George Kittle (98 overall) was the only tight end ranked higher than Kelce, despite both Brock Bowers and Trey McBride clearly putting together better and more productive seasons in 2024. McBride (92 overall) and Bowers (90 overall) are not rated far below Kelce, but deserve to rate higher than him at this point of their careers.

Rookie ratings came out on Thursday, July 31, and the good news for Dallas fans is their draft is rated as highly by Madden 26 as it was by the pundits. Their top draft pick, guard Tyler Booker, was in a big tie for 11th among rookies with a 77 rating. Given that Dallas picked him 12th overall, that tracks.

This week was the "Football is Back" bat signal for NFL fans. The first preseason game (Hall of Fame) is in the books. At the same time, EA Sports dropped the top ten player ratings separated by divisions for the new and improved Madden 26.