Let's Look At Four Players Madden Rated Incorrectly In Their 2020 Game Release
Ratings are fluid throughout the season and with the quality or poor performances, these numbers can go up or down. However, players see the initial ratings as a feel for how the football world respects their talents.
The players can get heated about perceived disrespect, as we saw from Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry this past week. Elite athletes in the NFL care more about respect than just about anything else. With so many bragging rights on the line, things can get heated.
Let's look at four players Madden rated incorrectly in their 2020 game release.
OLIVIER VERNON - 82 OVERALL
What it should have been: 86 overall
The Browns made a deal for Vernon to improve their pass rush opposite Myles Garrett, but Madden is not as sold on the Browns' vision for Vernon's value.
Among NFL edge defenders, Vernon finished 15th in overall grade according to Pro Football Focus in 2018. His pass-rush grade was good for seventh among qualifying edge players, but Madden has his power moves rated 25th and speed, or finesse moves, outside the top 50 and behind teammate Anthony Zettel.
If Vernon would have received some his due respect on finesse moves, just a slight bump in the rating, it would accurately portray his ability to win with speed moves on occasion.
JOE SCHOBERT - 79 OVERALL
What it should have been: 81 overall
Schobert had an uneven 2018 season that had far too many missed tackles, but his coverage ability is one of the best in the league. The Wisconsin product finished behind just All-Pro Bobby Wagner in this department in 2018.
He received the 18th best man coverage rating and the 15th best zone coverage grade among middle linebackers. Schobert's tackling grade of 80 might have been too high, as I wrote in late June about his issues bringing down ball-carriers.
However, he deserved more respect in the past defending aspect.
With the modern focus on pass coverage being at a premium on the second level, Schobert's boost in coverage and a slight reduction in tackle ratings would have only bumped him up a bit overall, but the accurate portrayal of his performance would have made him true to who he is as a player currently.
RASHARD HIGGINS - 73 OVERALL
What it should have been: 78 overall
Higgins comes in at a 73 overall and on the slower side of the rating spectrum. His 86 rating speed seems to discredit his football speed and is three points slower than teammate Jarvis Landry, who ran nearly a 4.8 at the NFL combine before his draft day.
Higgins' agility rating is also low at just an 82, and he fails to jump off the rating screen in the catching department as well despite being one of the Browns' most reliable targets in 2018. He deserved a higher mark.
It's tough to calculate a player's chemistry with another, but Baker Mayfield brings out the best in Higgins and he does the same for Mayfield.
NICK CHUBB - 85 OVERALL
What it should have been: 90 overall
Nick Chubb's 85 overall mark is good for only 16th among all NFL running backs and third among running backs heading into their second season.
Chubb finished with 996 yards and eight touchdowns in just nine games started. He finished the season as Pro Football Focus' highest-graded running back and nearly broke their elusiveness ratings at various points throughout the season. Chubb's elusiveness, however, only comes in at 76, which leaves him outside the top 30 running backs.
Moving Chubb's elusiveness and break tackle ratings higher would have bumped him up closer to 90, and closer to the mark right behind fellow second-year back Saquan Barkley.
Chubb is a solid running back on the game but he is missing the elusiveness and game-breaking speed he displayed in his rookie season.
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