There are several former Rice football players on NFL rosters for this coming season. Each of those NFL Owls received their Madden 21 rating this week.
The extended hiatus from sports was briefly interrupted this week by the release of the Madden 21 ratings. Dozens upon dozens of variables were combined to reach one overall rating for the video game. Players from all 32 teams were assigned numerical grades. That included 10 former Rice football players.
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Post-NFL Draft free agent signees were omitted from the initial round of grades. That group included several Rice football alums hoping to get onto an NFL roster this fall. If you’re curious about other players, an exhaustive list including all of their categorical breakdowns is available here.
Top ratings weren’t handed out like candy. No Rice players received grades of 90 or above, but several received grades in the high-60s to low-80s range. That seems to roughly translate to starting caliber players. Here’s the breakdown of the overall scores for the NFL Owls. Fun fact, Jack Fox got a higher speed score than either of the Bosa brothers.
K Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers – 82
DB Bryce Callahan, Denver Broncos – 80
TE Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers – 76
Saf Andrew Sendejo, Cleveland Browns – 76
DE Christian Covington, Denver Broncos – 71 (update NFL Owls sheet)
TE Luke Willson, Seahawks Seattle – 69
DB Phillip Gaines, Houston Texans – 69
P Jack Fox, Detroit Lions – 65
LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, Seattle Seahawks – 60
OL Calvin Anderson, Denver Broncos – 55
Keep tabs on where every Rice football alum in the NFL is playing on our NFL Owls page. We keep that sheet up to date as players are signed, cut and move from team to team. The newest wave of signees following the 2020 NFL Draft are included.
