Madden 20 Ratings Recap: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

It’s that (not so) wonderful time of year again. Madden 20 is about to be released, and the ratings for the game have been unveiled - with many fans displeased about their favorite team’s rankings. Now it’s near impossible to make everyone happy, but I’ll be the first to admit this year’s game had a few *interesting* rankings, especially when it came to the Colts.

Let’s take a quick look through the Indianapolis ratings to see where EA did good, bad, or straight up ugly.

Notable Colts Ratings

• Andrew Luck QB - 92
• T.Y. Hilton WR - 91
• Justin Houston EDGE - 87
• Quenton Nelson IOL - 87
• Eric Ebron TE - 86
• Jack Doyle TE - 85
• Darius Leonard LB - 85
• Anthony Castonzo OT - 84
• Ryan Kelly IOL - 83
• Malik Hooker FS - 82
• Jabaal Sheard EDGE - 82
• Marlon Mack RB - 82
• Braden Smith OT - 81
• Pierre Desir CB - 80
• Devin Funchess WR - 80
• Kenny Moore CB - 79
• Adam Vinatieri K - 78
• Mark Glowinski IOL - 74
• Parris Campbell WR - 71
• Jacoby Brissett QB - 71
• Rock Ya-Sin CB - 70
• Anthony Walker LB - 69
• Ben Banogu EDGE - 69

*Full list can be found at Colts.com*

The Good

• Acing Luck

Maybe the most important thing for Madden 20 to get right was Andrew Luck’s rating. Thankfully, for all parties involved, they absolutely nailed it. Slotted in as the 4th highest ranked QB (behind Mahomes, Brady, and Rivers), Luck is a pristine 92 overall, getting the recognition he deserves and a rightful franchise quarterback placement. Now being tied with Brees and being ahead of Rodgers and Wilson may trigger some people, but at the end of the day, we’re splitting hairs. All 7 of the QB’s listed above are elite players at the position, and EA values them as such (each is 90 overall or above). Luck absolutely deserves to be in that grouping.

• Solid Rookies

Look. The rookie rankings for the Colts are extremely low, but they’re also extremely fair. This isn’t to say Chris Ballard and company drafted poorly. Rather that the class itself is very raw in nature, and need to be treated as such to begin their careers. And - as fans need to become familiar with - not everything is about overall rankings. Individual traits are just as important. In this case, Madden nailed those traits, including Rock Ya-Sin’s jumping ability (93), Parris Campbell’s electric speed (94), and Ben Banogu’s freaky athleticism. Just because they have low rankings doesn’t mean they don’t have immense talent - and EA sees that. By year’s end, we’ll likely see at least one draft pick make their way into the 80’s, but I’m fine with Madden not crowning anyone too early. Job well done.

• Doyle Love

Eric Ebron may get all the flash given the splash plays and explosive touchdowns, but Jack Doyle is an equally impressive player - something EA did a great job of recognizing. Somehow underrated year in and year out, it’s often easy for the national media to forget just what Doyle brings to the table - especially after missing 10 games last season. Although I think Ebron could’ve jumped certain Tight Ends like Jared Cook and Trey Burton - they absolutely nailed Doyle’s rating.

The Bad

• Need more Moore

Okay. I get that the nickel position is widely overlooked - but what are we doing here folks? Players like Patrick Robinson, Trumaine Johnson, and Nickell Robey-Coleman all rank higher than Kenny Moore - a top 5 slot in this league. I get that Moore still doesn’t receive mainstream coverage, but to have other slots like Chris Harris and Kendall Fuller properly ranked - yet players like Justin Coleman and Moore rated in the 70’s - is just baffling to me. Kenny deserves better.

• Disrespecting Leonard

I’m not sure how a franchise defender and rookie of the year can get disrespected right off that bat like this, but here we are. Maybe EA wants to see him to prove he’s not a one year wonder. Maybe Madden has a personal vendetta against him. But the fact that Darius Leonard, an ALL-PRO, is rated at 84 overall is something I just can’t wrap my head around. Demario Davis and Avery Williamson rank higher. Enough said.

• Nope on Nelson

Did the Colts star sophomores commit a crime together that we don’t know about? Like seriously, this is getting out of hand. It may seem far-fetched this early on, but Quenton Nelson is a top 5 interior linemen in the NFL, and he needs to be treated as such. Being ranked at 87 overall, just 4 points above his initial rookie rating, simply isn’t going to cut it. Neither is being slotted in below inferior players like Kevin Zeitler and Matt Paradis.

The Ugly

• What’s up with Walker?

Anthony Walker isn’t a Pro-Bowl player, but at least give the dude some respect. I know 69 is a nice number and all, but a key linebacker on a playoff team has no business being rated that low. I mean he had 100 tackles as a starter. It’s these types of rankings that show if you pay attention to a player or not. In this case, EA clearly didn’t watch Walker the way they should have (or maybe not even at all).

• Glowinski Glow-Up

Two years ago if you had told me Mark Glowinski would have a 74 rating in Madden 20, I probably thought that would’ve been extremely accurate. Since then, however, the guard has done a complete 180 in his game - and deserves to be rated fairly as a result. Able to get away from disastrous O-Line coach Tom Cable, Glowinski put up a remarkable 2018 campaign, grading as PFF’s 6th best run blocking guard and cementing himself as a quality starter. I’m not saying he needs to be 99 overall, but Glowinski being any lower than an 80 just doesn’t make any sense.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Madden ratings matter very little (there’s an edit feature for a reason), but in the dead of the off-season, we need something to complain about. Rating NFL players is a near impossible task to complete flawlessly. Ranking thousands of players is bound to have its missteps, and it just happens that a lot of those fell on the Colts this time around.

If you have any more rating suggestions, feel free to comment them below.