One thing Chicago Bears fans know about Anthony Miller that the rest of the league doesn’t (not yet, at least) is that you’ll be hard-pressed to find a rookie receiver with more confidence or swagger than the Bears’ second-round pick out of Memphis.
And because of that, fans won’t be surprised to learn that Miller felt short-changed with his rating in Madden ’19. Over at the official Twitter page, the game’s developers shared the rookies’ ratings, and suffice it to say, Miller wasn’t feeling the love, even though he actually ranked rather prominently.
“Miller rounds out this top five as a solid route runner, but lacks the moves to break off after the catch,” writes Madden NFL writer/content strategist Daniel Williams. “With routes, his 82 Short and 80 Mid are second only to Moore among the top 5. His 80 Catching is the lowest of the bunch. Play style wise, he’s a more agile Sutton with lesser hands but better stick moves.”
Miller was the fifth highest-rated rookie receiver with a 74 overall grade. That’s not great, but it’s not really awful either, right? In any case, Miller asks “Did you guys watch me before y’all did the ratings or nah?” Lulz. Go get ’em, Tony.
Miller caught more passes (96), racked up more receiving yards (1,462), and hauled in more touchdowns last year on campus than any other receiver in the top-5 of Madden’s rookie ratings. He also left Memphis with every worthwhile pass-catching record and consensus All-American honors, to boot. So, yeah, maybe he’s onto something. And maybe the folks at Madden need to go back to the tape and re-configure their formulas and algorithms!
And as a final thought: From a game-play standpoint, Miller is an improvement over most of the receivers the Bears had last year. In fact, his 74 rating out of the gate as a rookie was better than how Markus Wheaton (72) and Kevin White (71) ended the season.
You can watch Miller and other rookies react to their ratings here:
We let NFL rookies pick their #Madden19 Ratings
It didn't go as expected: https://t.co/iN0oAkysUS pic.twitter.com/2QboAdFyCF
— EA SPORTS Madden NFL (@EAMaddenNFL) July 3, 2018