Madden 19 allows gamers to use whichever players and teams they wish has yet to be released, but a game tester has leaked some player rankings on Youtube ahead of the official release and there are some interesting and questionable ratings among them.
The video is from EA Sports Game Changers and the person putting it out was sure to point out that these may not be the absolute final ratings, calling them a “work in progress”. Here is what it looks like now.
Top rated Raiders overall
Khalil Mack 96
Mack is tied for 6th overall in the rankings with Aaron Donald (99) and Luke Kuechly (97) above him. Suspiciously like PFF’s recent 2018 player rankings. Mack was the Defensive player of the Year two seasons ago. This spot in the rankings will work.
Jordy Nelson 86
This is a tad unexpected. Though understandable. Nelson averaged 1363 yards and 12 touchdowns over three seasons prior to last season when Brett Hundley replaced Aaron Rodgers for ten games. A lot of folks staring at stat boxes are saying Nelson is done. He had just 482 yards last season, is 33 years of age and was cut, so it’s low hanging fruit. But he put up most of those yards along with all six of his touchdowns with Rodgers throwing the ball. There’s no reason not to think he can at least come close to returning to form this season.
Amari Cooper 85
Coop below Nelson is also a bit of a shocker, considering Coop is the Raiders’ number one receiver, is still just 23 years old, and has been to two Pro Bowls in three NFL seasons. Then again, with Coop’s inconsistencies, he should be lucky he’s even rated this high. He has yet to prove himself to be a complete receiver and put together a full season of production due to nagging injuries.
Rodney Hudson 84
This seems low for arguably the best center in the league. The only center who you could make a plausible argument to be better is Cowboys’ Travis Frederick who has a score of 92. That’s quite a disparity in grading two players so seemingly close in on-field talent.
Rashaan Melvin 83
Pretty good rating for Melvin despite just one year of great production. He was given a one-year deal with the Raiders to see if he could do it again. Madden seems fairly convinced already.
Kelechi Osemele 82
This just smacks of overall low rating for offensive linemen. Osemele was an All Pro two seasons ago and, like Hudson, is considered one of the best at his position. Once again a Cowboys player is given far more respect. Last year’s All Pro guards Zack Martin and David DeCastro are the top rated guards with a 95 and 92 respectively. No way in any dimension is Osemele double digits worse than either of those guys.
Derek Carr 82
Fair enough. Based on the other ratings, this is probably about right.
Donald Penn 81
At 35 and after a down season, you can’t expect much better than this.
Marcus Gilchrist 81
Jon Gruden has raved about Gilchrist, but this it’s still a bit surprising to see him rated this well considering he is on his third team in three years.
Martavis Bryant 79
Bryant has the talent to outplay this rating. But that will be up to him. Getting suspended would certainly squash any chance of that.
Tank Carradine 79, Bruce Irvin 78
Wait, wait, wait. How in the world is Tank Carradine with 8 career starts and 5.5 career sacks in four NFL seasons rated ahead of Bruce Irvin?
Derrick Johnson 78
Karl Joseph 78
Notable omissions:
Marshawn Lynch – After averaging 4.6 yards per carry the second half of last season, he should be among the high rated players.
Gabe Jackson – He had a down season due in part to foot issues. But he’s still among the league’s best guards.
Jared Cook – Raiders leading receiver last season from the tight end position.
Tahir Whitehead – He’s averaged 120 tackles the past two seasons in Detroit.
Top ten overall
Aaron Rodgers 99
Aaron Donald 99
Antonio Brown 99
Luke Kuechly 97
Tom Brady 97
Jalen Ramsey 96
Khalil Mack 96
Bobby Wagner 96
JJ Watt 96
Julio Jones 96
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