Cory Redding Madden Career 2004-2016 - Peak 91 OVR

Cory Redding entered the league as a third-round pick, 66th overall in 2003 out of Texas, and spent a few seasons searching for a fit at defensive end. Detroit found it by sliding him inside. In 2006 the move clicked and Redding emerged as one of the better interior pass rushers in the league, disruptive enough that the Lions handed him a seven-year, $49 million contract in 2007 that briefly made him the highest-paid player at his position.

The production never fully matched the paycheck, but Redding reinvented himself as a valued veteran presence. After Detroit he bounced through Seattle, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Arizona, a respected locker-room voice who kept starting deep into his 30s before retiring in 2016.

Madden rewarded the breakout in real time. Redding began as a 65 in the 2003 edition, climbed as his Detroit role grew, and hit a career-high 91 in the Madden 2008 game right after his big deal, when he looked like a cornerstone. From there the number drifted back into the 80s as he settled into the role of a dependable rotational lineman.