Colts Madden-style player rating - Week 9

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 — 79 (-5)

Sam Ehlinger — 64

Running Backs

Jonathan Taylor — 91 (+2)

Nyheim Hines — 79

Marlon Mack — 76

Deon Jackson — 63

Wide Receivers

Michael Pittman Jr — 86 (+4)

T.Y. Hilton — 85 (-2)

Zach Pascal — 77 (-1)

Michael Strachan — 71

Ashton Dulin — 68 (-1)

Parris Campbell — 73 (Injured Reserve)

Tight Ends

Jack Doyle — 80

Mo Alie-Cox — 80

Kylen Granson — 67

Offensive Line

Quenton Nelson — 98

Braden Smith — 81

Ryan Kelly — 80

Chris Reed — 75 (-1)

Mark Glowinski — 71

Eric Fisher — 69

Matt Pryor — 69

Danny Pinter — 65

Will Fries — 63

Julien Davenport — 62

Defensive Line

DeForest Buckner — 95 (-2)

Grover Stewart — 89 (+1)

Kwity Paye — 78

Kemoko Turay — 71 (-2)

Al-Quadin Muhammed — 71

Dayo Odeyingbo — 69

Isaac Rochell — 67

Ben Banogu — 67

Atwaun Woods — 66

Taylor Stallworth — 66

Tyquan Lewis — 77 (Injured Reserve)

Linebackers

Darius Leonard — 97

Bobby Okereke — 84

Zaire Franklin — 70

E.J. Speed — 69 (+1)

Matthew Adams — 64

Jordan Glasgow — 63 (Injured Reserve)

Secondary

Kenny Moore III — 87

Xavier Rhodes — 83

Khari Willis — 77 (-1)

Rock Ya-Sin — 70 (-1)

Isaiah Rodgers — 71

Andrew Sendejo — 69

George Odum — 68

Josh Jones — 67

BoPete Keyes — 65

Anthony Chesley — 65

Julian Blackmon — 79 (Injured Reserve)

TJ Carrie — 71 (Injured Reserve)

Special Teams

Rigoberto Sanchez — 85 (+1)

Luke Rhodes — 78

Michael Badgley — 72

Rodrigo Blankenship — 79 (Injured Reserve)

Biggest Risers

Michael Pittman Jr

Pittman is becoming a star and is the best receiver on the Colts, even over a healthy TY Hilton. He high points like an All-Pro, he runs the full route tree and he’s reliable. He had 15 targets and 10 catches today in what was the biggest game of the year. He shows up when it matters and he’s going to be a big star in this league at this rate.

Jonathan Taylor

Taylor is a fantastic talent who was under-utilized in his game against the Titans. He should touch the ball at least 20 times each game. He has great burst, great vision and is tough to tackle. He can win inside and outside. He is one of the ten best running backs in the league.

Biggest Fallers

Carson Wentz

Carson Wentz had one of the least clutch and downright awful performances I’ve seen in a long time. His decision making has been questionable at best this year and it was at an all-time low against the Titans. His play with 1:30 left and the game tied to hold onto the ball on a screen pass, not spike it and then throw it with his left hand in the air to the Titans player is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen in my life. Good quarterbacks don’t do that. Wentz is probably not the answer at quarterback for the long-term and my grade improvements over the last few weeks were premature.

Kemoko Turay

Turay is lost on the field, there’s no other way of explaining it. His pass rush rate is the lowest of the Colts’ defensive ends, he’s offsides far too often and he sucks as a run stopper. With Dayo back, Turay should be relegated to the #5 defensive end on the team in terms of snaps.