Colts: Is Carson Wentz’s Madden rating actually disrespectful?

With training camp already underway for certain NFL teams — the Indianapolis Colts will kick things off in Westfield on Wednesday — players around the league are getting excited for the release of the latest installment of the Madden video game franchise.

It’s really a tradition unlike any other. Players wait with great anticipation to see their rating revealed and then react, normally enraged and offended, on social media.

When it comes to the Colts, most players on the team are still waiting to see their marks. The one exception? Newly-minted quarterback Carson Wentz, who was part of Madden’s recent reveal that included players who switched teams this offseason.

Coming off the worst season of his career, Wentz came in at 72 overall. While some fans might view that as disrespectful, what rating would you have given him?

Did Madden actually disrespect Colts QB Carson Wentz with his rating?

The only way this could be flipped to say it was disrespectful? The fact that Jalen Hurts, whose selection in the second round last year marked the beginning of Wentz’s falling out with the Eagles, came in right behind his former teammate at 71 overall.

Given that Hurts has just one year under his belt and wasn’t anything special, compared to Wentz, who has multiple seasons of being a top-tier quarterback, this narrative could potentially be used to argue that Wentz deserves to be rated higher.

However, there’s no hiding how woeful Wentz was last season. For the year, the former No. 2 overall pick finished 34th in both completion percentage (57.4%) and passer rating (72.8), 33rd in yards per attempt (6.0), 28th in QBR (49.6), and last in both net yards gained per attempt (4.71) and interceptions (15) … despite playing just 12games.

That’s out of 35 qualified gunslingers, by the way. Sure, Wentz had previous ratings (in order) of 79, 86, 82 and 84, before maxing out at 94 midway through the Eagles’ championship-winning season back in 2017, when he suffered a torn ACL and Nick Foles took over.

But that all came before he was among the worst QBs in the NFL last campaign. Again, his numbers aligned with the likes of Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Dwayne Haskins, a barely mobile Alex Smith, and gun-shy Tua Tagovailoa. Admit it, Colts fans. This 72 rating was fully deserved.

This isn’t all to say we don’t think Wentz will flourish with the Colts. However, this rating was purely based off his performance in 2021 — not a projection of what he’ll look like with an improved receiving corps, robust offensive line and elite rushing attack.

With all this in mind. Madden was fully justified giving Wentz a 72 overall rating. Let’s just hope the Colts QB sees it as bulletin-board material more than a knock to his confidence.

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