Donnie Edwards Madden Career 1998-2009 - Peak 93 OVR
Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2009 rating

Donnie Edwards Madden Career 1998-2009 - Peak 93 OVR

Position
LB
Team
Chiefs
Height
6'2"
Weight
227
College
UCLA
DOB
Apr 6, 1973
Madden
1997-2008
93OVR
2008 Current
93OVR
Peak 2005
11
Seasons Played

A UCLA tackle machine and member of the 20/20 club

Donnie Edwards played linebacker at about 170 pounds in high school and never stopped punching above his listed weight. Kansas City took the UCLA product in the fourth round, 98th overall, in 1996, and he answered by piling up at least 100 tackles every year from 1997 through 2005. He was rangy enough to cover and smart enough to read routes, which is how he ended up with 28 interceptions to go with 23.5 sacks, making him one of a small handful of players to reach the 20/20 club.

He gave the Chiefs six seasons, moved to San Diego from 2002 through 2006, then returned to Kansas City to finish. Madden treated him as a fixture rather than a rising or falling star: an 88 across the 2000 through 2002 editions, a climb to 93 in 2005, and a hold in the low 90s through the 2008 game before the number dropped to 71 in 2009 as his career closed. His lone Pro Bowl nod came in 2002, an undersell of how steadily productive he was.

Donnie Edwards Madden Career Milestones

  • Peak rating: 93 OVR in Madden NFL 2006 (age 32)
  • Appeared in 11 Madden releases (Madden NFL 1998 through Madden NFL 2009)
  • Entered at 53 OVR in Madden NFL 1998, climbed 40 points to his peak
  • Biggest single-year rise: 88 points into Madden NFL 2002
  • Played for 2 franchises: Chiefs, Chargers
  • Listed as a linebacker in every Madden release
  • Final Madden appearance: Madden NFL 2009 at 93 OVR

Donnie Edwards Madden Career Ratings

Scale (starred* rows) Only the starred 1-15-era seasons convert; modern rows stay 0-99.
Madden Team Pos OVR Speed ACC AGI STR JMP STA INJ TGH AWR PRC THP TAS TAM TAD CAR BTK TRK BCV SFA SPM JKM CTH SPC CIT SRR MRR DRR RLS RBK PBK IBL TAK POW PUR MCV ZCV PRS KPW KAC KRN
1998 *
1997 NFL season
 Chiefs RILB 53* 53 - 53 - - - - - 20 - - - - - - - - - - - - 40 - - - - - - - - - 53 - - - - - - - -
1999
1998 NFL season
 Chiefs RILB 80* 71 75 75 69 - - 9 - 80 - - - - - 19 16 - - - - - 14 - - - - - - - - - 80 - - - - - - - -
2000
1999 NFL season
 Chiefs RLB - 69 67 69 69 - - 85 - 75 - - - - - 24 29 - - - - - 29 - - - - - - - - - 82 - - - - - - - -
2002
2001 NFL season
 Chiefs RLB 88 80 74 80 69 63 93 85 90 84 - 32 16 16 16 30 - - - - - - 57 - - - - - - 28 12 - 89 - - - - - 30 9 -
2003
2002 NFL season
 Chargers MLB 88 77 72 78 69 63 89 78 90 - - 36 - - - 33 - - - - - - 59 - - - - - - 33 17 - 89 - - - - - 34 14 -
2004
2003 NFL season
 Chargers RLB 91 85 86 87 69 67 96 85 90 94 - 36 20 20 20 33 - - - - - - 69 - - - - - - 33 17 - 88 - - - - - 34 14 0
2005
2004 NFL season
 Chargers LILB 92 85 89 88 69 78 96 85 90 94 - 36 - - - 33 - - - - - - 66 - - - - - - 45 17 - 88 - - - - - 34 14 -
2006
2005 NFL season
 Chargers LILB 93 85 89 88 69 78 99 85 - 94 - 36 20 20 20 33 - - - - - - 70 - - - - - - 45 17 - 91 - - - - - 34 14 0
2007
2006 NFL season
 Chargers RILB 91 85 90 88 66 78 99 87 90 95 93 36 20 20 20 33 - 30 60 35 64 67 72 - - - - - - 45 17 45 87 - 93 90 95 - 34 14 0
2008
2007 NFL season
 Chiefs RLB 92 80 86 84 66 78 99 87 - 90 92 36 20 20 20 33 - 10 60 35 64 67 70 50 55 20 20 20 10 45 17 45 88 70 90 82 90 80 34 14 0
2009
2008 NFL season
 Chiefs LB 93 80 86 84 66 78 99 95 94 90 90 36 20 20 20 75 - 10 60 35 64 67 70 50 55 20 20 20 10 45 17 45 88 70 90 82 90 80 34 14 10
How to read these: Each row is the player’s rating in that year’s Madden, listed by the NFL season it covers (Madden NFL 2001 = the 2000 season). Madden sets its ratings before the season is played, so they reflect the previous season’s performance - a player’s breakout year tends to show up as a jump in the following year’s game.
About the starred rows*: Several early Madden releases rated players on a 1-15 scale, as printed in the game manuals, rather than the modern 0-99. We store those ratings converted to 0-99 (each manual point is about 6.6) so you can compare players across eras at a glance - use the 0-99 / 1-15 toggle above the table to see the original numbers on those seasons. EA didn’t publish an overall rating in those games, so the OVR* values for those years are our own calculation, the average of the player’s two best ratings.
Note: Some Madden releases tracked fewer attributes than others. Cells shown as - were not published by EA that year.

Era Linebackers who played alongside Donnie Edwards

DeMarcus Ware Madden ratings
DeMarcus Ware
Madden NFL 2006-2017 - Broncos
99
 Patrick Willis Madden ratings
Patrick Willis
Madden NFL 2008-2015 - 49ers
99
 Ray Lewis Madden ratings
Ray Lewis
Madden NFL 1997-2013 - Ravens
99
 Brian Urlacher Madden ratings
Brian Urlacher
Madden NFL 2001-2013 - Bears
99
 James Harrison Madden ratings
James Harrison
Madden NFL 2006-2018 - Steelers
98
 Shawne Merriman Madden ratings
Shawne Merriman
Madden NFL 2006-2013 - Bills
98
 LaVar Arrington Madden ratings
LaVar Arrington
Madden NFL 2005 - Commanders
98
 Jon Beason Madden ratings
Jon Beason
Madden NFL 2009-2016 - Giants
97

Donnie Edwards Madden Ratings by Year

Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 1998 rating: 53 OVR (1997 NFL season, KC). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 1999 rating: 80 OVR (1998 NFL season, KC). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2000 rating: rated (1999 NFL season, KC). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2002 rating: 88 OVR (2001 NFL season, KC). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2003 rating: 88 OVR (2002 NFL season, SD). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2004 rating: 91 OVR (2003 NFL season, SD). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2005 rating: 92 OVR (2004 NFL season, SD). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2006 rating: 93 OVR (2005 NFL season, SD). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2007 rating: 91 OVR (2006 NFL season, SD). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2008 rating: 92 OVR (2007 NFL season, KC). Donnie Edwards Madden NFL 2009 rating: 93 OVR (2008 NFL season, KC).