Madden ratings for the Patriots’ draft class have been revealed

While the game itself will not be released until August 2, first player ratings for EA Sports’ Madden NFL 20 have already been made public — including those of the New England Patriots’ draft class: the ten players selected by the reigning world champions this year are rated between 74 and 57 points overall.

Let’s take a look at the official list as published by EA Sports:

WR N’Keal Harry (1-32): 74 overall

CB Joejuan Williams (2-45): 70 overall

DE Chase Winovich (3-77): 69 overall

RB Damien Harris (3-87): 69 overall

OT Yodny Cajuste (3-101): 61 overall

OG Hjalte Froholdt (4-118): 61 overall

QB Jarrett Stidham (4-133): 57 overall

DL Byron Cowart (5-159): 63 overall

P Jake Bailey (5-163): 66 overall

CB Ken Webster (7-252): 63 overall

Some quick-hit thoughts on the ratings:

N’Keal Harry as the Patriots’ top rookie is no surprise: New England drafted the wideout with the final pick of the first round and he was expected to be the highest rated rookie on the team. In fact, Harry is the third best among Madden’s rookie wide receivers this year behind only Marquise Brown and D.K. Metcalf — making up for what he may lack in speed (88) with a better catch rating (84) than the men ranked ahead of him.

Madden likes Joejuan Williams’ speed and agility: The second-round draft pick stands out due to his rare combination of frame and athletic skills, and Madden seems to be particularly impressed by his speed and agility: Williams scores 87 points when it comes to speed, and 88 in both agility and acceleration — not outstanding compared to other rookie cornerbacks but still solid numbers.

Jarrett Stidham is the worst rated of New England’s draft picks: The Patriots invested in the Auburn quarterback with the 133rd overall pick, making him the seventh passer to come off the board. Madden, however, has Stidham ranked as just the ninth best with an overall rating of 57 — the lowest among all of the team’s draft choices. While his throw power is solid (87), he lacks in accuracy especially on medium and deep passes (69 & 70).

The Patriots’ third-round picks are rated differently: While Madden seems to like what defensive edge Chase Winovich and running back Damien Harris bring to the table — they are both among the better players at their respective positions with a 69 overall rating — it is a bit more sceptic about offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste with a 61 score. Then again, he was the thirteenth tackle to come of the board and is ranked as twelfth by Madden.

Jake Bailey superstar: New England drafted ten players in late April, and eight of them were picked before punter Jake Bailey. However, the Stanford product outranks four of them with a 66 overall score. Given the composite nature of the overall ratings, this is not necessarily meaningful — but it still shows that punters do get the love they deserve, at least when it comes to the latest version of Madden.