It’s Madden Rankings Day, which can be a blessing I guess but certainly feels like mostly just a curse. You can see where each and every Bears player landed right here, or just take a look at this here tweet:
Now let’s quickly break this down into tiers, going from Fair to Debatable to Honestly What Gives Madden:
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FAIR
Khalil Mack (99) - Extremely fair!
Eddie Jackson (91) - Inarguably fair!
Eddie Goldman (85) - Most likely fair! He does not get much love because Akiem Hicks happens to be like, one of the most underrated defensive tackles in football, but Eddie Goldman is a starting caliber player. We’ll allow it!
NFL
Leonard Floyd (77) - Probably fair! Floyd grades out in the mid-to-high 80’s when it comes to Speed, Acceleration, and Agility, and sags behind a bit when it comes to Awareness and Strength; that’s sort of always been the book on him. If he finishes the season at a 77, though, it probably didn’t go well. But for now, this feels fair.
Eddy Pinerio (66) - Fair for no reason other than the Bears’ kicking battle probably deserves a D. Sorry, Eddy.
DEBATABLE
Mitch Trubisky (75) - I get it - being told the starting QB of the team you root for may not be all that good is personally insulting on the highest level. It’s rude, and honestly how dare they. Did they even watch certain halves of Bears games?! Like Floyd, if Trubisky finishes the season at his current rating, Year 2 went sideways. 75 *does* seem to shortchange him a bit, but there’s also a pretty good argument to be made that this is right on. One might call it debatable!
Roquan Smith (81) - He lead the team in tackles! And started in 14 games this season as a rookie! It’s the Awareness score (77) that’s keeping him in the low 80’s, which doesn’t seem accurate.
Anthony Miller (75) - I get that he was hurt, but 75?! His Awareness (75) and Strength (68!) drag down what are otherwise high 80’s, low 90’s across the board. This blog boy’s personal opinion is that Anthony Miller is extremely for real and could easily end up as Madden’s highest-rated Bears WR when the season’s done.
HONESTLY WHAT GIVES MADDEN
Akiem Hicks (87) - Honestly what gives Madden? On the surface, 87 is not a bad score, and I have 18 years worth of report cards that would be happy to back that up. But Akiem Hicks is a 90+ player. Speed and Agility scores in the 60’s brings down his average, neither of which seemed to play a huge role in limiting his Pro Bowl level production. 87 for Hicks might be the most scoff-worthy score of them all.
Cody Whitehair/James Daniels (81/77) - They’re viewed as the future of the Bears’ line, but realistically are way more the present. They’re also listed at the wrong positions, which, eye roll. I know that these aren’t entirely updated to reflect the present but come on guys, this switch was common knowledge back in March. Honestly Madden what gives?
Dax Raymond and Chase Daniel having the SAME rating (63) - Nothing against Dax, who will hopefully be terrific. But, mannnnn, that is disrespectful. An undrafted rookie getting the same ranking as a 9-year veteran who is, by most measures, considered one of the better backup QBs in the NFL. He’s certainly paid like it. 63! Put some respect on his name, Madden. What gives.