Madden NFL 20 has just released, and the Cleveland Browns are sure to be a popular choice for players in this year’s game. But even though the team is much improved, there are players on the roster who aren’t rated as highly as they should be. Here are five Browns who will be rated higher as the season progresses.
Five Cleveland Browns Who Will Have Higher Madden 20 Ratings
5. WR Rashard Higgins
A fifth-round pick in 2016, it took a while for Rashard Higgins to find success in the NFL. He caught just six passes during his rookie season and was waived before the 2017 campaign, signing onto Cleveland’s practice squad after no other team claimed him. Plenty of those other teams are regretting not claiming him, as Higgins broke out in the final game of 2017, catching his first two touchdowns, and had a solid 2018 with 39 catches for 572 yards and four scores in 13 games.
He developed great chemistry with Baker Mayfield and became one of the Browns’ most reliable targets. Higgins is currently a 73 overall with 83 catching. He should be at least an 80 overall, and will almost certainly be there by the end of the season; he’ll be playing on the qualifying offer, trying to earn himself a big payday next offseason.
4. DT Larry Ogunjobi
Larry Ogunjobi is entering his third season and the Browns are expecting big things from him. He was a third-round pick in 2017 and finished 2018 with 5.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits from the DT spot. He did this despite playing an extremely high number of snaps, leading to fatigue and eventual injury, as well as being Cleveland’s only penetration threat from inside. With free-agent signing Sheldon Richardson playing alongside him in 2019, Ogunjobi should be more well-rested and get more 1-on-1 opportunities to disrupt opposing offenses.
Richardson is rated 84, while Ogunjobi is just a 77. Richardson had one less sack and one more quarterback hit than Ogunjobi in 2018, so the rating discrepancy is most likely due to name recognition.
3. RB Nick Chubb
The 35th overall pick last season is rated 85 overall, which is not bad at all. But Nick Chubb was rated as Pro Football Focus’s best RB in 2018 and will have the chance to be even better in 2019. He will face fewer stacked boxes with the addition of Odell Beckham and has worked to improve his receiving skills in order to be more effective in the passing game. Barring injury, he should start every game in 2019, as opposed to touching the ball just 16 times over the first six games in 2018.
Despite those disadvantages, Chubb still finished with 1,145 yards from scrimmage and 10 TDs. He could be one of the NFL’s very best running backs soon, and his Madden rating should reflect that.
2. LB Joe Schobert
Drafted in the fourth round in 2016, Joe Schobert played EDGE in college, outside linebacker during his rookie season, and MLB in 2017 when he made the Pro Bowl. He missed three games due to injury in 2018 but established himself as one of the NFL’s best coverage linebackers. However, he also led the league in missed tackles, a disease that infected many other Cleveland defenders. New defensive coordinator Steve Wilks is hellbent on cutting those missed tackles way down, and Schobert should be under less pressure in that area due to the Browns’ much-improved defensive line. Even if his tackling rating is low (it’s 80), his coverage and athleticism numbers should make him higher than a 79.
1. QB Baker Mayfield
It’s been a long time since the Browns had a QB at 83 overall in Madden, but Mayfield will leave that number in the dust. He set the record for rookie touchdown passes with 27 in only 13.5 games, and now has one of the league’s premier wide receivers to throw to in Odell Beckham Jr. Mayfield will be the first to admit that while his rookie season was prolific, there are plenty of things he needs to improve at. With his talent and work ethic, and the talent around him, it’s entirely possible that he’ll be a 90 overall by season’s end.
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