Getty Cleveland Browns place kicker Austin Seibert
Madden ratings will always draw a reaction from players and rookies are no different.
The Browns tried to ease the news on rookie kicker Austin Seibert that he was among the lowest rated in the game by having follow specialist, punter Britton Colquitt, deliver the news. It didn’t help.
Seibert, who was a fifth-round pick of the Browns, braced himself for the rating and shot low, guessing a 69. It turned out to be a 66. He wasn’t crushed, but the reveal took a hilarious turn once the duo started diving into his peripheral stats like speed and tackling.
First came his speed, which he guessed 80. His evidence was a “pretty fast” 40-yard dash time, which he estimated was around the 5.0 second mark. He was rated 68 — ouch.
Next was his tackling, which he seemed extra jazzed about. Seibert jokingly dubbed himself a “headhunter,” having made a handful of tackles during his time at Oklahoma. His estimate was an 78 — much higher than a lot of defensive players in the game, including Browns rookie corner Greedy Williams. Turns out he got pretty much the lowest rating a player can get with a 25.
He did get some love with his kicking ranks, which is what he should be known for. Seibert’s kick power was 91.
“A little generous for a rookie,” Colquitt said with a shade of disdain.
Seibert has a chance to wrangle the starting kicking job this season. Greg Joseph took over for Zane Gonzalez last year and is currently holding down the starting role. He hit 17 of 20 field goals as the starter, but yanked some PATs wide, going just 25 of 29.
Being a mid-round pick, Seibert could be given the reins if he can show some potential.
Best of the Rest: Browns Madden Rookie Ratings
As far as other Browns rookie ranks, Williams — the No. 46 pick in the draft — is the 25th ranked rookie at 73 overall, further evidence of that the Cleveland Browns found a second round gem in the corner out of LSU.
Williams is the second-highest ranked corner behind Arizona’s Byron Murphy, who is ranked 75 overall and was the taken No. 33 overall in the draft. Williams is one of the fastest rookies in the game, with a speed rating of 93 and acceleration rank of 92. He’s behind only Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf and Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown as the fastest players in the top 25.
The LSU product was granted the best man coverage rating among rookies at 76, and his zone coverage is close behind at 71.