Madden NFL 15 Ratings Revealed: Broncos Best in AFC, Still Underrated

The Madden NFL 15 video game official player ratings have been released, and as you might expect, they are mostly terrible.

The Broncos are the best team on the game in the AFC, but there are some very questionable rankings as a whole. The first problem here is the fact that Manning is not a 99 overall, but that’s not a terribly big deal, just kind of stupid in general.

What exactly has his ranking not perfect? I’m very confused about that, but perhaps it’s the fact that cover boy Richard Sherman so wisely pointed out that Manning throws ducks…

Demaryius Thomas is only 93 overall and wasn’t in the game’s top five for receivers. Again, a horrible mis-step.

Von Miller was given 88 speed. I wonder how many other guys on the game that ran a 4.4 in the 40 were given 88 speed…

Chris Harris Jr. is an 85 overall. He’s arguably the best slot receiver in the game today, and was given a mediocre player’s rating. I don’t understand what football the person who decides this watches, but clearly they didn’t see much of Harris.

On the plus side, these are the best graphics updates I’ve seen for Madden in years. I haven’t played this video game a lot since Drew Brees was on the cover, but having a child and all this blogging will do that. I’m sure the game play has considerably improved as well, but whoever does the rankings (rumored to be a Raiders fan) clearly doesn’t have it all figured out.

When I had the game, I would jack up the player ratings to what I felt they should be, making the Broncos into the powerhouse I knew they should be. Here’s how EA Sports defends their rankings:

"How can the Broncos possibly improve an offense that shattered records in 2013? Five-time MVP is back as the top-rated quarterack in Madden 15. Despite the loss of Eric Decker in free agency, the Broncos still have an embarrasment of pass-catching riches in DeMaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas and newly acquired Emmanuel Sanders. On the ground, the Broncos must get improvements from Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman to account for the loss of Knowshon Moreno.After being shredded by Russell Wilson and Co. in Super Bowl XLVIII, the Broncos addressed the defensive side of the ball by bringing in veterans DeMarcus Ware (90 OVR) and Aqib Talib (90 OVR) to help shore up the pass rush and secondary respectively. In the trenches, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton (88 OVR) was dominant in Denver’s run to the AFC Championship."

I still don’t really understand some of the rankings on this list. You can view the full Broncos’ roster with the pictures below.