Denver Broncos: Von Miller’s Madden 21 ratings are respectable

Madden 21 released Denver Broncos OLB Von Miller’s ratings. Let’s take a look at them.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller just missed out on being a member of the 99 Club in Madden 21.

Despite his previous dominance as a pass rusher, Madden gave him an overall rating of 97. That is not bad at all, but fans of both the video game and the Broncos would like to have seen him with the highest rating possible.

So what are the specifics?

Tackling: 93

This is a fair rating. Miller had 46 tackles last season, and as sacks do count as a tackle, that plays a factor. As will be mentioned later, Miller dropped into coverage more than he did in prior seasons.

Speed: 87

Well, we know that Miller is fast. Just how fast is he? At 31-years old, people have said that he has lost a step. While that may be true, we have to remember what the scheme was that Vic Fangio brought to the Broncos. Miller dropped into coverage more than he ever had before.

Players do tend to lose a step once they cross 30-years old. That didn’t necessarily happen with Miller despite his drop in sacks, but people don’t always realize that.

Maybe part of Madden’s thinking toward Miller’s speed rating is the fact that he only blitzed the quarterback 52 times last season, compared to 2018 when that total was 88 times.

Awareness: 98

Awareness is the biggest factor in raising an overall rating in the Madden video game. It seems as if the overall of a player goes up a point for every two to three awareness bump ups.

Miller always knows what’s going on on the field and very rarely is the sole reason for something that goes wrong on the defensive side of the ball. I think that one of the reasons why he is not rated 99 in the category is maybe because of the newer defensive scheme.

Even still, why not give him a 99, Madden? C’mon now.

Coverage Ratings are disappointing

Madden did not provide Miller with high coverage grades despite his increase in that phase of the game in 2019. For Man coverage, they gave him a 46 overall, while giving him a 57 overall in Zone coverage.

He allowed all four of the targets his way to be completed in 2019. That is not a lot of targets at all.

It will be interesting to see if Fangio continues to drop Miller into coverage again and again in 2020 and future seasons. But for the overall coverage ratings, it is clear that Miller has to be better.

Finesse and Power moves are solid

Miller has been dominant when it comes to making offensive linemen look like fools. He has certain ways of getting through them with ease.

That’s where finesse and power moves come in.

For finesse, Madden has given Miller a 90 overall, while his power moves are quite a bit better at 94 overall.

He has also helped fellow pass rushers get better at their technique by holding a pass rush summit. You don’t do that unless you are exceptionally good at your job.

Block Shedding: 94

Another important thing as a pass rusher is how well you get off blocks from offensive linemen/tight ends. It is not very often that Miller is held up by offensive linemen. He just has his ways of getting through them into the backfield to sack quarterbacks or to stop runs.

Final thoughts

In the end, I’m not too disappointed by Miller’s overall ratings. They are very respectable. Hopefully he can find his way into the 99 Club throughout the season, as ratings are updated.

It will be interesting to see what is asked of Miller in 2020. Will there be more of the same as far as dropping into coverage? Or will Vic Fangio realize that Miller’s best game is when he’s attacking the quarterback?

That may be a big factor in whether or not he can achieve a rating of 99 later on in the Madden 21 video game.

It is also cool to see that Miller is the second-highest rated player from the AFC West. The overall highest-player is, yeah you guessed it… Patrick Mahomes.