It’s a known fact that the New York Giants are never fairly rated in Madden. The head ratings adjustor, Dustin Smith, is a known Cowboys fan. His bias rains across the NFC East each and every year and Madden never addresses it. Much like how Madden never addresses every single bug the game has each year.
Par for the course, Madden 22 unfairly rates some of the Giants best players. Let’s talk about the 5 worst ones.
DL Leonard Williams – 84 Overall
This one is just pathetic. A year after putting together an 11.5 sack season with 62 pressures (!!) and 18 QB hits, Leonard Williams is only rated as an 84 overall. He’s finished every season of his career with at least 46 QB pressures and 4 out of his 6 seasons with at least 52 pressures. That’s excellent pass rushing production from the interior defensive line. Yet, Madden completely disrespected Williams. He’s not even a top 15 interior defensive player in the game.
CB Adoree Jackson – 81 Overall
Adoree Jackson spent much of 2020 playing injured but when he was on the field, he played well. He didn’t show any significant drop off in play compared to a very good 2019 season. Yet, Madden dropped Jackson’s rating from an 84 overall in Madden 21 to an 81 overall in Madden 22 🤔. This seems like it’s more about Jackson changing teams from the Titans to the Giants.
LB Blake Martinez – 79 Overall
Listen, we get it, Martinez and is Pokemon collection is extremely nerdy and his social media is cringey but we aren’t rating Martinez on his personality here. It’s about how good he is at football. Martinez ranked 4th in the league with 151 tackles while also ranking 3rd among LBs in STOPS (plays that stop the offense from gaining yards) with 58. He also posted solid numbers in pass coverage (63 targets, 47 RECs, 377 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, QB rating of 74.6).
So what gives? Why is Martinez ranked as the 17th MLB in the game?
HB Saquon Barkley – 90 Overall
The first three guys on this list are downright insulting. Admittedly, Barkley’s 90 overall isn’t as bad. My issue with this rating is that Barkley ranks 7th overall among RBs in the game. There aren’t 7 more talented running backs in the league. I get that Barkley has missed some time over the last 2 seasons, so lower his injury rating. The talent is still there. I mean Saquon is 5 overall points away from Dalvin Cook and 6 away from Nick Chubb, who runs through holes the size of Texas, but only 1 point ahead of Josh Jacobs. Madden thinks Saquon Barkley is closer to Josh Jacobs than Dalvin Cook. Let that sink in.
DB Logan Ryan – 83 Overall over Jabrill Peppers 81 overall
Alright, this is gonna make some of you mad. If you’re a big Logan Ryan stan go ahead and just click away now. Ryan is not an 83 overall safety. He’s certainly not better than Jabrill Peppers (81 overall). Hell, Madden gave Ryan an 82 in man coverage even though he’s allowed a QB rating of 95 or worse in each of the last 4 seasons. I mean that’s higher than Adoree Jackson. Meanwhile, Jabrill Peppers has a 78 man coverage grade, despite putting together 2 solid seasons in coverage for the Giants.
I get that a lot of Giants fans love jersey boy Logan Ryan and will hate this take but I love jersey boy (yeah Peppers is from Jersey too but gets none of the love) and better player Jabrill Peppers more. You all should too.
Featured Image: Per AlexanderJonesi