Top Five 'Next-Gen' Madden Rookies

Feature Article

Submitted on: 05/19/2011 by Dustin Toms

5. JaMarcus Russell

Team: Oakland Raiders
Madden Rookie Debut: Madden 08, 82 rating
Most Recent Madden Sighting: Madden 11, 62 rating

When the Raiders finally opted to secure their quarterback of the future, they chose Russell. JaMarcus had the tools to be a great player. He had the arm, the accuracy was close, and the athletic ability was there. That’s what Madden developers saw when they created him for his rookie season.

At least JaMarcus got paid before a potential rookie slotting system.

Oakland was not that great of a team, but throw to a wideout running a post route, and Russell was sure to hit the speeding wide receiver. However, now you're more likely to see Russell in a Robitussin commercial than you are to see him on a football field.

4. Adrian Peterson

Team: Minnesota Vikings
Madden Rookie Debut: Madden 08, 85 rating
Most Recent Madden Sighting: Madden 11, 98 rating

What is your team’s best scenario in the NFL Draft? You draft a sleeper in the seventh round (Marques Colston) or land Peyton Manning? How about landing Adrian Peterson with the seventh pick? Seems like a solid prize for not getting the top pick.

Brett Favre tries to steal Peterson's spotlight even in images.

Peterson was an absolute beast in Madden 08. His 85 rating was the highest given to a rookie running back, and his skill set was unmatched by any other. His speed and agility matched his trucking, which made for a very dangerous player. Not to mention his rating skyrocketed the next couple years in your franchise into what he really is today.

In Madden 11, he shipped as a 99-rated player, one of just six in the game’s initial released rosters.

3. Alex Smith

Team: San Francisco 49ers
Madden Rookie Debut: Madden 06, 82 rating
Most Recent Madden Sighting: Madden 11, 76 rating

So Aaron Rodgers won a Super Bowl. Who cares that he is rated over 90 in Madden now. Everyone believed that Alex Smith was the next big thing, including everyone over at EA Sports.

For whatever reason, I don't think Aaron Rodgers will mind that he didn't make the list.

Smith came into the NFL virtual world with a nice little 82 rating with some solid mobility for a quarterback. His skills in Madden were reminiscent of what you would see Steve Young do back in the day or on YouTube.

Unfortunately, Smith’s rookie of the year performance in Madden didn’t relate to the real world. He is still stuck in translation in the NFL after signing a one-year deal with the Niners. He has one more shot to become the legend that Madden once thought he would become.

2. Calvin Johnson

Team: Detroit Lions
Madden Rookie Debut: Madden 08, 87 rating
Most Recent Madden Sighting: Madden 11, 93 rating

Did you expect the highest ever rated rookie to top these rankings? Well if you did, obviously you’re wrong. Calvin Johnson became the fourth wideout that Detroit took with a top ten choice. It was a highly criticized move, but it turned out to be a great choice in the end.

Johnson brought an intriguing mix of size and speed to the Madden nation. Plus the ridiculous rating of 87 really brought up his value to any Madden lover. His route running was superb, his catching was better than Randy Moss. He was the ultimate weapon -- if he was on the right team.

He was good then, he's still good now.

Johnson was terrible if used on the Lions. He had no quarterback to get him the ball, so of course he flourished on a team with a decent quarterback and great offensive line. Sure trading away an 87-rated rookie is against the laws of franchise realism, but it happens every year.

Perhaps that kept him from being number one.

1. Vince Young

Team: Tennessee Titans
Madden Rookie Debut: Madden 07, 82 rating
Most Recent Madden Sighting: Madden 11, 82 rating

Go ahead and call me a homer, but everyone knows how damn good Vince Young was in his Madden debut. He was the next best thing with Michael Vick on the Falcons, except he was bigger and wouldn’t fumble all the damn time.

Question marks still remain around Vince's future.

Young came into the NFL with all the popularity in the world, so many franchise goers went and traded for him right off the bat. The Texas quarterback had it all in the Madden world. I will always commend EA for somehow bringing Young’s freakish athleticism into a video game world.

Speed is what set Young apart from everyone else on the list. The guy had an 89 speed rating as a rookie quarterback. Pull that right trigger and you had an easy first down. Third and short? No problem. Young would truck through the defense like it was a piece of cake.

Of course, every rookie has problems, and Young’s were very apparent in Madden. His accuracy was awful when he was running around in the pocket. But his deep pass would sail across the whole field. So in the end, his pass ratings sort of balanced out

Oh, and did I mention his crazy speed?

Final Thoughts

This list may be a little off, mainly because the Madden 08 crew decided to give everyone a rating over 80 (even Young was an 88 by then). But regardless, these five rookies in Madden were officially evil.

Who do you think will be the best rookie in Madden 12?

Dustin Toms is a staff writer at Operation Sports, specializing in basketball games. Born and raised in Washington state, he has made his life goal to personally see to David Stern's firing after the Seattle SuperSonics were relocated. Follow him on Twitter @DustinToms_OS.

Madden NFL 12 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 Broncos86 @ 05/19/11 04:00 PM

In Madden, any rookie with a 98+ speed was a god send. I didn't care about their AWR or anything else, usually. If the RB/WR/CB/LB/Safety had speed, I was good to go. Fumbling was a bit of an issue, but I usually turned Tatum Bell into a 1400 yard rusher because he was quick enough.

That being said, I've seen some wicked videos of Tim Tebow from M11 going 60 yards on a scramble after breaking 6 tackles, etc. (Don't look at my avatar!)

# 2 TLF @ 05/19/11 04:40 PM

yea i knew from the get go that Megatron was gonna own because he is a Jump ball nightmare at 6'4-6'5 and weighs 235-240 pounds and runs a 4.3

and has mad hops and YAC abiltity

but Alex Smith idk i didnt expect much outta a Utah QB since this is waaay before the Spread was in the NFL

# 3 sniperhare @ 05/19/11 04:49 PM

What about the jump from MJD? They didn't even get his name right when he was a rookie and he had like a 70 OVR rating. Now he's one of the top RB's in the game.

# 4 Imaking332 @ 05/19/11 06:01 PM

I believe Reggie Bush was the highest rated runningback and tied for highest at 87, and I would put him #2 on this list.

# 5 89OneHanded @ 05/19/11 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaySmooov


	Best rookie in Madden 12: A.J Green. If not him, Julio Jones. Marcell Dareus would be the third best, and Von Miller probably has an outside shot at being in the top 3.

I disagree. IMO Patrick Peterson should be the best rated rookie, then AJ, then Dareus.

# 6 over9000yards @ 05/19/11 09:16 PM

Cam Newton will be the best rated rookie, coming in at probably an 82-86 OVR rating, good pass accuracy, not to mention high speed, acceleration, trucking, and carrying.

# 7 ConnSKINS26 @ 05/19/11 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by over9000yards


	Cam Newton will be the best rated rookie, coming in at probably an 82-86 OVR rating, good pass accuracy, not to mention high speed, acceleration, trucking, and carrying.

Its already been confirmed that Patrick Peterson is the highest rated rookie at an 82.

# 8 xITSxDAWKINSx @ 05/19/11 10:03 PM

peterson and then i would think aj green. i wouldnt be shocked if it was von miller playing in that james harrison role. cam newton should be 75. he was so much bigger then everyone in college so in year one i think 75 is where he should be. he is just not that good as a passer in my eyes

# 9 FedExPope @ 05/19/11 10:52 PM

PP7 is number 1, but in the top 5 will be A.J. Green, mayyybe Julio Jones...Darius no doubt, and Fairley has a shot I think.

# 10 WFColonel56 @ 05/19/11 11:04 PM

Bush should have been on that list.....Alex Smith shouldnt and russell was a reach

# 11 WFColonel56 @ 05/19/11 11:05 PM

julio jones proved that he could light PP7 up...he should be rewarded for his 2010 performance vs LSU.

# 12 stlstudios189 @ 05/19/11 11:39 PM

what was Bush's rookie year? was it next gen.

# 13 BaylorBearBryant @ 05/20/11 12:27 AM

Well it was the same as VY's, so ya.

# 14 PGaither84 @ 05/20/11 06:03 PM

It is obvious the article writer never used the 49ers.

Alex Smith came into the game with 87THP and 86THA and 73 Speed. How does that make this list at all, let alone above J. Russ?

Next, what about Vernon Davis? His OVR rating was intentionally manipulated by keeping his Run blocking rating a 52. If you only raise it up to a messily 68 or so, his overall rating shoots through the roof to nearly a 99. This is because he has "all the tools" to be great. It wasn't until he caught 13 TDs two year ago that EA decided to stop manipulating his ratings to keep his OVR low.

There are countless examples of ratings manipulation to alter someone's OVR rating. For example, Haloti Ngata has around 68 or so finesse moves. He is a great player and deserves his 98 or 99 OVR rating, but if you reduce that Finesse moves rating [which doesn't matter for a bull rusher] to a low 52 rating, like Vernon Davis's run blocking was, then Ngata's overall rating plummets to somewhere between 89-92.

The OVR rating is a joke. Unfortunately player's "true ratings" are inflated or deflated in the game in order to manipulate their OVR.

# 15 GoC Brian @ 05/20/11 07:53 PM

Its gotta come down to the fact a guy like Davis HAD all the physical tools but wasn't putting it together. If he his the physical tools in madden, it can't simulate him just not "putting it together". That's just how Madden's made.

What I would LOVE to see them do is do away with the shown Overall Number and instead keep their Physical attributes high and drastically lower all skill attributes (IE: Pass Blocking and Run Blocking for OL, Bull and Finese moves for DL, etc. etc) so the top players are in the 80's or so and mid-rangers are in 60's or 70's. 90's obviously for eventual/potential HOF players. This way instead of having to edit a guy like Cribbs' speed to up his overall (that's how they made him so much better the year he really went off as a returner) you can just up his other attributes and he'd have his speed.

The problem then is they'd have to find a way to make Physical attributes be secondary to skill attributes.

# 16 PGaither84 @ 05/20/11 08:40 PM

Firstly, In real life Davis missed a good portion of his rookie year. Secondly, his real weakness was two fold:

1.) Attitude. Until Sing put him in his place, he played with a bad attitude. there is no stat for that. Video game Vernon Davis is a beast, always has been. As I said, his only in-game weakness was his vastly underrated 52 run blocking. As a weapon, he was one of the best you could have on your team.

2.) Route running. Davis had a hard time finding a hole in the one and sitting in it. In a video game, that doesn't matter.

My point is that not a lot of people used/knew about how good Vernon Davis was in Madden 07. It didn't help that his OVR rating was manipulated to keep it lower. You can't cover davis in Man in Madden with a linebacker thanks to his 92 speed and 96 acceleration [madden 07.] Also, he was very hard to tackle in that game as well. His large frame and 97 or so jumping ability also helped.

If any of you have madden 07, PS3 of PS2 era, try him out. Also, try him out with a good QB. Flag routes and Texas plays are where he can really tear a defense up. So many times have I droped a 15+ yard pass out to VD and either watch him run away for the score, or truck stick right through a corner/safety/both.

In real life, the 49ers and Alex hardly threw his way last year. For some reason they thew the ball to Ginn a LOT. There is a reason why a some people lost their jobs.

# 17 CarryTheWeight @ 05/20/11 08:43 PM

On the topic of rookies playing better in Madden than in real life, I have to bring up the Bills' Aaron Maybin. Just a dominant edge rusher in Madden 10. I was in the backfield on nearly every down...tackling for losses, forcing incompletions or sacking the quarterback. Aaron's speed and finesse-move ratings were off the charts. As Bills training camp ended that year, I was excited to see how he'd perform in real life. No such luck.

Madden 11 eventually saw Maybin's overall rating drop nearly ten points due to his barely-there performance in 2010. I expect it to drop even more in Madden 12 after another year on the bench. Despite that, he's still a pretty good player in 11, and he usually tends to progress very well in Franchise mode. To think Maybin eventually led the league in sacks in both my Madden 10 and 11 franchises blows my mind.

On a similar note, the woefully disappointing Brian Brohm progressed to a 99 OVR rating and overtook Aaron Rodgers for the Green Bay starting job in a (original Xbox) Madden 09 franchise. Only in videogames, I guess...

# 18 PrettyBoyTroy @ 05/20/11 10:09 PM

Patrick Peterson

# 19 freekbird @ 05/20/11 10:17 PM

While I agree that Peterson should be the highest rated rookie, he will not be the best to play with. For kind of the same reason he wasnt the first pick....how much impact does one corner really have on a game? Apart from using him in the return game you can just throw to the other side.

I think Newton will be the guy everyone uses in madden, for the same reasons that Vince Young was. Size, speed and a solid arm add up to a dominant madden player, regardless of real life intangibles....hes sort of the Calvin Johnson of QBs haha.

# 20 scottyo60 @ 05/21/11 01:01 PM

does anyone know what madden that vince young came from?

« Previous12 Next »

More Links