We’ve all had a chance to let the “Madden NFL 21” overall ratings for the Kansas City Chiefs marinate for a few days. The rating adjusters at EA Sports have a tough job of accurately rating every player on every team. We’re going to give them some help and let them know where they went wrong with the Super Bowl champions. You can find the complete list of Chiefs’ player ratings here.
Here’s a look at six players from the Chiefs who should have better ratings in this year’s iteration of the video game:
DE Frank Clark
The disrespect that Clark gets is rampant, so it’s hard to blame EA for basically giving him the same rating he had in “Madden NFL 20.” It just feels like people only recall the first half of the season when Clark was playing with a neck injury. Down the stretch, Clark established himself as a finisher for the Chiefs’ defense. From Week 14 on through the postseason he only had a single game where he didn’t record a sack.
One individual rating that I find absolutely abysmal here is Clark’s block shedding. Clark has a 66 block shed rating in “Madden NFL 21” and it feels contrarian. He’s one of the best defenders in the league at setting the edge in the run game and shedding defenders to get to the ball. Even when rushing the passer, Clark does a good job of getting off blockers. If he can’t he simply uses his power to go right through them.
His finesse move, which has an 80 rating, could also use some love. Recall the fake spin move in the AFC title game? If that’s not considered elite finesse, I don’t know what is.
LT Eric Fisher
I know that the former No. 1 overall pick hasn’t lived up to the expectations that many people have of what a No. 1 overall pick should play like. A 74 overall rating for Fisher seems entirely too low. Look to the contrast from last season when Fisher was injured and Cameron Erving was in as his replacement. That alone is a reminder of just how good Fisher is.
Let’s also remember that in eight regular-season games last season, Fisher was only credited with a single sack. He might not be perfect, but he’s deserving of a much better overall rating. He should be at minimum a 79 overall, just on the cusp of being what the Madden community considers an elite player.
CB Bashaud Breeland
The cornerbacks in general in Kansas City haven’t seen much love from the Madden developers this year. Contrary to popular belief Breeland is one of the better cornerbacks in the league. Our friends over at Touchdown Wire even recently named Breeland one of the best outside cornerbacks in the NFL heading into the 2020 season.
I take issue with Breeland’s man coverage rating which is 71 overall and his pursuit rating which is 66. Flashback to the Patriots game, playing in Foxboro, against a legendary duo in Tom Brady and Julian Edelman. Breeland is in man coverage in the red zone against Edelman with the game on the line. He doesn’t get a jab on Edelman at the line of scrimmage and pursues in close man coverage. He knocks the ball down for an incomplete and ices the game for Kansas City.
It’s too bad they don’t have a rating to reflect the ice in Breeland’s veins because that play was cold.
RB Damien Williams
Maybe it’s the doubt shadowing the running back position with the Chiefs’ decision to draft Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but 83 overall seems too low for Williams. Even a two-point jump would have me feeling a lot better about how he’s represented in the game.
Sure his 2019 season wasn’t great, but he had one of the best postseasons by a running back in a long time. His performance in Super Bowl LIV was breathtaking. In fact, go look at where he ranks in NFL history in postseason touchdowns scored and he has more than several Hall of Famers already.
A few of the ratings that could use some love for Williams are his catching (72), pass block rating (61), and his stiff-arm rating (74). Those all don’t feel like accurate representations when we’re talking about this running back.
K Harrison Butker
Butker’s rating simply just isn’t reflective of how good he is and how good he’s been throughout his NFL career. He is coming off a 2019 season where he converted 34-of-38 field goals and 45-of-48 PATs. At 89.7 percent, Butker’s career field goal percentage ranks as the second-best in NFL history.
I think they could easily give his kick accuracy rating a little love, it’s currently listed at 86. His kick power rating, 95, seems accurate, but then you see Butker nailing a 77-yard field goal this summer during offseason training. It makes you wonder if he won’t one day own the NFL’s distance record, especially playing in the AFC West and traveling to Denver once a year.
Plainly, Butker should have an 86 overall rating, just behind Justin Tucker as the second-best kicker in the game. Anything less is doing him and the entire rating system a disservice.
S Daniel Sorensen
Sorensen has a 71 overall rating in “Madden NFL 21.” It’s hard to get too upset about it. Not many third safeties are going to get ratings higher than that in this game. Two ratings stand out to me as a problem, though.
First, his play recognition rating of 78 feels like it’s a blatant disregard of his game-changing play in the 2019 playoffs. He sniffed out a fake punt from the Texans and got the Chiefs a huge turnover, shifting the tides in a game where the team was down by 24 points.
Second, Sorensen is known as a big hitter and his hit power is only at 76. His tackle rating is below 70. This just doesn’t feel right for a guy with the nickname, “Dirty Dan.”
