There's a reason fans eagerly awaited the return of EA's College Football 25.
The Madden video game franchise endures much abuse, and one of the most common complaints revolves around player rankings. This year's running back rankings are a great example:
- Christian McCaffery (99)
- Nick Chubb (96)
- Derrick Henry (94)
- Saquon Barkley (92)
- Joe Mixon (91)
- Travis Etienne Jr. (90)
- Josh Jacobs (89)
- Kenneth Walker III (88)
- Aaron Jones (88)
- Isaiah Pacheco (87)
The Madden process of ranking players is akin to alchemy. Multiple variables are involved, such as skill, name recognition, what they eat, whether they are extra nice to the grading team, and so much more. This begs the question: How did Bijan not score high enough marks to be considered one of the 10 best running backs in the league? This isn't just homer talk; the numbers back it up.
When compared against this list, Bijan had more total yards than 80% of the list while having more rushing yards than 70%. In addition, only Christian McCaffery can say they had more receiving yards. These yards are also being gained efficiently; Bijan's yards per attempt is tied for 2nd best among this list.
It seems like the voters were considering everything but actual production when calculating this year's grade. Still, even then, it's not like Bijan hasn't been one of the most marketable players since declaring for the NFL draft. There's no benefit in figuring out how the mysterious oracles known as the Madden player rankers come to their conclusions. Bijan will be able to raise his score this year, and by the end of the season, I have no doubt that he will be cemented in the top 10.