Gilmore Holds Top-10 Spot on Madden
EA Sports has been slowly releasing its player rankings for its über-popular Madden NFL franchise, and Stephon Gilmore remains a top-10 cornerback on the video game.
Gilmore is in a tie for the sixth-highest rated cornerback with Marshon Lattimore and a 91 overall grade. Jalen Ramsey, Jaire Alexander, Tre'Davious, Darius Slay, and Denzel Ward round out of the top five.
Madden tends to elevate younger players slowly while giving veterans more of a benefit of the doubt. Gilmore in his 11th NFL season and will be 32 in September. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons, so top-10 isn't exactly a stretch for him.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler conducted a player personnel poll and released the results last week. Gilmore came in at 17 in the "also receiving votes" category.
He signed a two-year, $20-million contract with the Colts earlier this year which makes him the 19th highest paid cornerback in the NFL this season.
With just $2 million in dead cap money next year, the contract is essentially a one-year deal with a club option in 2023.
Gilmore is being paid top-20 money, but he's not among the elite in compensation. The Colts are counting on the real Gilmore to be somewhere in between his Madden and NFL rankings.
If he's a top-20 cornerback this year, the Colts will have gotten exactly what they needed... a plus NFL starter and veteran presence, but maybe not the player who was NFL All-Pro in 2019.
Jonathan Taylor is the Colts' highest rated Madden player with a 95 rating, but he somehow falls to fourth among running backs behind Derrick Henry (98), Nick Chubb (96), and Christian McCaffrey (96). Like we said... Madden is biased towards the veterans.
Madden ratings have absolutely no effect in how the players perform on the field, but they will make a difference to the millions of players who play the video game.
On the field where it matters, the Colts will be thrilled for Gilmore to be a top-10 cornerback, and they already know Taylor is better than fourth.
