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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 — 82
Jacoby Brissett — 76
Jacob Eason — 68
Running Backs
Nyheim Hines — 78
Jordan Wilkins — 75
Jonathan Taylor — 75
Marlon Mack — 79 (Injured Reserve)
Wide Receivers
T.Y. Hilton — 82 (+2)
Michael Pittman — 76 (-2)
Zach Pascal — 76
Marcus Johnson — 70
DeMichael Harris - 70
Ashton Dulin — 67
Dezmon Patmon — 61
Parris Campbell — 77 (Injured Reserve)
Tight Ends
Mo Alie-Cox — 76
Jack Doyle — 75
Trey Burton — 75 (+2)
Noah Togiai — 60
Offensive Line
Quenton Nelson — 94 (-1)
Anthony Castonzo — 85
Ryan Kelly — 82
Braden Smith — 78
Mark Glowinski — 77
Danny Pinter — 65
Chaz Green — 63
Le’Raven Clark — 60 (-2)
Defensive Line
DeForest Buckner — 97
Grover Stewart — 85
Justin Houston — 82
Denico Autry — 79
Al-Quadin Muhammed — 76
Kemoko Turay — 75 (-1)
Tyquan Lewis — 73
Taylor Stallworth — 69
Ben Banogu — 67
Ron’Dell Carter — 60
Linebackers
Darius Leonard — 97
Bobby Okereke — 78
Anthony Walker — 78
Zaire Franklin — 69
E.J. Speed — 67 (+1)
Jordan Glasgow — 63
Matthew Adams — 64 (Injured Reserve)
Secondary
Kenny Moore III — 85
Xavier Rhodes — 82
Julian Blackmon — 78
Khari Willis — 72 (-1)
Rock Ya-Sin — 71 (-3)
TJ Carrie — 71
George Odum — 68
Tavon Wilson — 66
Isaiah Rodgers — 63
Tremon Smith — 62
Malik Hooker — 70 (Injured Reserve)
Special Teams
Luke Rhodes — 78
Rodrigo Blankenship — 76
Rigoberto Sanchez — 81 (Reserve List)
Biggest Climbers
TY Hilton
Hilton finally showed flashes of his old self against the Titans with a vintage performance and a couple of penalties drawn against him. He bounced up for the first time this season and is this continues, he can slowly creep into the “borderline elite player” category. Let’s see if it was just a fluke or a sign of things to come.
Trey Burton
Burton showed off great catching ability, high pointing the ball well and making some tough catches. The Colts brought him in to be a reliable pass catcher, so while this is somewhat expected of him, it’s still nice to see since the Colts have struggled with consistency in the passing game. Nevertheless, Burton has had a decent season and that performance moves him up in the “average player who won’t hurt you category”
Biggest Droppers
Rock Ya-Sin
Ya-Sin has struggled in many games this year, but he has had some bright spots; the Titans’ game was not one of them. He was torched throughout the game and had one of his worst performances of his career. He’s clearly the weak link of the secondary and needs to be helped in many situations. These last 5 games of the regular season and any potential playoff games are crucial in determining whether he’s the longterm answer at cornerback.
Le’Raven Clark
Clark is bad and is a massive drop from Anthony Castonzo. His feet are slow, his reaction time is lacking and his better than average athleticism can’t save him against most pass rushers. He is clearly the weak link of the line and the Colts need to find ways of masking him or shift around the offensive line to keep him off the field.