Training camp hasn't begun yet, so let Madden NFL 15 be the one to tell these rookies, who have been told all their lives how special they are, that they really aren't.
This is a pretty smooth video. EA Sports set up first-round studs like Johnny Manziel, No. 4 overall pick Sammy Watkins, and No. 7 overall pick Mike Evans, asking them what they thought they'd be rated, then dumped a cold bucket of truth on them.
No, Johnny Football, you're not "an 88 to a 92." In fact, in the latest Madden NFL 25 roster — this is the one reflecting players' ratings at the end of a full season, the highest rated rookies were Sheldon Richardson of the Jets and Star Lotuleilei of the Panthers, at 86. And Richardson was the defensive Rookie of the Year last season. Eddie Lacy of Green Bay, the offensive Rookie of the Year, is an 82.
In fact just eight second-year players are currently rated 90 overall and up, and 13 rookies are rated 80 or better overall. So it's fair to say a lot of these guys are looking at 70s. Heh, just like they did in the classroom amirite.
The first rounders were added to the roster for Madden NFL 25's Ultimate Team after the April draft, but their ratings there do not reflect reality. All of them were graded at 90 or better for promotional purposes.
Donny Moore, the longtime "ratings czar" for Madden, is no stranger to controversy or backlash as he grades more than 2,000 players throughout each season. Creative director Rex Dickson called Moore "the most hated man on the Madden dev team, by players," and said one player, an unnamed starting tight end, refused to participate in face-scanning for the game because "you guys give me 70 speed every year and I'm not that slow."
For more on what Madden NFL 15 will offer, see Polygon's E3 preview.
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