5 Madden 22 player ratings that are major head-scratchers
By Zach Cohen
4. Rob Gronkowski, TE, Buccaneers
Madden 22 rating: 86
Like Watt, Gronkowski may be on his way to a golden jacket. Also like Watt, Gronkowski isn’t the player he used to be. That was evident by multiple games of little-to-no impact; he was held to under 30 receiving yards in just three games.
Look, there’s no need to be oblivious here. Obviously stats don’t tell the full story, especially when it comes to a physical nightmare who routinely attracts more than one defender. But is Gronk really a top-10 tight end? The Madden 22 ratings say so. They give Gronk the seventh-highest rating among the position, tied with Austin Hooper (more on him in a minute). That’s ahead of T.J. Hockenson, who could’ve received his own section in this article for a low rating of 85.
Sure, that may be nitpicking, but I doubt anyone views Gronk as one of the best tight ends in football anymore. If anything, his above-average blocking ratings are probably what’s boosting his overall rating.
3. Austin Hooper, TE, Browns
Madden 22 rating: 86
Sticking with interesting ratings for tight ends, let’s talk about Hooper. He played 13 games in his first year in Cleveland, which led to 435 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Extrapolated to a full season, and Hooper would’ve had the 15th-most receiving yards and 14th-most touchdowns among tight ends. That’s not worthy of the seventh-highest rating at the position.
Again, his above-average pass block rating may have bumped his rating up a bit, though a below-average run block rating could’ve mitigated that. His rating needs to be more justifiable than that, especially since he averaged a meager 34.4 receiving yards per game. In defense of the Madden ratings brain trust, players are often gifted ratings based on their value within their respective offenses.
While Cleveland targeted their tight ends at the fifth-highest rates, I still find it hard to justify that Hooper was better than T.J. Hockenson, Mike Gesicki, Logan Thomas and Noah Fant.