Inside The Vikings

What Did EA Get Right and Wrong With Vikings Madden Ratings?

There's a lot to talk about with the Vikings' ratings in the latest Madden video game.
Will Ragatz|
What Did EA Get Right and Wrong With Vikings Madden Ratings?
What Did EA Get Right and Wrong With Vikings Madden Ratings?

Madden ratings might be pretty pointless, but they give us something to talk about in an otherwise uneventful part of the NFL offseason calendar.

The ratings for Madden 21 have been trickling out over the past few days, so let's take a look at some of the things EA Sports got right and wrong when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings.

Here are the ten highest-rated Vikings in the latest edition of the video game:

  1. Harrison Smith (95) 
  2. Dalvin Cook (91) 
  3. Michael Pierce (91) 
  4. Adam Thielen (90) 
  5. Eric Kendricks (89) 
  6. Danielle Hunter (89) 
  7. Kyle Rudolph (84) 
  8. Anthony Harris (83) 
  9. Kirk Cousins (82) 
  10. Anthony Barr (82)

The Good: Respect for Smith, Cook, and Pierce

Not only is Smith (95) the top-rated Viking, he's also the No. 1 safety in the entire NFL by two full points.

That's some well-deserved respect for a player who so often doesn't get enough of it. After being egregiously snubbed from the All-Decade team, it's nice to see Smith honored as what he is: the best safety in the NFL. He's proven it year after year during his eight seasons with the Vikings.

A 91 is a fair rating for Cook, who showed last year that he's one of the best running backs in the league. If he had stayed healthy throughout his career, he would be deserving of a rating in the mid-90s. But given Cook's injury history, having him sixth among NFL RBs is reasonable.

It's also nice to see Pierce (91) – the Vikings' big free agent acquisition of the offseason – recognized as one of the best nose tackles in the league.

Rudolph (84) is the only player of those ten who is arguably overrated.

The Bad: Lots of Underrated Players, Including Trio on Defense

While Madden 21 got a few things right when it comes to the Vikings' top players, they got more things wrong. The most ridiculous and disrespectful is having Hunter rated as an 89 and outside of the top ten pass rushers in the league.

With 29 sacks over the past two years, Hunter trails only Aaron Donald and Chandler Jones. He's one of the best and most physically dominant edge rushers in the NFL. Hunter should be a 95, minimum.

Also bad are the ratings for Kendricks (89) and Harris (83), who were the second-best linebacker and the best safety in the league last year according to PFF, respectively. Kendricks is the most versatile linebacker in the NFL and should be at least a 92 or 93. Harris has proved over the past two seasons that he's one of the best coverage safeties in the league. He should be at least in the upper 80s, if not higher.

On offense, the rankings of Thielen (90) and Cousins (82) jump out. It seems like Thielen has been a forgotten man recently in the discussion of the top receivers in the league. Yes, he missed last season, but prior to that he was indisputably a top-five receiver in the league across 2017 and 2018. Now he's not even being considered in anyone's top ten, including Madden's.

A 90 rating for Thielen isn't horrible given that he's coming off an injury and will be turning 30 this year, but if he stays healthy, he should once again prove that he's worthy of at least a 93 or 94.

It's interesting to see Diggs clock in at seventh with a 92 rating. Would he be that high if he was still a Viking and not on the Bills?

Cousins, meanwhile, should be higher than an 82. He was fourth in passer rating last season and sixth in PFF grade. Cousins has some limitations, but he should be in the 84-85 range and in towards the back end of the top ten QBs in the league.

Vikings' team rating is...20th?

Looking past player ratings to the Vikings' team rating as a whole...what? The Vikings are an 80 overall, which ranks 20th out of 32 teams. Madden gave them an 80 offense and an 81 defense.

Somehow the Bears are 11th, although they're just an 81. All of the team ratings seem more cramped together than usual, with the range going from just 85 (Saints) to 76 (Dolphins). 

The Vikings lost some pieces this offseason, but had a great draft and are consistently ranked in the 12 to 14 range in power rankings.

Check out all of our Vikings 2020 season preview content right here.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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