5 Buffalo Bills that will improve their ratings in Madden 21
Dawson Knox (71 Overall)
Dawson Knox is the first non-rookie Buffalo Bills player on this list but not the last. While Knox didn’t stand out in his rookie season last year, he was a pleasant surprise contributor to a Tight End group that needed help in 2019. Knox finished his rookie season with 28 receptions on 50 targets for 388 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Although these may not be eye-popping numbers, with Tyler Kroft injured for a majority of the season and Lee Smith as the in-line blocking Tight End, Knox showed the Bills enough production from a pass-catching standpoint. To emphasize this point, the Bills had plenty of opportunities this offseason to bolster their Tight End position in either free agency or the draft, but they elected to stick with what they have which is a huge vote of confidence towards what Knox can do for the Bills offense in 2020.
Although Madden gave Knox a slight upgrade from his Madden 20 launch rating, 71 overall is not accurate enough for what Knox is on track to do this coming season. With that being said, there are a bunch of skill category ratings that they did get right in regards to Knox in Madden 21. Knox received an 89 speed rating and 88 acceleration rating for Madden 21 which is certainly above average for the position and even better than some wide receivers.
Furthermore, while Knox did have some issues catching the football early in his rookie season, he improved throughout the year giving him average catch ratings for Madden 21. His overall catch rating is at a 76, spectacular catch rating is 77 and his catch in traffic rating is a 78.
However, there are plenty of areas where Knox got some disrespect from the Madden Rating Adjustors. Firstly is the route running categories where Knox didn’t receive one category over 70. His short route running is at 67, medium route running is at 63, and deep route running is at 61. Although Knox isn’t the most polished route runner, his above-average speed and agility mixed with his strength creates enough separation for him to be open in a variety of ways.
Anyone who watched the Bills last year knows how devastating and violent a Dawson Knox stiff-arm move is, but Madden decided to disrespect Knox by giving him a measly 72 stiff-arm rating. While 72 is not bad, it should be better than that for someone who illustrated the ability to shed tacklers on multiple occasions using a stiff arm move.
Considering the difficulties Lee Smith had last year with getting penalized, Bills fans should expect Knox to get more opportunities to run block on in-line tight end scenarios. Knox got an initial 64 run block rating for Madden 21 which is relatively accurate, but with more opportunities expect Knox to give Madden Rating Adjustors no choice but to upgrade him from that 64.