Seattle Seahawks: Breaking down Madden 19 player ratings

The Madden 19 player ratings were officially released and the Seattle Seahawks had a very good turnout for a rebuilding team.

The Madden 19 player ratings have been released and we’ve all gotten the chance to react to the egregious or acceptable decisions the game’s creators have made.

In the game, the Seattle Seahawks possess a top heavy roster with very little depth. A hand full of players rank amongst the tops in their positions, but the ratings drop off sharply after a dozen players or so.

Let’s look at the tiers of players and go through the roster.

Players in the 90s

Bobby Wagner, a player who will compete for the Defensive Player of the Year award annually, leads the Seahawks with the highest rating. He came in just two points short of a top grade, being rated as a 97 overall. To put his high ranking in perspective, only seven players got the top grade of a 99. Three of those players are defenders. They are: Aaron Donald, Luke Kuechly, and Von Miller.

Wagner is in the conversation to join that group before the end of the 2018 season. Kuechly is the only middle linebacker who received a higher rating than Wagner and the next highest rated player at the position is just a 90 overall. That puts Kuechly and Wagner head and shoulders above their contemporaries.

Four other Seahawks also managed to score in the 90s. Doug Baldwin, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, and Russell Wilson all join Wagner as the top ranked talents on the team. Thomas finishes second behind Wagner with a 95 overall. The rating is fitting considering he’s one of the best safeties in the league and has been for many years.

Wilson trails his two defensive teammates with a grade of 92. The score acknowledges Wilson’s great skills and puts him in the top tier of quarterbacks in the game. Only Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, both 99 overalls, have higher ratings at the quarterback position.

Baldwin (90) is tied for the eighth highest ranking for a wide receiver and Chancellor (90) is tied for the fifth highest ranking for a strong safety. Chancellor may never play in an NFL game again, but he has yet to officially retire, despite strong hints that he has excepted the end of his career. Because he hasn’t retired he’ll remain in the game, which seems fitting.

Players in the 80s

The ratings up to this point agree with the article I recently published about the top 10 Seahawks entering the 2018 season. The two continue in harmony with the sixth highest rated player on the Seahawks, K.J. Wright. However, Wright is only an 83 overall, which is a steep drop from where Baldwin and Chancellor are. His rating ties him for the ninth highest rated right outside linebacker in the game.

From here the Madden ratings and my own diverge. Tyler Lockett‘s overall rating is 82. That puts the speedy receiver all the way down at 47th best in his position group, tied with eight other players for the spot. Duane Brown, Frank Clark, Sebastian Janikowski, and Brandon Marshall are all 81 overalls. Out of these players, Janikowski has the highest rank for his position. He’s tied for the seventh highest rated kicker in the game.

The only other player with an 80 or higher rating is Shaquill Griffin (80). That ties him for the 41st spot among all cornerbacks. I think he’s a great candidate to improve his rating as the year goes on. After all, this is just his second year in the league.

Ratings worth noting

Rookie running back Rashaad Penny (76) is not the highest rated running back on the Seahawks. That honor belongs to J.D. McKissic (77). Chris Carson (75), Mike Davis (73), and C.J. Prosise (71) aren’t that far behind either. If this tells us anything, it’s that the people making the rankings also don’t know who will rule the Seahawks backfield in 2018.

Next: NFL 2018: Each team's best offseason move

After Brown, Justin Britt (78) is the next highest rated player on the offensive line. Only three of the linemen are at a 80 overall or higher. It’s no secret that the Seahawks offensive line struggles. The Madden ratings clearly reflect the issues. The Seahawks will need to build a better front to jump back into the playoffs.