Piece Written by Jackson Waddleton
It’s that time of the year again, folks. Every single year, football fans lose their minds as the player ratings are released for EA’s next installment of Madden. Some are rated too high, some way too low, and some just right, but there will always be a social media uproar over the ratings of certain players. There’s nothing that we as fans can really do about it - no amount of complaining will change anyone’s mind at EA, but we freak out anyway. And here we are again.
With no sports on TV and most of the world locked inside their homes, the recent release of Madden 21’s ratings made even more of an impact on social media than usual. For months, sports fans have been starved of anything to get upset about: no bad calls by the refs, no questionable play calls by coaches, and no shanked field goals by kickers. It’s time to get mad. Let’s take a look at what I think are the top 5 most questionable ratings for this year’s game.
5.) Saquon Barkely - 91 OVR
EA announced young New York Giants running back Saquon Barkely as a 91 overall, which makes Saquon tied for the fifth-highest rated player at his position in Madden 21. Earlier in the week, rumors spread that Barkely was only going to be an 89 overall, which would have been an outrageously low rating. I still think 91 is a bit low for Barkley, an athletic prodigy who possesses an unreal combination of speed, strength, and IQ. His 2019 season was burdened by nagging injuries, but Saquon was still able to put up nearly 1500 scrimmage yards behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
Barkley’s rating was largely impacted by a very low field vision rating of 78, good for 86th overall at the position. Saquon may be young, but anyone who has watched him knows that his vision and awareness is top tier. EA placing 85 running backs ahead of him in terms of carrying vision is ridiculous.
Saquon’s rating isn’t that out of pocket, but I do believe his physical attributes and vision should place him a few points higher. Christian McCafrey is the only running back at 99 overall, and I have a hard time accepting Barkley should be nearly 10 points behind him.
My Rating - 93 OVR
4.) Carson Wentz - 84 OVR
I was on the Carson Wentz hype train for the entirety of the 2019 season. I saw through some of his subpar performances in the middle of the season and realized what was really going on: the man was carrying an Eagles team with arguably the worst receivers in the league. Early injuries to an already bad receiving core left Wentz with a team of ragtag receivers for most of the season. Wentz spent most of the year throwing to guys who had no professional experience or were lifelong practice squad players. Philly did find some diamonds in the rough like RB Miles Sanders and QB-turned-receiver Gred Ward, but the team had no depth or real talent at the skill positions. Despite this, Carson Wentz had a great season and helped the team claw its way to a 9-7 record and playoff berth.
Wentz put up solid stats on the year, completing 64% of his passes and throwing 27 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. He also used his legs well, rushing for over 250 yards and a touchdown on the season. Wentz put on some truly heroic performances at the end of the season after starting the season off 5-7. Pretty much everyone (including myself) wrote Philly off after 12 games, but Wentz led the Eagles to four straight wins against divisional opponents to end the season while throwing to no-names like JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Deontay Burnett. Wentz did not get the credit he deserved for carrying the Eagles last year, and this is reflected in his 84 overall rating.
My Rating - 87 OVR
3.) Jamal Adams - 92 OVR
New York Jet Jamal Adams is a top 2 safety in football. The conversation comes down to him and Minnesota’s Harrison Smith, and Smith was given a well-deserved 95 overall rating this year. Adams’ 92 rating is laughable, as it suggests that the young Jets safety is a full tier behind Smith and places Kansas City’s Tyrann Mathieu (93 OVR) as the second-best safety in the game. I’m not hating on the Honey Badger, but I can’t believe EA rated him higher than Adams. Maybe it’s Super Bowl bias or something, but Jamal had a clearly better year and has a much higher ceiling than the 28 year-old Matthieu.
Adams was voted to the NFL All-Pro First Team after a monster 2019 season. He was brilliant in pass coverage, holding opposing quarterbacks to a 55% completion percentage on a measly 5 yards per target. He only gave up 58 yards after catch and 2 receiving touchdowns all year. Critics love to say that Adams isn’t elite in pass coverage, but the numbers show that Jamal’s ability to shut down receivers is on par with both Smith and Matthieu.
Although Jamal Adams is great in coverage, the young Jets safety’s true strengths are in his abilities to stop the run game and pressure opposing QB’s. Adams is on a whole other level than Smith and the Honey Badger in these two areas. Adams was spectacular against the run in 2019, posting 75 total tackles on the year (ten of which were for a loss - more than Smith and Matthieu combined). Amazingly, Adams only missed four tackles all year (less than Smith and Matthieu), giving him an impressive Missed Tackle Rate of 5.1% (lower than Smith and Matthieu). Adams is also one of the best safeties in the league when it comes to getting after opposing quarterbacks; he totaled 6.5 sacks in 2019 (more than Smith and Matthieu combined) and pressured the QB sixteen times (more than Smith and Matthieu combined).
With all this in mind, I’m struggling to see why Jamal is only at a 92. He may not be quite on Harrison Smith’s level in coverage, but he excels in so many other areas. Because of his versatility and expertise in rush defense and pass rushing, I would put the young safety on par with Smith at a 95 OVR.
My Rating - 95 OVR
2.) Deshaun Watson - 86 OVR
Houston’s young franchise quarterback was given a questionably low rating of 86. After leading Houston to eleven wins and a trip to the playoffs, Watson personally felt disrespected by his rating and tweeted a passive-aggressive laughing emoji after seeing his 86. Watson is one of the best dual-threat QB’s in the game, and he has led Houston to the playoffs two years in a row despite having (in my opinion) one of the worst coaches in the league. Watson’s 86 rating puts him behind three veterans: Tom Brady (90 OVR), Aaron Rodgers (89 OVR), and Matt Ryan (87 OVR, which is so wrong, but didn’t quite make my list). To compare, let’s take a look at how Deshaun stacks up against these veterans in a few key categories.
Deshaun Watson 2019 rankings against Brady, Rodgers, and Ryan
Completion % : 1st
Yards/Game : 2nd
Passing TD : T-1st
Interceptions : 3rd
Rushing Yards and Touchdowns: 1st, by a wide margin
QB Rating: 2nd
Watson’s numbers would indicate he is the first or second-best quarterback in this group, but he is rated the lowest. He won 11 games, won a playoff game, and lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champions. Am I missing something here?
My Rating - 90 OVR
1.) Tom Brady - 90 OVR
Tom Brady has been rated in the high 90’s in Madden for as long as I can remember, but The G.O.A.T himself was rated a modest 90 overall for this year’s game. Brady’s trademark accuracy and throwing power both took sharp declines last year, so a drop in his rating was expected, but I think that a 90 is still too high. As much as it hurts to admit, it doesn’t seem right to have Brady rated as the fifth best quarterback in the league anymore.
I could write about Brady’s 2019 stats all day - most of his numbers were his worst for any full season since 2003. His numbers weren’t terrible compared to quarterbacks across the league, but they were mediocre to good at best. If you watched Brady last year, you could tell most of his attributes took a big step down. His accuracy was spotty, decision-making was often questionable, and his passes lacked the power that Brady’s arm once had. He has virtually no mobility anymore and is no longer able to launch the ball downfield. Tom should definitely still get the benefit of the doubt because of his past success, but Madden is not being realistic with Brady’s rating this year. He still had a good season, and the Patriots still won games, but a 90 overall? Quite a reach for me.
My Rating - 85 OVR
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