Eric Weddle tied for 3rd best FS in Madden 15

Eric Weddle was tied for the 3rd best FS spot with Patriots FS Devin McCourty. The Madden team is notorious for using PFF stats to project their player ratings. Here is what ESPN “Ratings Czar” Donny Moore said of Weddle:

ERIC WEDDLE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 94 OVR

Moore on Weddle: Eric Weddle gets the job done with a position-best AWR (93), TAK (87), Play Rec (94), and Pursuit (94).

Those who play Madden (or follow the Chargers) know Weddle doesn’t get quite as much credit as he deserves as the back end of a recently dreadful Chargers defense. It’s good to see him getting some credit for the work he does all over the field, even if the beard didn’t make it into the game.

Eric Weddle is currently our only player in the top 5 of a position group for Madden 15 and arguably in the NFL. Weddle boasts a few position-best traits in Madden this year. Is Weddle the best tackling free safety in the NFL? Well, he led the NFL in tackles among free safeties last season with 15.

A few others chimed in on Fansided about Eric Weddle getting a 94 overall rating:

Ted Schwerzler on Fansided.com/gaming: Among free safeties, few are better at sniffing out where a play is going. Weddle boasts the best awareness rating for free safeties at 93, has 87 tackling, 94 play recognition, and 94 pursuit.

Daniel George on Gamesided.com: From here on out, the group of players remaining is so tightly ranked in Madden 15  that it’s almost not worth getting into too heated of a debate over where the rest play out. Just look at Eric Weddle, who sports the position-best rankings in the following stats: Play Recognition (94), Pursuit (94), Awareness (93), and Tackle (87). Plus, it’s always neat to see a Chargers player be much better at something than others. It’s like spotting an unstripped zebra in the wild!

As much love as Weddle is getting, George is right. The Chargers don’t have another guy on the team that can make that sort of impact. Gates used to be that guy, but at 33, we can’t expect him to compete with the new era of tight ends. LT is still the record holder for rushing touchdowns in a seson, but those days are long gone.

Hopefully this is the season that another guy can prove himself to be a top-5 caliber player in his position. Guys like Keenan Allen and Philip Rivers could be knocking on the door with another big year, but who else has the chance to make that kind of improvement? DJ Fluker? Donald Butler? Who is that guy?