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The Madden ratings series is back for a 2nd season!!! 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 take 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 or 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
Carson Wentz — 83 (+2)
Jacob Eason — 67
Sam Ehlinger — 64
Brett Hundley — 63
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor — 88 (+2)
Nyheim Hines — 81
Marlon Mack — 76
Jordan Wilkins — 74
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr — 79
Zach Pascal — 79
Michael Strachan — 72
Parris Campbell — 72 (+1)
Ashton Dulin — 69 (+1)
T.Y. Hilton — 87 (Injured Reserve)
Tight Ends
Jack Doyle — 80
Mo Alie-Cox — 79 (+1)
Kylen Granson — 67
Offensive Line
Braden Smith — 81
Ryan Kelly — 80
Chris Reed — 75
Mark Glowinski — 72 (-2)
Eric Fisher — 71 (-3)
Matt Pryor — 67
Danny Pinter — 65
Will Fries — 63
Julie’n Davenport — 62
Quenton Nelson — 98 (Injured Reserve)
Defensive Line
DeForest Buckner — 97
Grover Stewart — 88
Tyquan Lewis — 77 (+1)
Kwity Paye — 76
Kemoko Turay — 73
Al-Quadin Muhammed — 72
Isaac Rochell — 68
Ben Banogu — 67
Taylor Stallworth — 66
Chris Williams — 64
Khalil Davis — 64
Deyo Odeyingbo — 69 (Injured Reserve)
Linebackers
Darius Leonard — 97
Bobby Okereke — 83
Zaire Franklin — 70
E.J. Speed — 67
Matthew Adams — 64
Jordan Glasgow — 63 (Injured Reserve)
Secondary
Kenny Moore III — 87
Xavier Rhodes — 83
Julian Blackmon — 79 (+2)
Khari Willis — 77
Rock Ya-Sin — 70
Andrew Sendejo — 70
Isaiah Rodgers — 69 (+1)
George Odum — 68
BoPete Keyes — 65 (-1)
Anthony Chesley — 65
TJ Carrie — 71 (Injured Reserve)
Special Teams
Rigoberto Sanchez — 84
Rodrigo Blankenship — 79 (-2)
Luke Rhodes — 78
Biggest Risers
Carson Wentz
Wentz is proving that he is still a quality starter and showed many flashes of brilliance against the Ravens, and that was on two bad ankles! As Wentz goes more acquainted to the Indy offense and his receivers as well as recovering from the injury, he should only get better and better. Wentz might be the answer at quarterback.
Jonathan Taylor
Taylor had a national breakout game, but he’s always been a reliable beast in the backfield. He had a monster game and carried the Colts offense early on with his explosive plays, which in turn led to more openings for Wentz in the passing game.
Biggest Fallers
Eric Fisher
Fisher is weak, and there’s no other way of putting it. He’s slow out of his stance, he gets beat by speed rushers and he’s definitely not 100%. The Colts should look to other players at left tackle (Pryor? Braden Smith?) because Fisher isn’t ready and he might not be an NFL caliber player anymore.
Rodrigo Blankenship
People will use his hip injury as an excuse, but Hot Rod probably isn’t the answer at kicker. The reality is, if he’s on the field lining up for a kick, he needs to make that kick. If he’s injured and can’t make kicks, then the Colts have backup options. He cost the Colts the game against the Ravens and it’s proving with each passing day that the team messed up keeping him over McLaughlin.
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