EA Sports continues their ratings reveal for the top 5 players by position and today they revealed the wide receivers. The top 5 are as follows:
1. Antonio Brown : 97 overall - includes 99 Catch rating and 99 Route Running. Brown shown in 2014 he was an elite talent by leading the league in both catches and receiving yards, earning him the top rank in Madden 16.
2. Dez Bryant: 96 Overall - Includes 98 rating for Catching, Jumping, and Spectacular Catch. Dez moves up from #5 last year after a fantastic 2014 campaign which saw him catch 16 touchdowns and become a dominant force in the Redzone.
3. Calvin Johnson: 95 Overall- Includes 98 Release, 97 Catching, and 98 Spectacular Catch. Megatron had a down season due to nagging injuries, but he still is an elite talent and force to be reckoned with.
4. Odell Beckham Jr: 94 Overall - Includes 99 Spectacular Catch, 97 Catch, and 97 Route Running. Beckham Jr. had a fantastic rookie campaign that saw him lead all rookies in catches and yards as well as make some of the top highlight reel catches the league has seen in a long time.
5. Julio Jones: 94 Overall - Includes 97 Spectacular Catch as well as 94 rating in Catch, Catch in Traffic and Agility. Julio has been consistent and has improved every single year he's been in the league. He's a rare athlete with size, speed, and intelligence.
Compared to last years top 5, which included Calvin Johnson (99), Brandon Marshall (96), Andre Johnson (95), A.J. Green (95), and Dez Bryant (94), we've had a quite a few changes. After an injury plagued year, Marshall has dropped out of the top 5 as well as Andre Johnson, who saw his production drop from 2013. Calvin Johnson missed 3 games and saw his production drop to its lowest since 2009. A.J. Green also saw a significant drop in stats as he had his worst season since his rookie year. Dez Byrant, on the other hand, had a fantastic year, with his new ratings now reflecting that as he has jumped up to number 2 overall
One noticeable change in ratings this year, is the focus on position specific traits like Catch in Traffic and Route Running, as opposed to Speed being the end all be all rating that determines how great a receiver could be. Has Madden finally been able to make real life elite players, actually elite in their game? Time will only tell with the new and improved passing game. Keep tuned here at TechRaptor as we dive into more ratings as well as look at what this could mean come August 25th.
