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 — 79
Nick Foles — 74
Sam Ehlinger — 69 (+1)
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor — 94 (-2)
Zack Moss — 72
Deon Jackson — 67
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr — 88 (-1)
Alec Pierce — 77 (+1)
Parris Campbell — 73 (+1)
Michael Strachan — 67
Keke Coutee — 65
Ashton Dulin — 69 (Injured Reserve)
Tight Ends
Mo Alie-Cox — 81 (-2)
Jelani Woods — 72 (-1)
Kylen Granson — 70 (-1)
Offensive Line
Quenton Nelson — 95 (-1)
Braden Smith — 79 (-2)
Ryan Kelly — 76 (-1)
Bernhard Raimann — 68
Dennis Kelly — 67 (-1)
Danny Pinter — 66
Matt Pryor — 64 (-1)
Will Fries — 64
Wesley French — 62
Defensive Line
DeForest Buckner — 96
Grover Stewart — 92
Yannick Ngakoue — 84 (+2)
Kwity Paye — 80
Dayo Odeyingbo — 72
Ifeadi Odenigbo — 70 (+3)
Ben Banogu — 69
Eric Johnson — 68
Byron Cowart — 67
Chris Williams — 64
Tyquan Lewis — 76 (Injured Reserve)
Linebackers
Darius Shaquille Leonard — 95 (-2)
Bobby Okereke — 81 (-1)
E.J. Speed — 78 (+1)
Zaire Franklin — 74
Jojo Domann — 64
Grant Stuard — 62
Secondary
Stephon Gilmore — 93
Kenny Moore III — 84
Isaiah Rodgers — 78 (+1)
Rodney Thomas II — 75
Rodney McCleod — 75 (+2)
Julian Blackmon — 74 (-2)
Nick Cross — 73
Brandon Facyson — 68
Dallis Flowers — 63
Tony Brown — 63
Trevor Denbow — 62
Armani Watts — 68 (Injured Reserve)
Special Teams
Luke Rhodes — 86
Matt Haack — 82
Chase McLaughlin — 83 (+2)
Rigoberto Sanchez — 85 (Injured Reserve)
Biggest Mover
Ifeadi Odenigbo
Odenigbo needs to eat more. He played only 25 snaps, including 20 pass rush reps and got 5 total pressures, including a sack. He is a good player who, with Tyquan Lewis out for the year and Kwity Paye hurt for a bit, should be the primary guy at the left defensive end spot across from Ngakoue.
Biggest Dropper
Darius Shaquille Leonard
Leonard just isn’t the game-changer that he was in the past. He looks a step slower and reacts later to plays. He only played 24 snaps and it’s obvious the Colts are limiting him because of injuries, but he does not look anywhere near the old Leonard, even accounting for a slight decline in play due to injuries. He also allowed 3 catches in the 13 coverage snaps he took, which means the Commanders picked on him when he was on the field. It might be unfair to dock him points since he’s not 100%, but this doesn’t look anywhere near the Leonard who was the best linebacker in football the last few years.