2 Lions Players Said to Rate ‘Criminally Low’ on Madden 21

Matthew Stafford

Getty Matthew Stafford looks dejected after a Lions loss to Minnesota.

The Detroit Lions received their Madden 21 rankings, and the team didn’t exactly get elite marks from the video game when it came to the player ratings for this coming season.

None of Detroit’s best players cracked a 90 rating in the game this year, and to some, that wasn’t a good thing. Recently, Stadium revealed a list of players on Twitter with their rankings that they believe to be “criminally low.” A pair of Lions made the list in quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wideout Kenny Golladay.

Here’s a look:

At an 86 rating, Golladay was the highest rated member of the team. It seems odd that Stafford, 83, wasn’t rated higher or at least on par with his top wideout. Stafford did have one of the highest rated arm strengths in the game, but his overall talent is much more than he gets credit for in these ratings.

The Lions not having a single player in the 90s was a major surprise, but it’s the hand they’ve been dealt heading into 2020. It won’t matter much to the players of course, but it’s still a nice bit of motivation heading into a season where the team needs to make some noise.


Lions Madden 21 Ratings Revealed

Finally, the team has seen the reveal of the new rankings for the year on the field. This season, Detroit doesn’t have the depth of players who have been rated to be elite. They’ve got some quality above average players. Nobody was over a 90 overall, but the team did have their fair share of players hovering around the high 80s.

Here’s how the rankings shape up for some big name players courtesy of MaddenSchool.com:

Kenny Golladay – 86

Trey Flowers – 86

Marvin Jones Jr. – 85

Justin Coleman – 85

Desmond Trufant – 84

Matthew Stafford – 83

Jamie Collins – 83

Frank Ragnow – 83

Kerryon Johnson – 82

Matt Prater – 81

The biggest snub from the Detroit perspective? Obviously Matthew Stafford, who figures to be much better than a mere 83 rating. Regardless, Stafford still had one of the best arm strength ratings in the game. Golladay also could be a bit better than an 86 given the season he had on the field last year.

Regardless, the Lions will be a team made up of mostly talents in the 80s this season in the video game.


Lions Rookie Receives Low Madden 21 Rating

Cephus didn’t crack above a 70 rating for the game, only scoring a 67 overall. That was well down the list of players who were drafted at his position.

For a late round draft pick, most of these numbers aren’t bad, but Cephus is rated a little low overall considering some of his other numbers. Perhaps the worst miss by Madden is the fact that Cephus has a 68 strength rating. The wideout did 23 reps at the NFL Combine, one of the best numbers by a wideout in history. Surely that should lead to a much better number, but not in this case.

Regardless, Cephus will now get the chance to prove these numbers are a mistake on the field. If he plays better than this in 2020, it’s more than possible Cephus moves up in the rankings as a result.

For now, though, Cephus could be a potential steal for folks playing Madden and looking for a young wideout that might be easy to grab.


Kenny Golladay Madden 21 Gameplay Video

Following the reveal of the Madden 21 trailer, the Lions Twitter account provided a look at wideout Kenny Golladay playing in the game. The video shows Golladay snagging a one handed catch in the game over the Packers, Detroit’s major rival. Here’s a look:

Obviously, Golladay has proven himself the master of the contested catch when playing real football, so it should come as no surprise that he can do the same things in Madden with great ease.

Now the only thing for gamers to ponder will be how best to use the phenom wide receiver.

Madden 21 is officially scheduled to hit stores August 25, 2020. At that point, Lions fans can go to work getting their team over the virtual hump while putting these ratings to the test and potentially making the players look better than the game thinks.

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