Just recently, EA Sports released its Madden 21 player ratings and as always, they have people talking. One player not safe from the criticism of early Madden ratings is New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Both players and fans have chimed in with the likes of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who simply tweeted a few emojis at EA, and Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon airing disagreement with their ratings.
Even future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were not spared from drastic declines in EA's football simulation.
Top 10 RBs in Madden 21:
Christian McCaffery: 99
Derrick Henry: 93
Nick Chubb: 92
Ezekiel Elliot: 92
Dalvin Cook: 91
Aaron Jones: 90
Joe Mixon: 89
Saquon Barkley: 89
Josh Jacobs: 88
Alvin Kamara: 88[via @Maddenschool]
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 14, 2020
In a post shared by NFL Update on their Twitter account, Barkley was originally rated the eighth best running back in the game, missing the top five behind Joe Mixon and Aaron Jones.
But after backlash from the community, it seems like Giants and Barkley fans won't be as disappointed with the Madden ratings as they originally were.
In a later tweet, NFL update reported that the New York superstar ballcarrier's rating was apparently bumped up to 91 from the original 89. With no other player's rating having been changed, this would tie Barkley with Dalvin Cook as the fifth highest-rated backs in the game.
Saquon Barkley was bumped up from 89 to 91. Everything else remains the same. https://t.co/XzK1Fmms7h
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 14, 2020
The former second overall pick had a monster rookie season with the Giants, setting multiple franchise and NFL rookie records including tying Randy Moss for the most 50+ yards touchdowns by a rookie with five. Barkley missed three games this past year but still put up decent numbers including 1000+ rushing yards with six rushing and 2 receiving touchdowns.
Saquon Barkley will be entering his third year with the Giants this 2020 season.