Yesterday some early Madden 11 rankings were leaked and there are a few surprises amongst the obvious choices. Being as it's an indicator of how well a team is respected I thought I'd highlight a few of the top spots and their rankings, as well as some notable absences (from a 49er perspective).
Top Players
Chris Johnson RB - 99
Patrick Willis MLB - 99
Darelle Revis CB - 99
Jared Allen RE - 99
Drew Brees QB - 99
Peyton Manning QB - 99
Ryan Clady LT - 98
Adrian Peterson HB - 98
The only exception I would take to that top list is Adrian Peterson and that's simply due to his fumbling issues. Otherwise it's a pretty solid list.
Join me after the jump for position-by-position rankings
Top Quarterbacks:Drew Brees - 99
Peyton Manning - 99
Tom Brady - 95
Aaron Rodgers - 94
Phillip Rivers - 94
Brett Favre - 92
Tony Romo - 90
Matt Shaub - 89
This is a very interesting list to me. I wouldn't rank Aaron Rodgers as a top 5 QB in the league, nor would I put Matt Shaub in there as the 8th best quarterback in the league.
Top Running Backs:
Chris Johnson - 99
Adrian Peterson - 98
Maurice Jones-Drew - 96
Steven Jackson - 95
Frank Gore - 93
DeAngelo Williams - 92
Ray Rice - 90
Michael Turner - 90
It's nice to see Frank Gore get a little love. I'm not sure about the rankings for Michael Turner. Is he really the 8th best running back in the league? I know Madden doesn't like rookies but CJ Spiller has to get some love.
Top Fullbacks:
Tony Richardson - 94
Lousaka Polite - 91
Leonard Weaver - 90
Le'Ron McLain - 90
Lawrence Vickers - 89
Ovie Mughelli - 88
Madison Hedgecock - 86
Mike Carney - 85
I'm not familiar enough with the full backs to have much commentary other than ot say that I agree with the top 4 picks.
Top Wide Receivers:
Andre Johnson - 98
Larry Fitzgerald - 97
Brandon Marshall - 96
Reggie Wayne - 96
Randy Moss - 95
Roddy White - 93
Steve Smith - 92
DeSean Jackson - 91
It's hard to argue this list though I'm disappointed that Crabtree apparently didn't earn higher than a 90 on the rankings.
Top Tight Ends:
Tony Gonzalez - 98
Jason Witten - 97
Vernon Davis - 96
Antonio Gates - 96
Dallas Clark - 96
Heath Miller - 90
Chris Cooley - 89
Kellen Winslow - 89
This is an interesting list. I'd rank Davis the equal of Witten, and I'd rank Clark better. I do think VD will break the TE scoring record this year.
Top Left Tackles:
Ryan Clady - 98
Jake Long - 96
Joe Thomas - 95
Michael Roos - 95
Jordon Gross - 95
D'Brickashaw Ferguson - 91
Jammal Brown - 91
Bryant McKinnie - 90
Hard to argue with this list.
Top Left Guards:
Steve Hutchinson - 97
Logan Mankins - 95
Ben Grubbs - 94
Kris Dielman - 93
Carl Nicks - 91
Eric Steinback - 91
Alan Faneca - 91
Todd Herremans - 89
I'd debate Alan Faneca's position on that list. He's lost a step or two to age and I don't see him being that effective. I'm also upset about Madden's rookie bias because Mike Iupati should definitely be scoring higher than the 84 ranking he received.
Top Centers:
Nick Mangold - 97
Andre Gurode - 92
Jeff Saturday - 92
Shaun O'Hara - 91
Matt Birk - 91
Rryan Kalil - 90
Jason Brown - 89
Dan Koppen - 88
I think it's criminal how badly Eric Heitmann is underrated.
Top Right Guards:
Jahri Evans - 98
Chris Snee - 96
Leonard Davis - 89
Davin Joseph - 88
Brandon Moore - 88
Bobbie Williams - 88
Harvey Dahl - 87
Jake Scott - 85
I don't know enough about right guards to make much of a commentary.
Top Right Tackles:
Jonathon Stinchcomb - 90
David Stewart - 89
Damien Woody - 89
Jeff Otah - 86
Jared Gaither - 86
Vernon Carey - 86
Ryan Harris - 85
Eric Winston - 85
It's hard to argue with this list. Hopefully we'll see Anthony Davis' name up here in Madden 12. He got a 75 ranking from Madden 11.
Top Left Ends:
Robert Mathis - 95
Jason Tuck - 92
Richard Seymour - 92
Luis Castillo - 88
Antonio Smith - 87
Calais Campbell - 86
Shaun Ellis - 86
Ray Edwards - 85
It's criminal that Justin Smith isn't here. In my mind he's one the top 5 DE in the game.
Top Right Ends:
Jared Allen - 99
Dwight Freeney - 97
Mario Williams - 95
Trent Cole - 95
Julius Peppers - 95
Haloti Ngata - 94
Darnell Dockett - 94
Will Smith - 90
The only one I disagree with here is Julius Pepprs. I think he's still riding his reputation and will see a significant drop in play this season.
Top Defensive Tackles:
Kevin Williams - 97
Vince Wilfork - 95
Jay Ratliff - 94
Kris Jenkins - 94
Shaun Rogers - 93
Casey Hampton - 91
Abrayo Franklin - 90
Randy Starks - 89
Can't really argue with this list either. It's nice to see some Aubrayo Franklin love.
Top LOLB:
Lamar Woodley - 91
Shaun Phillips - 91
Daryl Smith - 89
Thomas Davis - 87
Brian Cushing - 87
Julian Peterson - 86
Brian Orakpo - 85
Rey Maualuga - 85
Can't really disagree with this list. I think it's spot on.
Top MLB:
Patrick Willis - 99
Jon Beason - 96
Ray Lewis - 94
David Harris - 91
Barrett Ruud - 91
London Fletcher - 91
DeMeco Ryans - 90
Jonathon Vilma - 90
Nice to see P-52 acknowledge for being the best MLB in the game. I am a bit surprised to see Ray Lewis ranked third--I would've thought his reputation would give him extra points. Here's hoping Ahmad Brooks makes this list for next year.
Top ROLB:
DeMarucs Ware - 97
James Harrison - 97
Elvis Dumervil - 93
Lance Briggs - 92
Terrell Suggs - 90
Chad Greenway - 88
Keith Rivers - 86
Clay Matthews - 86
Hard to argue with this list.
Top Corners:
Darrelle Revis - 99
Nnmandi Asomugha - 98
Charles Woodson - 97
Champ Bailey - 95
Asante Samuel - 94
Jonathon Joseph - 93
Leon Hall - 92
Cortland Finnegan -92
Looking at this list and you can see how much the league has become a passing league. These are all outstanding CBs. I'd like to see Clements regain his form this season and make the list next year. I'd also like to see Spencer get more recongition--I think he's under-rated.
Top FS:
Ed Reed - 97
Anthony Bethea - 95
Darren Sharper - 94
Nick Collins - 93
Oshiomogho Atogwe - 92
Brian Dawkins - 90
Tenard Jackson - 88
Kerry Rhodes - 88
I can't argue this list at all, though I'm amused that Kerry Rhodes wasn't deemed good enough by his former team to keep his job yet he's ranked as one of the best free safeties in the league. Dashon Goldson thinks he's as good as these guys but he's got a long way to go to prove that.
Top SS:
Troy Polamalu - 97
Adrian Wilson - 96
Bob Sanders - 89
Brandon Meriweather - 88
LaRon Landry - 87
Tyvon Branch - 86
Jim Leonhard - 85
Bernard Pollard - 84
Oakland has a very underrated secondary. Between Asomugha and Branch they've got some of the best players at their respective positions.
Top Kickers:
Robby Gould - 95
Nate Kaeding - 95
Rob Bironas - 93
Ryan Longwell - 92
Stephen Gostkowski - 91
Sebastian Janikowski - 90
Jason Hanson - 89
David Akers - 89
I'm amused that Janikowski is by far the highest paid kicker in the league but Madden only ranks him as the 6th best kicker.
Top Punters:
Shane Lechler - 98
Andy Lee - 94
Donnie Jones - 94
Mike Scifres - 93
Mat McBriar - 92
Dustin Colquitt - 91
Brian Moorman - 90
Sam Koch - 86
The homerism in me says that Andy Lee is better than Shane Lechler but I can't get too upset about this ranking. The other punters I don't know well enough to have any commentary on.
Finally, here's the list of team rankings. The NFC West gets absolutely no love. Gamespot has a nice chart breaking down the difference in rankings from Madden 10 to Madden 11
NFC EAST
Dallas 87
New York Giants 81
Philadelphia 80
Washington 76
NFC NORTH
Minnesota 88
Green Bay 87
Chicago 77
Detroit 68
NFC SOUTH
New Orleans 92
Atlanta 83
Carolina 75
Tampa Bay 69
NFC WEST
Arizona 79
San Francisco 79
Seattle 75
St. Louis 66
AFC EAST
New York Jets 89
New England 86
Miami 78
Buffalo 67
AFC NORTH
Baltimore 90
Cincinnati 86
Pittsburgh 84
Cleveland 70
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis 91
Houston 78
Tennessee 77
Jacksonville 74
AFC WEST
San Diego 85
Denver 78
Kansas City 71
Oakland 71