EA Sports’ infamous game Madden has always had debatable player ratings. Many people have made fun of this, such as viral videos of people claiming the ratings are really just a popularity contest. Taking a look statistically, let’s see if the Madden ratings do actually make sense this year for the Chargers squad.
Derwin James, 95 overall
EA has a great relationship with Derwin James as he is one of the best NFL players that plays Madden at a competitive level. James had gotten back on track health wise and has played his next ball of his career.
In 14 games last season, he recorded 115 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions. James’ strength is his versatility. He can be played in just about any defensive position, which is what makes him so dangerous.
Comparing James to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Justin Simmons who are rated below him shows why Derwin is the best. Fitzpatrick had 6 interceptions as he is a ballhawk, but he is yet to get a sack in his career and had 20 fewer tackles than James last season. Simmons also had six interceptions with no sacks and about half as many tackles as James did last season. Simmons and Fitzpatrick are elite playing deep safety, but Derwin is an all-time great when it comes to playing in the box and in being able to play in coverage.
Austin Ekeler, 89 overall
Ekeler had two incredible seasons back-to-back in the last two years. Ekeler only increased one overall, but many other running backs’ ratings decreased, which has Ekeler ranked as the sixth-best running back in Madden 24.
Comparing Ekeler to Tony Pollard, who he is ahead of by just one overall shows the respect Madden has given Ekeler. While Ekeler has shined in catching situations out of the backfield, he has struggled in the run game. Ekeler had 915 rushing yards, 722 receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns last season. Pollard had 1007 rushing yards, 371 receiving yards (about half as much as Ekeler) and 12 total touchdowns. Pollard started fewer games with Ezekiel Elliot there, but statistically Ekeler is the more well-rounded back.
Justin Herbert, 87 overall
Hebert had a worse season in 2022 than in 2021 which is fair that his rating got lower. However, some players rated near and above him are very surprising.
The most surprising is Herbert being tied in overall with Dak Prescott. Herbert had 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions while throwing for 4,730 yards (second most in the NFL last season). Prescott was infamous for his turnovers last season with 23 touchdowns to 15 interceptions with only 2,860 yards. Prescott played five fewer games last season, which makes the interception statistic even more concerning for Prescott.
Lamar Jackson was rated four overall higher than Herbert. Jackson has the best running attack for a quarterback but has struggled to pass at times. In five fewer games than Hebert, Jackson totaled 17 touchdowns to seven interceptions with 2,242 passing yards with 764 rushing yards. Jackson deserves all the credit when it comes to running, but his passing is not on the same level as Herbert which is crucial in today’s NFL.
Sebastian Joseph-Day, 75 overall
SJD took his thoughts to Twitter on how bad his rating was.
According to Madden’s ratings, SJD is a below-average player. When comparing SJD to himself a few years ago, shows his improvement. He is mainly a run stopper which is harder to evaluate statistically, but all of his major stat categories have increased from 2020-2022 in tackles, sacks, and tackles for loss.
Last is another Chargers defensive lineman who is criminally underrated. Fox had 6.5 sacks in 12 starts last season, which is top 10 among interior defensive lineman. Fox surprised many last season as he was a backup for most of his career. The Chargers caught on and re-signed him for this upcoming season, however, Madden missed the memo.
Stay tuned for more breaking NFL content, including midseason moves, contract updates and more news from every team.
Featured image courtesy of Chargers.com
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