gridiron.
12 ꦇDevin McCourty, New England Patriots - 89 𝄹
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With Tom Brady heading to Tampa Bay, safety Devin McCourty moves up the list of longest-tenured players on the New England Patriots. McCourty entered the league in 2010 when he was immediately s♕elected to the Pro Bowl. Throughout his career, McCourty has been an extremely solid defensive player for the Patriots, having missed zero ga𒀰mes in the past six seasons and snagging at least one interception each season.
McCourty has above-average speed (91) and acceleration (91), making him an excellent zone (87) and man-to-man (83) defender. He’s one of the most aware (93)𝓀 safeties in the league, along with a high play recognition rating (90). At 34-years-old and 11 years in𓆏 the league, McCourty might be in the decline of his career, but he can still be a key factor on defense.
11 Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills - 89 🍎
Micah Hyde entered the league a🍸s a member of the Green Bay Packers in 2013. For four seasons, Hyde shifted between a strong safety and cornerback in the Packers secondary, but never found very m♚uch success. The team decided against signing him in 2017 and Hyde joined the Buffalo Bills. Immediately, Hyde was selected to his first Pro Bowl behind a career-high five interceptions and 82 total tackles.
Hyde can be꧒ considered a Swiss army knife of sorts in the secondary, playing many positions. His high ratings in speed (89), agility (88), and acceleration (89) let him fly around the open field to make a play on the offensive player. Hyde is far more effective in zone coverage (92) but does have one of the higher man coverage ratings (82) among free safeties. Hyde's stellar play recognition (89) and awareness (92) gives him the ability to adjust easily on defense.
10 Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Stee🐠lers - 89
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The second defensive back taken in the 2018 NFL Draft, Minkah Fitzpatrick has quickly turned into one of the best young defenders in the league. Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be a defensive star for his drafting team. After a rookie season filled with miscommunication and the idea he wasn’t being utilized properly on the team, the one year after being drafted. Now in Pittsburgh, Fitzpatrick has since flourished with two straight Pro Bowls and First-Team All-Pro selections. Fitzpatrick failed to reach a third consecutive Pro Bowl in 2021, but he still had a respectable seꦆason, securing two interceptions and scoring a touchdown.
Fitzpatrick possesses high ratings in speed (91), agility (92), and acceleration (93), which makes his high zone coverage rating (90) make more sense. With his speed, he’s able to position himself well anywhere on the field with relative ease. At 6’1&rdquo🐷; and with a quality jump rating (90), Fitzpatrick can break up any deep passes thrown in his vicinity.
9 💃 👍 Adrian Amos, Green Bay Packers - 90
I𒉰t’s common for players to change teams throughout their careers, but it’s always especially interesting when a player joins a rival. Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2015, Adrian Amos signed with the division-rival Green Bay Packers four years later. Throughout his six-year career, Amos hasn’t made a Pro Bowl, but he’s remained a solid safety in the leag🐟ue.
Amos has very good speed (91) and acceleration (91) to keep up with any deep routes or receivers gaining big yardage. Preferably, Amos operate꧑s better in zone defenses (89) compared to man coverage (80), but his ability to read plays (91) allows him to adjust well on the fly.
8 Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings - 90🔯 ꦦ
For ten years, Harrison Smith has had an amazing career for the Minnesota Vikings. From 2015 to 2019, Smith was selected to five Pro Bowls and named to one First-Team All-Pro. Other than the 2016 season, Smith has recorded at least two interceptions each year, and he’s coming off tying his career-high with five picks in 2020. It's interesting that Smith wasn't selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020 with a career-high five interceptions, but the safety received Pro Bowl honors once a🍷gain in 2021.
Smith is a magnet to the ball and his above-average catch rating (83) means🥃 it’s likely he’ll come down with an interception. The Vikings' safety has one of the highest injury ratings (95) at his position, plus having a high stamina mark (91) ensures Smith won’t take plays off. He isn’t the best-covering safety, even in zone (88) or man (76), but his ability to secure interceptions can’t be overlooked.
7 💯 ✃ Jamal Adams, Seattle Seahawks - 90
After posting a career year in 2019, . Adams became frustrated by the Jets progressing toward a new contract, so the team shipped him off to the P💞acific Northwest. Now in Seattle, Adams continued to play at a high level with another Pro Bowl selection in 2020. Following the 2020 season, the , making him the highest-paid safety in the league.
Adams is a hybrid safety who’s skillful at defending the pass and rushing the quarterback. In his five-year career, Adams has collected 21.5 sacks and, with considerabl𒅌e hit power (95), caused seven fumbles. He has decent speed (91) and acceleration (90) to maintain solid zone coverage (90) and also be called upon to ♕defend man-to-man (81).
6 🐎 Kevin Byard, Tenn𝔉essee Titans - 91
When Kevin Byard became a full-time starter in 2017 for the Tennessee Titans, he instantly became a cornerstone for their defense. Byard led the league with eight interceptions en route to his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. From 2018 to 2020, Byard was an extremely solid player, never missing a game for the Titans, but it wasn't until𒐪 2021 when he was named once again to the Pro Bowl and received All-Pro honors.
Byard possesses quality s👍peed (89), agility (90), and acceleration (88), allowing him to be a highly effective zone defender (90). The 28-year-old has the highest catch rating (80) among free safeties, which is understandable given that he's had four seasons with at least four interceptions (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021).
5 Jessie Bates III,🍬 Cincinnati Ben🍨gals - 92
Quickly and quietly, Jessie Bates III is becoming a top-rated safety in the NFL. In his first three seasons, Bates played in every game and recorded three interceptions each year. In 2015, Bates had a c🀅areer-hi🥃gh 15 pass deflections and 78 total tackles. Following the Bengals' surprising Super Bowl run, Bates proved to be an important part of the team's defense, and the for next season.
Bates is exceptional playing in zone defense (93) but can hold his own in man coverage (81). His high awareness (95) enhances Bates’ ability to quickly recognize the play (94) and reaction accordingly. The Bengals safety doesn’t run as fast as the jungle cat mascot, but his speed (8♛9), agility (89), and acceleration (90) shꩲould not be under-estimated.
4 💦Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos - 92
The rich get richer. When the Denver Broncos drafted Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II with the ninth overall pick last year, the team was adding to an already decently strong secondary led by Justin Simmons. In 2020, he collected a carꦍeer-high five interceptions and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Simmons replicated his interception total in 2021 but failed to reach another Pro Bowl.
In both zone (89) or man (82) defensive schemes, Simmons isn’t the best compared to other top safeties in the league, but overall, the Broncos' player is the top-rated free safety in Madden 22. What he does specialize in is his unrelenting stamina (98) and agility (96) in going after the offensive threat. 👍Simmons is a hard-working safety that doesn’t give up on plays, and although his coꦺverage ratings are a bit low, it pays off having a player like Simmons in the secondary.
3 Derwin James Jr., Los Angeles Chargers - 92 🎶
Drafted in 2018 by the Los Angeles Chargers, Derwin James Jr. instantly became a star defender for the AFC West team. In his rookie season, James recorded three interceptions and a career-high 75 solo tackles. James was selected to the Pro Bowl, received First-Team All-Pro honors, and to Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius 🍷Leonard. Unfortunately, James suffered a fractured foot that caused him to miss 11 games in 2019 and a torn meniscus that knocked him out the entire 2020 season. Despite this, he bounced back in 2021 with two interceptions, tied his career-high 75 solo tackles, and another Pro Bowl selection.
James doesn't specialize in a specific defensive coverage; instead, the Chargers' strong safety is highly effective at both💃 man (87) and zone (86) defensive schemes. He has the highest jump⛦ rating (93) among top safeties, allowing him to challenge almost any pass thrown his way.
