Back again to discuss the defensive tackle ratings and the ways in which my beloved Minnesota Vikings are being discriminated against with regards to Madden Ratings 🙂. I'll start off by saying I'm not saying Harrison Phillips is a better DT than Chris Jones, but there are some pretty obvious flaws with the ratings.
NFL Combine Data: (https://www.nfl.com/prospects/harrison-phillips/32005048-4921-5142-5ef5-133a36dda72f)
Harrison Phillips:
40-Yard Dash: 5.21
10-Yard Split: 1.79
Vertical Jump: 32’’
Broad Jump: 8’ 7’’
3-Cone Drill: 7.28
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.5
Bench Press: 42 Reps
Madden Ratings: (https://www.ea.com/games/madden-nfl/ratings/player-ratings/harrison-phillips/13115)
Speed: 70
Acceleration: 68
Strength: 93
Agility: 72
Change of Direction: 62
Jumping: 78
Chris Jones: (https://www.nfl.com/prospects/chris-jones/32004a4f-4e16-2595-4a1d-89da02ce049b)
40-Yard Dash: 5.03
10-Yard Split: 1.7
Vertical Jump: 24.5’’
Broad Jump: 8’ 10’’
3-Cone Drill: 7.44
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.62
Bench Press: 26 Reps
Madden Ratings: (https://www.ea.com/games/madden-nfl/ratings/player-ratings/chris-jones/17676)
Speed: 72
Acceleration: 79
Strength: 96
Agility: 74
Change of Direction: 62
Jumping: 63
Harrisson Phillips has bested Chris Jones in some pretty key categories, namely:
3-Cone Drill: 7.28 vs 7.44
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.5 vs 4.62
Bench Press: 42 Reps vs 26 Reps
And yet Chris Jones is rated higher:
Acceleration: 68 vs 79
Strength: 93 vs 96
The 20-yard shuttle probably accounts for the Change of Direction rating, where these players are both rated at 62 despite the fact that Harrison Phillips posted a much better time.
The 3-Cone Drill is often the measure for Acceleration and Agility, and we can also see that Jones has been gifted a boost in his ratings ( the 68 vs 79 ). Agility was about the same, despite Phillips' better time in the 3-cone. For Change of Direction, Jones was again gifted similar ratings to Jones despite Phillips having a better time (4.5 vs 4.62). On a side note, the 10-yard split really should be the measure of acceleration. There is a pretty big impact of rating Jones so much higher than Phillips in terms of acceleration in terms of how they perform in the game.
Then, when it comes to Strength, Chris Jones is given a rating of 96 for his 26 Reps on the bench. Harrison Phillips posted 42 reps, and was given a rating of 93. For comparison, Vita Vea has a rating of 98 for strength, and posted 41 reps at the combine (https://www.nfl.com/prospects/vita-vea/32005645-4106-5410-5ca3-d47503c045e3).
I mostly certainly agree that Chris Jones is a better DT than Harrison Phillips, but those ratings should bear out in things like Finesse & Power Moves.
Other things I've noted: Jerry Tillery has been left off the Vikings Roster. My guess is that he makes the 53-man roster and this will be resolved before Week 1.
