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The Madden rating series is back for a 3rd 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 to the team. Please note that these are current values and don’t consider the value or future improvement/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
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
Matt Ryan — 83 (-1)
Nick Foles — 74
Sam Ehlinger — 67
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor — 97 (-1)
Nyheim Hines — 80 (-1)
Deon Jackson — 63
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr — 88
Alec Pierce — 72 (+1)
Ashton Dulin — 70
Parris Campbell — 69
Michael Strachan — 68 (-1)
Tight Ends
Mo Alie-Cox — 84 (+3)
Jelani Woods — 72(+1)
Kylen Granson — 69
Offensive Line
Quenton Nelson — 96 (-1)
Braden Smith — 82
Ryan Kelly — 77 (-2)
Matt Pryor — 68
Bernhard Raimann — 68
Danny Pinter — 66
Dennis Kelly — 66
Will Fries — 64 (+1)
Wesley French — 62
Luke Tenuta - 62
Defensive Line
DeForest Buckner — 95 (-1)
Grover Stewart — 92
Yannick Ngakoue — 83 (+1)
Kwity Paye — 80 (-1)
Tyquan Lewis — 74
Dayo Odeyingbo — 73 (+1)
Ben Banogu — 69
Eric Johnson — 68
Byron Cowart — 67
Ifeadi Odenigbo — 67
Linebackers
Darius Shaquille Leonard — 97
Bobby Okereke — 82
Zaire Franklin — 75 (+2)
E.J. Speed — 74 (+2)
Jojo Domann — 64
Grant Stuard — 62
Secondary
Stephon Gilmore — 91
Kenny Moore III — 85
Julian Blackmon — 77
Isaiah Rodgers — 77 (+1)
Nick Cross — 73
Rodney McCleod — 73
Brandon Facyson — 70 (-1)
Rodney Thomas II — 70 (+2)
Dallis Flowers — 63
Tony Brown — 63
Armani Watts — 68 (Injured Reserve)
Special Teams
Luke Rhodes — 86 (-1)
Matt Haack — 82 (+1)
Chase McLaughlin — 76 (+1)
Rigoberto Sanchez — 85 (Injured Reserve)
Biggest Mover
Mo Alie-Cox
When you feed the MAC truck, good things happen. Alie-Cox has always been a good blocking tight end, but has taken a step forward this year as a receiver and his impact was felt against the Titans. This past week, he had 6 catches for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. Of those 85 yards, 54 came after the catch; he is a hard man to take down. When throwing to MAC this past week, Matt Ryan had a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Like I said earlier, feed the MAC truck and good things happen.
Biggest Dropper
Ryan Kelly
Kelly has been weak this year, especially as a run blocker. The Colts have struggled to gain traction in the running game, especially inside and when you run inside the center is crucial. He affects runs on both sides of the line and sometimes serves as a key player in a double team on a duo block, or helps take the linebacker at the second level. In both of those situations, Kelly has been weak and it has hurt Jonathan Taylor. In the pass game this year, he’s allowed 8 pressures, but centers against 4-3 defenses (which is what the Colts have played against all year) don’t usually have a defensive player one-on-one unless there’s a blitzer so 8 pressures is actually a lot solely tied to him. It’s been a rough start for Kelly.
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