Denver Broncos: Madden 20 ratings remind us of important things

This year’s Madden ratings are infuriating, but they helped remind us of important things regarding the players they are rating, including Denver Broncos.

Every year, Madden video game ratings are good for just about nothing except getting everyone riled up.

Everyone has an opinion about what the ratings should be or what they will be once they get to manually edit the players, and every year, the ratings are highly disputable.

We’ve already gotten mad about the weird ratings rookies on the team were given. We’ve already made our case for Von Miller as a 99 overall snub.

Therefore, there’s just no point in getting upset anymore. We’re going to find some of the good in this year’s Madden ratings, because what’s good is ultimately the most important thing, in my opinion.

Even looking at that graphic could inspire rage, but I clicked on the link anyway and found out some interesting things as a result.

Although it’s maddening (pun intended) that Phillip Lindsay — who ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash — has just a 93 speed, I noticed that Madden gave cornerback Bryce Callahan, one of the team’s top 2019 free agent pickups, a 93 speed as well.

I figured he must have run in the low 4.4s but I had never really thought about his pre-draft metrics because he’s already proven on the field. It’s only when guys are unproven that I dig up their pre-draft metrics to see what they have to bring to the table, and as it turns out, Bryce Callahan is a freak athlete.

I was completely unaware of this.

At his pre-draft pro day in 2015, Callahan ran a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash, which makes it almost inexplicable that he would have the same speed rating as Phillip Lindsay (even if it’s not entirely based on 40-time), but also is a fun number to know.

I figured Callahan went undrafted because of a combination of his smaller stature as well as a bit of underwhelming athleticism based on how well he plays the game.

Sometimes measurables and tape don’t match up, so I wrongly assumed teams didn’t like Callahan for a lack of athleticism and size rather than just his lack of size.

As it turns out, Callahan is probably one of the most freakish all-around athletes on the team. Here are some highlights from his pro day:

40-yard dash: 4.47
Vertical jump: 43 inches
Broad jump: 11-feet
Bench press: 15 reps of 225 pounds (Callahan weighs 183)

Callahan’s combination of speed and explosiveness is absolutely outstanding. A 43-inch vertical jump is crazy for anyone, much less a 5-foot-9 cornerback.

Also, Madden must really like Bug Howard.

Although Howard only has a 63 overall rating in the game, he was given the Broncos’ second-highest ‘catch’ rating at 84 and was given the third-highest ‘spectacular catch’ rating at 85.

Howard is a wide receiver/tight end combo player who most recently played with the Atlanta Legends in the AAF. He will be a fun player to watch in training camp this week.

You can check out the full list of Broncos player ratings for Madden here. Do yourself a favor and look for things you like, because there are too many things to hate.