Chicago Bears: Madden disrespects rookies with low ratings
57. Madden Rating. Pick Analysis. Iowa State. David Montgomery. 71. player. RB
Overall: 71
My first thought is the same as David Montgomery. Madden got this wrong and this score is full of disrespect. Then I realized the highest rookie grade given was an 80. It seems that Madden just has little respect for rookies or they are afraid to guess drastically wrong.
I still think this grade is off the mark though. If we look at some of the attribute grades that Madden gave Montgomery, one will easily notice some issues.
Awareness: 73
Scrolling through the other rookie running backs, I am okay with this score. Only three other backs had higher scores than Montgomery.
Speed: 84
This is another area I have no qualms with. Montgomery does not have that last gear to break away from most defenders on long runs.
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Acceleration: 87
Yep, another solid grade here and makes sense as Montgomery has excellent burst. I consider him quick, not fast.
Agility: 85
Shake and bake anyone? Montgomery does well with cut back lanes and has great balance to stay upright. I would have given him a 90 here though as I think he is just as agile if not more agile as Devin Singletary who received a 90 mark here.
Strength: 72
Not sure how Madden gauges strength. I will assume this is about right since he is stronger than many of the other rookie running backs but weaker than a few.
Catch: 71
This one perplexes me. Montgomery proved throughout college that he had no problem catching the ball out of the backfield. He has one of the highest catch ratings among rookie running backs, but that does not matter to me on this one. Montgomery deserves to be close to 80 at least and that would increase his overall score too.
Elusiveness: 73
Wow? Really. Montgomery had the highest escape tackles grade from Pro Football Focus. I am not a huge PFF fan, but they get some things right. Montgomery was the most elusive running back in the 2019 NFL Draft, yet he has a lower elusive rating than more than half of the running backs rated by Madden. Either PFF and I have it wrong or Madden does. I am going with Madden.