Even though it’s coming out of a video game, Carolina Panthers star Derrick Brown is getting some of the respect that he deserves.
On Thursday, EA Sports rolled out their Madden NFL 27 ratings for the game’s top 10 defensive tackles. And coming in at No. 1 is Brown, who registers at a 96 overall.
Top DT? It’s DB 😤@EAMaddenNFLpic.twitter.com/RSqydUMWh3
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 30, 2026
After a meniscus injury knocked him out of 16 games in 2024, where the Panthers finished with the 32nd-ranked defense, Brown returned in 2025 and posted career-high 5.0 sacks. His efforts played a huge part in Carolina’s jump to the 16th-overall defense and helped push the organization to their first NFC South title since 2015.
Additionally, Brown remains the all-time single-season tackle king among defensive linemen—with his 103 combined takedowns from 2023 still sitting atop the list.
His new ranking from EA Sports seems much more accurate than the one he received in the NFL Top 100. Brown, as announced last month, was voted by his peers as the 90th-best player heading into the 2026 campaign.
Brown’s other notable rankings from the game include a 98 in strength and 95 in block shedding—both the second-highest marks across the entire pool.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers have highest-rated player at this position in Madden NFL 27
