VikingsTalk- Analysis of the Minnesota Vikings Madden ratings.

Madden released its launch ratings a few days ago and sent the NFL world into a frenzy. Madden is notorious for handing out some bad ratings, but sometimes they can be spot on. It is important to know that Madden often lowballs overalls because they will increase during the season. This year’s Minnesota Vikings roster has its fair share of good and bad ratings. Let’s take a  dive into the virtual roster and analyze the ratings given to our beloved Vikings player.

The good

S Harrison Smith: 94 Overall

Harrison Smith has a long running streak of being the highest rated Vikings player in the Madden franchise. Our Swiss army knife continues to gain the respect he deserves from The Electronic Arts sports gaming department. His 94 overall rating includes 93 Zone coverage and 93 Hit power. When you boot up Madden this year beware of Harrison Smith, because the hit man is bringing the hit sticks all season

WR`s Stefon Diggs:93 overall and Adam Thielen:94 overall

Seeing the Vikings duo finally get the credit they deserve is satisfying. These two have tormented secondary’s for two consecutive years. They both boast 90 plus speed a catch rating of 95 or more and a catch in traffic rating of 93 or more. Getting one of these two in online franchise mode will be a must as they will destroy whoever is lined up across from them.

QB Kirk Cousins:81 overall

A lot of fans will argue this is too low for the season he just had. I expected a max overall of 84 so 81 is not terrible. He does have a decent speed rating of 77 for a pocket QB. His carrying is abysmal at a 57 rating, but we all expected that. All his throwing stats are above an 86 rating with is play action ability being the highest at 94. Kirks rating can be argued but for a launch rating I believe it’s actually pretty good.

HB Dalvin Cook:85 overall.

Dalvin has shown flashes of being one of the best talents in the entire NFL. He makes defenders pursuit angles look silly. And forces a miss tackle or two every time he touches the ball. Unfortunately because of injury and a pass happy coordinator he’s full potential has yet to be realized. It’s cool to see EA see the same potential the fans do. Dalvin could have easily been rated an 80 or 79 because of his lack of stats. He posses a nice speed stat at 91 his agility is at 94 and elusiveness at 87. Expect those to change as Dalvin will prove his is the most elusive runner in the NFL.

THE BAD

Mackensie Alexander:74 Overall

Mack come alive the last 10 games of the season. He was arguably the best slot corner in the league for the better part of the season. A 74 overall rating is a pretty bad. I was expecting somewhere in the 79-81 range. He played very well in zone coverage, blitz well, and held his own when it came to tackling. His Man coverage grade of a 75 and Zone coverage grade of a 70 fail to reflect the season he had. And align more with his first two season. Hopefully we can continue to see him continue his progression and get that rating where it should be.

S Anthony Harris:73 overall

Anthony Harris was an absolute stud last year in the place of Andrew Sendejo. He and Harrison made up the best safety duo in the NFL, but Maddens ratings do not reflect that. In fact Maddens don’t reflect Harris’s season at all. His Play Recognition rating of 76 Zone coverage of 75 are both far two low. Harris made his living off of reading the QB’s eyes and always being in the right spot. The worst of all his Tackle rating is a 60. Anthony Had the 2nd highest tackle efficiency rating of all safeties in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. I fully expect Harris’s rating to sky rocket if he continues his stellar play.

CB Holton Hill:71 overall

Holton Hill was the biggest surprise for the Vikings last season. He played a considerable amount of the snaps and held his own against most of his opponents. For example Holton played about 51 of his 53 snaps against Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints in week 8 . He held Thomas to two catches for fourteen yards, and earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 82. While I didn’t expect elite level stats a Zone coverage rating of 69 doesn’t seem to match last years production. After he’s suspension I look forward to Holton proving EA wrong and get that rating up above an 80

The ugly

Stephen Weatherly:70 overall

This rating is just downright wrong. Stephen Weatherly did a beautiful job stepping in for Everson Griffin last year. Not only was he solid in pass rush he also played the run very well. He was also very consistent, producing game in and game out for the majority of the season. While he does fly under the radar of most NFL fans he’s 70 overall ratings is just disrespectful. Weatherly is more of a finesse player so he’s 58 Power move rating is agreeable, but 59 block shedding and 71 finesse move aren’t even close to what they should be. At least they gave him a decent speed rating of an 82. Weatherly will be entering this up coming season with a big chip on his shoulder, and I believe he’ll prove all the doubters wrong

Riley Reiff 67 overall

When I seen this I thought it was a mistake. I had to check back at Pat Elfline’s grade to make sure there really was a 7 point difference. Reiff was our best offensive lineman last year but Madden doesn’t seem to agree. He actually has the same overall grade as our 4th round rookie Dru Samia. He`s 71 pass block rating and 69 run block rating are both far from accurate and could stand to be upgraded by a substantial amount . I’m actually expecting this rating to be changed within the first 3-4 weeks in madden, because it just seems that ridiculous.

 

The rest of the team received pretty fair ratings. The team overall rating is a 83. The defense is rating 86 and the offense a 80. Both of these seem fair given what happened last season. Do you have any grievances with the rating of our fellow Vikings players? If so drop a comment and let’s discuss. Also be sure to follow me on Twitter @vikingsfans16 to enter in several madden giveaways come up very soon!!

 

 

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