Fansided

Madden ratings: 5 players who were snubbed from the Madden 99 club

By Kevin Parvizi

Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken/Getty Images /
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TAMPA, FL – DEC 30: Julio Jones (11) of the Falcons makes a catch and turns upfield during the regular season game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 30, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – DEC 30: Julio Jones (11) of the Falcons makes a catch and turns upfield during the regular season game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 30, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Julio Jones

Yes, there should be three wide receivers in the Madden 99 club, and it wouldn’t be an issue if Odell Beckham Jr. joined the fray by putting up big numbers with Baker Mayfield in the Cleveland Browns offense. Wide receiver, like defensive tackle, happens to be one of the positions where there’s a huge amount of talent, and it’d be unfair to rank Jones, Brown, or Hopkins at anything lower than 99 when it’s so hard to pick among them.

Jones is one of the greatest athletes to play the wide receiver position, and he’s capable of making plays on the field that even Hopkins and Brown can’t. The man is a YAC machine, which is rare for a 6’3″, 220-pound receiver who can win practically any jump ball.

In 2018, Jones led the NFL with 1,677 receiving yards, and he’s never had fewer than 1,400 receiving yards in any of that last five seasons. That isn’t just consistency. No, that is insanity.

But everything about Jones is insane. He has the physical tools to absolutely embarrass defensive backs, so they make sure to give him extra space in coverage to avoid the NFL’s version of “getting dunked on”. So that opens up the rest of the field for Jones, whose route-running is just as precise and layered as anybody’s.

Jones has led the NFL in receiving yards per game in three of the last four seasons and has a career average of 96.7 receiving yards per game. That average was up to nearly 105 per game in the 2018 season. There’s no way a player with his talent and production should be snubbed from Madden NFL 20’s 99 club.

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