EA Sports’ Madden franchise has the daunting task of ranking all NFL players and their attributes. While they have the ability to correct these rankings with in-season roster updates, there are some issues with the initial rankings of players. So, The Game Haus will be analyzing the most questionable ratings for players on every NFL team.
Here are the most questionable Madden 21 ratings for the Miami Dolphins.
DeVante Parker – 84
DeVante Parker is easily the best wide receiver on the Dolphins, and is becoming one of the most underrated wide outs in the entire NFL. Madden 21, it seems, is part of the crowd ignoring his progress, only rating him an 84.
Parker more than doubled his career high in touchdowns in 2019 (9 TDs), and eclipsed 1,000 yards for the first time in his career (1,202 yards). He also played in all 16 games for the first time since entering the NFL, showing what he can do when healthy.
Every important stat improved for Parker, who ate up 56.3 percent of the Dolphins’ catch percentage. That number seems inflated because he was on a bad team, but that is not even the highest percentage of his career (64.4 percent in 2016).
Parker was making the most of his opportunities, improving vastly and yet is being snubbed big time by Madden 21. He deserves to be ranked near the elite, because that is what he is becoming.
Adjusted Rating – 92
Byron Jones – 88
On the other side of the coin, you have Byron Jones. With a rating of 88, Jones is clearly getting the benefit of two doubts: First, he received a gaudy, five year, $82 million contract in the offseason, and only near-elite players get that kind of deal. Second, the team that shelled out that money has a defensive wizard of a head coach, so he must be worth it, right?
(Photo by AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
Well, in 2019, his second year at the cornerback position he intercepted zero passes and defended only six. He did force one fumble, but his tackling numbers dropped immensely, down 21 combined tackles from 2018.
Jones never hit the quarterback last season, he never tackled a single player for a loss and the last time he intercepted a ball was as a free safety in 2017. Sure, cover corners’ value usually does not show up in the stat sheet. But do these numbers amount to the fifth-best cornerback in the NFL, as Madden 21 have him rated?
The new contract is less convincing than his stats, which speak for themselves. Jones will have to transcend his reputation to earn a rating like 88.
Adjusted Rating – 82
Xavien Howard – 82
Perennial trade bait Xavien Howard only played in five games last season due to injury. In 2018, he only played in 12. His rookie year, he only played seven. So, yes, if Madden 21 is rating his talent against his ability to stay on the field, 82 seems about right.
However, this is a video game where injuries can be turned off, so let’s look through that prism.
In 2018, when he only played 12 games, Howard had a league-leading seven interceptions. Last year, even though he was sidelined for 11 contests, he still got his hands on one (which is one more than Byron Jones).
Howard is a bona fide ball hawk, which is why teams in contention vie for his services every year. He was a hot commodity during the Dolphins’ fire sale, but they hung on to him. Because they know what they have.
All he has to do is keep his knee healthy, which, granted, is a tall order. But when he does, he is always a threat to turn the ball over. Injuries are a concern, yes. When talking about a football simulation, however, those should be taken into account very sparingly.
Adjusted Rating – 86
Featured Image courtesy of Miami Dolphins
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