Some Vikings garner attention for Madden ratings as NFL season awaits
By Julian Basena
MINNEAPOLIS -- Madden ratings have always been a vital part of the yearly NFL offseason exercise. Free agency starts, the draft follows and as training camps and minicamps begin to satiate the football fan's consciousness, Madden releases its player ratings and debates ensue.
Surprisingly, for the days in the year that Madden football dominates the sport's discourse, ratings matter a great deal. And even with Madden dedicating an entire staff to adjusting and setting ratings throughout the season, they still get things wrong frequently — and people react. Typically, players will fuss off-handedly on social media under the guise of indifference and their supporters will do the same — usually with remarkable verve.
The Vikings and their fans certainly aren't immune to the routine. With its fair share of athletes making the top ten of several position groups, there has been plenty of conversation about whether their player ratings are deserved.
Dalvin Cook (94) at running back, Justin Jefferson (93) at wide receiver, Harrison Smith (90) at safety and Eric Kendricks (88) at linebacker made their respective positions' top ten lists. Kirk Cousins was listed as the 16th best quarterback in the game with an 80 overall rating.
Jefferson, being the second highest-rated player on Minnesota's roster, has been garnering considerable attention for his rating.
A beneficiary of both improved play and major flux at the receiver position, Jefferson finds himself sandwiched between veteran All-Pro Stefon Diggs and Mike Evans as the sixth best receiver in Madden, after missing the top ten list entirely in last year's installment. Jefferson, of course, thinks he can be at the top, and the Vikings agree that he should be higher.
As the best zone runner in the league and arguably the most talented player on the Vikings, Dalvin Cook's position on the running backs list has gone mostly undisputed, however, some have taken to Twitter to discuss his speed rating.
Despite having the top change of direction and juke ratings in the game as a running back, Cook failed to make the top ten in speed at his position, falling behind teammates Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu as well as more bruising backs not known for their speed, Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry.
Cousins is as polarizing as it gets for outside observers and fans alike, yet the Vikings' starting quarterback finds himself firmly in the middle of the pack, just behind some of the finest quarterbacks in the league, but ahead of the lower-tier field generals with much to prove.
It's a rather fitting position for a quarterback whose statistics seemingly fluctuate between average and impressive. Even his contract suggests he's a star. Madden seems to think he isn't the best but isn't the worst either.
