Donny Moore announced his Madden NFL 15 All-Rookie Team and it includes pretty much everyone any football fan would expect. Led by the dynamic WR Odell Beckham Jr. and top rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater. The rest of the team is listed below:
OFFENSE
QB – Teddy Bridgewater (82 OVR) – Minnesota Vikings (+6 OVR) – Huge Awareness (+13) and Deep Accuracy (+9) increases are the big reasons for improvement for Teddy Ballgame.
RB – Jeremy Hill (85 OVR) – Cincinnati Bengals (+12 OVR) – Hill is one of those backs who plays faster in pads than at the combine. He started Madden 15 with 85 SPD and finished the 2014 season with 88 SPD. +13 Stiff Arm increase too (now 93).
FB – Ryan Hewitt (74 OVR) – Cincinnati Bengals (+8 OVR) – Hewitt was a big reason the Bengals running game was ranked sixth in the league with 134.2 YPG. He received +8 Run Block and +10 Awareness as a result.
WR – Odell Beckham Jr. (90 OVR) – New York Giants (+15 OVR) – OBJ had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history. 99 Spectacular Catch (+16), Route Running 91 (+11), Release 87 (+18), & Awareness 78 (+21) are the big reasons why his OVR jumped a whopping 15 points after only 12 games played.
WR – Mike Evans (86 OVR) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+8 OVR) – Evans proved to be a great first-round pick and future franchise player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He now has 90+ ratings in the following categories: 91 Catch (+2), 94 Spectacular Catch (+4), 92 Catch in Traffic (+3), and 94 Release (+1). Don’t forget, Mike Evans stands at 6’5, 230 lbs.
TE – Crockett Gillmore (75 OVR) – Baltimore Ravens (+4 OVR) – Gillmore had a solid season for the Ravens and went up +12 AWR, +2 Route Running, and +2 Catch in Traffic.
LT – Taylor Lewan (78 OVR) – Tennessee Titans (-1 OVR) – This is more a result of Lewan’s switch from RT to the LT position, where Pass Blocking is more important in our OVR formula. Lewan received +10 AWR & +3 Run Block increases this year, but it was the -2 Pass Block that dropped him in OVR.
LG – Joel Bitonio (87 OVR) – Cleveland Browns (+10 OVR) – Bitonio got a huge +20 AWR to go along with +5 Pass Block and +2 Run Block increases this year based off his outstanding play in the trenches for the Browns.
C – Corey Linsley (81 OVR) – Green Bay Packers (+10 OVR) – Linsley ranked as Pro Football Focus’s #5 ranked Center for the 2014 season and he was a big reason for the Packers’ success on the offensive line this year. He got +18 AWR, +4 Pass Block, and +3 Run Block as a result.
RG – Zack Martin (89 OVR) – Dallas Cowboys (+11 OVR) – The Zack Martin draft pick selection is looking smarter and smarter every day. Martin was a big reason why Dallas finished with the league’s second-ranked ranked rush offense. He received +13 AWR, +9 Impact Block, +8 Run Block, and +5 Pass Block.
RT – Seantrel Henderson (77 OVR) – Buffalo Bills (+17 OVR) – The Bills got great value out of their seventh-round pick in Henderson. He started Madden NFL 15 at 60 OVR, but increased it all the way up to 77 OVR because of boosts to his Awareness (+25) and Pass Block (+8).
DEFENSE
LE – Timmy Jernigan (79 OVR) – Baltimore Ravens (+7 OVR) – Jernigan picked up the Ravens defense quickly and received increases to his Awareness (+19) and Play Recognition (+9) as a result. We were also impressed with the power he showed on the way to five sacks (+5 increase to Power Moves).
RE – Demarcus Lawrence (78 OVR) – Dallas Cowboys (+5 OVR) – Lawrence looks like a piece to build around on the defensive line for the Cowboys. Based on his 2014 season, he got +6 Awareness, +4 Finesse Moves, and +3 Play Recognition.
DT – Aaron Donald (89 OVR) – St. Louis Rams (+10 OVR) – The Defensive Rookie of the Year is a force to be reckoned with. He does it all: stopping the run (+11 Tackle & +3 Pursuit) and rushing the passer (9 sacks, 29 hurries, +4 Power Move and +3 Finesse Move increases).
OLB – Khalil Mack (90 OVR) – Oakland Raiders (+9 OVR) – Khalil Mack tied with Odell Beckham Jr. as the highest-rated rookies of the 2014 draft class at 90 OVR. Mack was sensational against the run, ranking as Pro Football Focus’s #1 ranked Outside Linebacker. We rewarded Mack with +13 Awareness, +12 Tackle, +7 Play Recognition, +6 Pursuit, and +2 Block Shedding.
MLB – C.J. Mosley (86 OVR) – Baltimmore Ravens (+11 OVR) – Mosley looks like the next great Ravens linebacker after his 100+ tackle/3 sacks/13 hurries rookie campaign. He now has 93 Tackle (+5), 96 Pursuit (+4), 86 Play Recognition (+10), and 81 Power Moves (+5) in Madden 15.
MLB – Chris Borland (84 OVR) – San Francisco 49ers (+11 OVR) – After injuries to the two top-rated linebackers in the league (Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman), Borland showed why he might just belong in that same elite category. Borland got 73 ratings increases as a result of his fantastic play, including +12 Man Coverage, +10 Zone Coverage, +9 Pursuit, and +7 Block Shedding boosts.
OLB – Anthony Barr (81 OVR) – Minnesota Vikings (+6 OVR) – The Vikings did well with their first-round draft pick, as Barr racked up more than 70 tackles to go with 11 hurries and four sacks. He ranked as Pro Football Focus’s #3 Outside Linebackers in 4-3 schemes in terms of pass rush effectiveness. He is now at 92 Power Moves (+3) and 79 Finesse Moves (+7) in Madden 15.
CB – Jason Verrett (82 OVR) – San Diego Chargers (+5 OVR) – Had Verrett not gotten hurt this season (only played six games), I think he would be rated even higher than 82 OVR. Out of 230 Cornerbacks in the league, Verrett ranked 16th according to PFF. Verrett received +13 AWR, +2 Man Coverage, +2 Zone Coverage, and +2 Tackle increases.
CB – Bene Benwikere (79 OVR) – Carolina Panthers (+12 OVR) – Benwikere received some big increases to his Man Coverage (+9), Zone Coverage (+8), and Awareness (+15) ratings after a late-season playoff push by the Panthers.
FS – HaHa Clinton-Dix (81 OVR) – Green Bay Packers (+2 OVR) – The best name in the NFL got a modest two-point increase after a solid rookie season. +6 AWR, +4 Tackle, and +2 Pursuit were the areas where HHCD showed the most improvement after his 90+ tackle season.
SS – Calvin Pryor (80 OVR) – Jets (+1 OVR) – Pryor was another first-round DB that had a solid rookie season. He earned got increases in Awareness (+6), Man Coverage (+2) and Zone Coverage (+2) after his 16 start/50+ tackle season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Cody Parkey (77 OVR) – Philadelphia Eagles (+13 OVR) – Parkey was an undrafted rookie out of Auburn when he started Madden NFL 15, and we honestly didn’t know much outside of his big leg. He started out at 64 OVR, but earned +10 AWR, +6 Kick Power, and +5 Kick Accuracy after converting 32 of 36 field goal attempts for Philly.
P – Pat O’Donnell (64 OVR) – Chicago Bears (+10 OVR) – O’Donnell started out at 54 OVR. but raised it 10 points to 64 OVR after his rookie campaign. He went +12 in AWR and +2 Kick Accuracy after averaging 43.8 yards per punt.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
QB – Derek Carr (77 OVR) – Oakland Raiders (+3 OVR)
RB – Tre Mason (78 OVR) – St. Louis Rams (+4 OVR)
FB – Jay Prosch (73 OVR) – Houston Texans (+3 OVR)
WR – Kelvin Benjamin (85 OVR) – Carolina Panthers (+9 OVR)
WR – Sammy Watkins (85 OVR) – Buffalo Bills (+5 OVR)
TE – Jace Amaro (75 OVR) – New York Jets – (+1 OVR)
OL – Gabe Jackson (81 OVR) – Oakland Raiders (+11 OVR)
OL – Jack Mewhort (79 OVR) – Indianapolis Colts (+5 OVR)
OL – Bryan Stork (76 OVR) – New England Patriots (+8 OVR)
OL –Trai Turner (80 OVR) – Carolina Panthers (+11 OVR)
OL – Brandon Linder (79 OVR) – Jacksonville Jaguars (+7 OVR)
DL – Dominique Easley (74 OVR) – New England Patriots (+1 OVR)
DL – Justin Ellis (71 OVR) – Oakland Raiders (+8 OVR)
OLB – Preston Brown (77 OVR) – Buffalo Bills (+10 OVR)
OLB – Trent Murphy (74 OVR) – Washington Redskins (+4 OVR)
MLB – Ryan Shazier (76 OVR) – Pittsburgh Steelers (+2 OVR)
CB – Justin Gilbert (80 OVR) – Cleveland Browns (+3 OVR)
CB – Bradley Roby (79 OVR) – Denver Broncos (+6 OVR)
K – Chandler Catanzaro (76 OVR) – Arizona Cardinals (+17 OVR)