The Game Haus will be analyzing the player ratings from Madden 21 of every NFL team. Madden has a daunting task of rating all NFL players and their attributes. While they have the ability to correct some of these rankings with in-season roster updates, there are some issues with some of the initial rankings of players. Here are the Madden 21 questionable ratings from the Denver Broncos.
Courtland Sutton– 84
Just two years in the league and Courtland Sutton has proven himself to be a high ranking receiver. But his Madden rating of 84 might have people think he’s another slightly above average player. Sutton is ranked as the 28th best receiver in the game despite his stats suggesting he should be top 20. He ranks below 31-year-old A.J. Green who hasn’t caught a pass since 2018 and below Marvin Jones Jr. who had 333 fewer yards on the season.
His speed and acceleration ratings are where they should be at 89 and 92 but it’s his strength and jumping that need changes. His strength is listed at a 73 which is low considering his ability to throw off tacklers in the open field. Sutton’s jump rating is 92 which sits lower than 36-year-old Larry Fitzgerald. Robert Woods put up only 22 more yards last year and had four fewer touchdowns that Sutton but was given an 86 overall rating. Sutton played close to if not better than Woods last season so his rating doesn’t reflect his performance.
Adjusted Rating- 86
Alexander Johnson– 78
Alexander Johnson’s rating comes as no surprise considering he’s one of the most underrated players in the league. Last year, Johnson came out of nowhere to quickly become one of the best inside linebackers in the league. But you might have never heard of Johnson if you don’t watch Broncos games. As good as he is Johnson still flies low on the radar of many including the people who make the Madden ratings. He was so unknown last year that his picture wasn’t put in Madden 20 at the beginning of the season.
Last season, Johnson racked up 93 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception. This comes after the fact that he didn’t play a defensive snap till week four. Extrapolating his stats out to a full 16 game season, he would have 124 tackles, two sacks and an interception. Tremaine Edmunds plays the same position as Johnson with similar stats yet is ranked as an 80 overall. Johnson also has a strength rating of 78 which is only one point higher than Chiefs punter Tyler Newsome. Considering strength is a big part of Johnson’s skillset putting that rating at a 78 is disrespectful.
Adjusted Rating- 80
Noah Fant– 74
Noah Fant didn’t initially make a huge splash his rookie year. Most of his issues early on came from inconsistency, lack of targets and bad quarterback play. The intangibles and the skills were there but the production wasn’t. Halfway through the season though Fant evolved into a very exciting player to watch. He continued to be inconsistent but in games where he was involved, he looked unstoppable. Madden has Fant ranked as the 38th best tight end in the game which is unreasonably low.
Jason Witten is rated as a 77 overall even while being older, slower and less athletic. Not to mention that Witten had fewer yards and only one more touchdown than Fant last season. Madden’s tight end ratings were already suspect after they rated Rob Gronkowski who hasn’t played since the 2018 season at a 95 overall. But rating a 38-year-old who’s way past his prime higher than a second-year player who’s one of the most athletically gifted Tight Ends in the league is on another level.
Adjusted rating- 77
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