Madden 24 ratings: Kolton Miller finally gets some respect

Over the past couple of years, Las Vegas Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller has been one of the most disrespected and under-appreciated players at his position.

Miller earned Pro Football Focus’ fifth-highest grade among offensive tackles league-wide in 2021, was sixth last season and topped the charts in the AFC in both seasons. Yet he has no Pro Bowl appearances or All-Pro nominations to show for it. However, a new leaf might be turning in the NFL as the Madden 24 ratings give the Raiders’ blind-side protector some love.

EA Sports released their launch ratings for offensive linemen the other day and gave Miller an 87 overall rating which is tied for ninth among left tackles. Within the conference, he still trails Laremy Tunsil of the Houston Texans, the Miami Dolphins Terron Armstead and Ronnie Stanley from the Baltimore Ravens, but this is another step in the right direction.

Last week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dropped his annual column where NFL executives ranked the league’s best offensive tackles, and the six-year veteran earned the 10th spot on the list. One important distinction is that Fowler’s poll includes right tackles as well, so the execs showed Miller a little more love than the Madden ratings did. He drops down to tied for 11th when factoring in the other side of the line as the Philadelphia Eagles Lane Johnson earned a 98 rating and New Orleans Saints Ryan Ramczyk came in at 89.

Hopefully, this publicity can get the ball rolling for Miller to earn some more recognition moving forward and thus, more accolades.

Below is a look at how the AFC West left tackles stack up against each other:

1. Miller, Raiders (87)
2. Rashawn Slater, Los Angeles Chargers (85)
3. Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos (81)
4. Cameron Fleming, Broncos (74)
5. Donovan Smith, Kansas City Chiefs (73)

It’s somewhat interesting that Madden thinks the Broncos’ backup left tackle is better than the Chiefs' starter...

On the right side, a couple of free-agent acquisitions lead the way as Denver’s Mike McGlinchey received an 80 rating and Jawaan Taylor, now suiting up for Kansas City, is two points behind at 78 overall.

Jermaine Eluemunor is next with a mark of 74, and he took exception to being left off the top 10 list for strength among offensive linemen via the tweet below. Eluemunor was given a 92 for his strength rating, so he missed the list by just a couple of points.

There’s a steep drop-off in the division after the Raiders' right tackle as the Los Angeles Chargers Trey Pipkins rounds out the starters with a 67 rating.

On the interior of the offensive line, left guard Dylan Parham leads the way for the Silver and Black at 73 overall, and center Andre James isn’t far behind with a 72. Somewhat surprisingly, Netane Muti has a rating of 71, five points higher than Greg Van Roten and seven points better than Alex Bars, both of whom Muti is entering a training camp battle with.

Muti also cracked the list above for strength rating with an impressive 96, so he and Eluemunor will have to duke that out in the weight room.

Here is how the interior offensive line ratings shook out within the division:

1. Creed Humprey, C, Chiefs (90)
2. Joe Thuney, LG, Chiefs (89)
3. Corey Linsley, C, Chargers (88)
4. Trey Smith, RG, Chiefs (82)
5. Ben Powers, LG, Broncos (81)
6. Quinn Meinerz, RG, Broncos (78)
7. Zion Johnson, RG, Chargers (74)
8. Parham, LG, Raiders (73)
9. James, C, Raiders (72)
10. Lloyd Cushenberry III, C, Broncos (72)