Colts Madden-style player ratings - Week 8

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 — 84 (-1)

Sam Ehlinger — 64

Brett Hundley — 63

Running Backs

Jonathan Taylor — 89

Nyheim Hines — 79 (-2)

Marlon Mack — 76

Jordan Wilkins — 74

Wide Receivers

T.Y. Hilton — 87

Michael Pittman Jr — 82 (+3)

Zach Pascal — 78

Parris Campbell — 73

Michael Strachan — 71

Ashton Dulin — 69

Tight Ends

Jack Doyle — 80

Mo Alie-Cox — 80 (+1)

Kylen Granson — 67

Offensive Line

Quenton Nelson — 98

Braden Smith — 81

Ryan Kelly — 80

Chris Reed — 76

Mark Glowinski — 71 (-1)

Eric Fisher — 69 (-2)

Matt Pryor — 69

Danny Pinter — 65

Will Fries — 63

Julien Davenport — 62

Defensive Line

DeForest Buckner — 97

Grover Stewart — 88

Kwity Paye — 78 (+2)

Tyquan Lewis — 77

Kemoko Turay — 73

Al-Quadin Muhammed — 71

Isaac Rochell — 67 (-1)

Ben Banogu — 67

Taylor Stallworth — 66

Khalil Davis — 64

Deyo Odeyingbo — 69 (Injured Reserve)

Linebackers

Darius Leonard — 97

Bobby Okereke — 84 (+1)

Zaire Franklin — 70

E.J. Speed — 68

Matthew Adams — 64

Jordan Glasgow — 63 (Injured Reserve)

Secondary

Kenny Moore III — 87

Xavier Rhodes — 83 (+1)

Julian Blackmon — 79

Khari Willis — 78 (+1)

Rock Ya-Sin — 71

Isaiah Rodgers — 71

Andrew Sendejo — 69 (-1)

George Odum — 68

BoPete Keyes — 65

Anthony Chesley — 65

TJ Carrie — 71 (Injured Reserve)

Special Teams

Rigoberto Sanchez — 84

Rodrigo Blankenship — 79

Luke Rhodes — 78

Michael Badgley — 72 (+1)

Biggest Risers

Michael Pittman Jr

Pittman Jr has been one of the revelations of 2021 as he has emerged as the top receiver on the Colts and one of the better young receivers in the game. Pittman made some incredible catches in the rain and “mossed” some defensive backs in exciting fashion. He has the potential of becoming the long-term #1 receiver for the Colts, but at the moment he’s a high end #2 receiver in the NFL. He has taken off and it’s exactly what the Colts passing game needed.

Kwity Paye

Paye had himself a nice game with three big pressures, including a pressure on an important strip sack of Jimmy Garoppolo. He has great power and speed and transfers it well as a pass rusher. He needs some improvement as a run defender, but overall, he looks to have the makings of a good starting defensive end for this team for many years.

Biggest Fallers

Nyheim Hines

Hines will be remembered for that bad drop, but overall he had a rough game and through 7 games, he has not lived up to his hefty contract. In fairness to him, the Colts aren’t using him properly, as they have been running him inside far too often this year and not utilizing his ability in space, but overall, he’s not the quick change of pace back that he was in the pace. It’s no reason to be concerned, but he needs to wake up.

Eric Fisher

Some might say I’m too hard on Eric Fisher, but the reality is he’s getting beat on most pass reps. Nick Bosa ate his lunch on Sunday and made him look like a fool on many plays. Bosa is an incredible talent, but the Colts paid Fisher 8M to be a good left tackle and he has been anything but that. People will use the injury excuse, but if he’s not fully healthy he shouldn’t be playing and if he’s 75% of what he should be, then his score will reflect that.