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In this series on Stampede Blue, I’m going to break down each player on a 50-100 Madden-style scale each week to help identify and illustrate which players are the best and most valuable players on the team. Please take note that these are current values and don’t think into account the value or future potential (or regression) of a player. Here is a breakdown of the tiers:
Tiers
95 to 100 — One of the 3, 4 best players at his position in the NFL
90 to 94 — An elite, top 10 NFL player at his position in the NFL
85 to 89 — A borderline elite player who will make plenty of plays in each game
80 to 84 — An above average starter
75 to 79 — An average starter who won’t hurt you
70 to 74 — An average starter who should only be used in small spurts
65 to 69 — A below average starter and above average backup
60 to 64 — An average backup
60 or below — A borderline roster player
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers — 88 (+2)
Jacoby Brissett — 76
Jacob Eason — 68
Running Backs
Nyheim Hines — 81 (+1)
Jonathan Taylor — 81 (+1)
Jordan Wilkins — 75
Marlon Mack — 79 (Injured Reserve)
Wide Receivers
T.Y. Hilton — 87
Zach Pascal — 78 (+2)
Michael Pittman Jr — 75
DeMichael Harris — 70
Marcus Johnson — 68 (-2)
Ashton Dulin — 67
Dezmon Patmon — 61
Parris Campbell — 77 (Injured Reserve)
Tight Ends
Mo Alie-Cox — 76
Jack Doyle — 76
Trey Burton — 74
Noah Togiai — 60 (Injured Reserve)
Offensive Line
Quenton Nelson — 95
Anthony Castonzo — 85
Ryan Kelly — 81 (-1)
Braden Smith — 80
Mark Glowinski — 79 (+1)
Danny Pinter — 65
Will Holden — 62
Chaz Green — 61
Le’Raven Clark — 60 (Injured Reserve)
Defensive Line
DeForest Buckner — 98
Grover Stewart — 85
Justin Houston — 84 (-1)
Denico Autry — 79
Al-Quadin Muhammed — 76
Kemoko Turay — 75
Tyquan Lewis — 73
Taylor Stallworth — 69
Ben Banogu — 67
Linebackers
Darius Leonard — 98 (+1)
Bobby Okereke — 81 (+2)
Anthony Walker — 74 (-1)
Zaire Franklin — 69
E.J. Speed — 67
Matthew Adams — 64
Jordan Glasgow — 63
Secondary
Kenny Moore III — 90 (+1)
Xavier Rhodes — 82
Julian Blackmon — 77
Khari Willis — 75 (+1)
TJ Carrie — 73
Rock Ya-Sin — 72
George Odum — 68
Tavon Wilson — 67
Isaiah Rodgers — 64
Tremon Smith — 62
Malik Hooker — 70 (Injured Reserve)
Special Teams
Rigoberto Sanchez — 82 (+1)
Rodrigo Blankenship — 80 (+1)
Luke Rhodes — 78
Biggest Climbers
Zach Pascal
Pascal has established himself as a very reliable starting receiver who can win 50/50 balls, make tough catches in traffic and get hard yards. That was on display against the Texans. He is currently the 2nd best receiver on the team and is reliability will be crucial coming down the stretch.
Philip Rivers
Rivers is getting better and better and he’s look more comfortable every passing week (no pun intended). He is safer with the football, making great, accurate throws and doing a great job of moving the offense down the field. The offense has put up at least 26 points in their last 6 games and a lot of the credit should be to Rivers’ improved play.
Biggest Droppers
Anthony Walker Jr
Walker has had a bit of rough year and he wasn’t at his best this game, with a couple of missed tackles and not being a big help in the passing game. He’s losing reps each game to Bobby Okereke and he might not be retained as he’s a free agent in the offseason.
Ryan Kelly
Kelly hasn’t been great as many expected this year. He hasn’t been a stud in the run game, sometimes due to poor hand placement and he’s allowed sacks and pressures. The Houston game was not a great outing, with lots of pressure on Rivers and some missed blocks.