The Bad
Unsurprisingly, the Eagles’ secondary is one of their lowest-rated groups. Aside from Malcolm Jenkins (92) only Ronald Darby (82) cracked the 80 mark. It’s good to see Avonte Maddox (78) get some recognition after a stellar rookie campaign, but the general consensus on the Philadelphia secondary is not good. Rodney McLeod slots in at 79 overall, and while he likely deserves to join the 80-club, a season partially lost to injury did him no favors.
Newcomer Andrew Sendejo earned a 79 after his shortened year in Minnesota, which is a fantastic rating for a third safety. In my opinion, that’s much too high — but we’ll take it! Young hopefuls Sidney Jones (76), Cre’Von LeBlanc (73) and Rasul Douglas (72) were relatively fairly rated based on available game tape. Douglas has shown more than both Jones and LeBlanc have so far in their careers, but that’s a small gripe. Then comes starting corner Jalen Mills, who was lambasted with a 74 overall. I don’t agree with Sidney Jones being a better overall corner than Mills at this point, but perhaps EA was willing to bet on potential. Late addition Blake Countess (67) has no business challenging for playing time according to Madden, but he’s much closer in talent to Sendejo than the game would have you believe.
Another name in the defensive secondary that deserved a ton more credit is Tre Sullivan. PFF’s top-ranked playoff safety was cheated. Despite the mistakes and sharp learning curve he has dealt with in his young career, a 63 is a slap in the face. He’s not a starting safety and doesn’t deserve to be graded as one, but to put him in with the likes of practice squad players and unproven mid-round rookies doesn’t sit right. Stuck behind a glut of depth at the safety position, he may not get the opportunity to prove himself — and therein lies the real shame.
The somewhat surprising position ratings in Philadelphia is their linebacking group. MLB Zach Brown tops the list at 81 overall, which in and of itself seems a tad low. He was one of PFF’s top-ranked ‘backers last season, which didn’t seem to resonate with EA, who thought of him as the 12th best at his position. It seems as if Nigel Bradham (78) was slighted. However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise as Bradham is constantly undervalued. More on exactly how terrible this rating is below.
Kamu Grugier-Hill earned a 73 overall, but I believe that’s simply because nobody outside of Philadelphia knows any better. He’s only had the opportunity to show small glimpses, but 2019-2020 will be his year to prove the doubters wrong. Paul Worrilow (70) will have to re-prove himself after a lost season. It’s only fair. Relative unknown L.J. Fort earned a 66, but the Eagles coaching staff seem to like the kid and with more opportunity may come a higher number. Overall, an average starting rating of 77.6 is much lower than expected for the Eagles’ underrated linebacking group.
The Eagles worst offensive group is their running backs. Jordan Howard‘s 80 overall is the best of the bunch, and it falls off rapidly after that. Corey Clement‘s rookie heroics from 2017 garnered him a 75. Wendell Smallwood, Josh Adams and Miles Sanders all clock out at a respectable 72. Depending on how Sanders bounces back from his offseason injuries, his rating could climb in a hurry. More on Jordan Howard’s rating below.
Some individual ratings that don’t sit well:
My heart, as well as many others around Philadelphia, broke for Derek Barnett when he suffered what would be a season-ending injury in Carolina. He was putting on a fantastic show early on in his second professional year and looked as if he was ready to build on it as the season went on. Therefore, the production might not be his biggest friend, but his skill set certainly deserves more than a 76 overall. That makes him one of the worst starting left ends in football (23rd). The position, in general, seems to have been enormously underrated outside of J.J. Watt’s ridiculous 97 overall rating, so perhaps Barnett was just lost in the shuffle. Even still, expect that 76 be on the rise early and often in the upcoming season.
Two Eagles offensive linemen got dragged through the mud in this iteration of Madden. Stefen Wisniewski and Halapoulivaati Vaiti (both 66) were undoubtedly hoping for better numbers from EA. Wis is getting older, but has been nothing but dependable in his time in Philly. He may not have the tangibles of a younger guard, but he is every bit as technically sound and tenacious. A high 60 to low 70 seems more reasonable. Big V has had a roller-coaster of a career so far, showcasing both the highs and lows of his talent. At his best he is a starting calibre left tackle, just pop in the 2018 tape. A 66 seems much more geared towards the low end of his production. It is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and Vaiti looks to have been on the harsh receiving end.
Continued on the page below.
