Leave it to game recognizing game. If there is one player of late who’s been staggeringly disrespected this offseason, it’s Jordan Howard. The Chicago Bears running back reached a low point this past week when the new player rankings for Madden 19 came out. This is typically a time when the good players are finally able to shine. Long story short? Howard got outright insulted instead.
It started with the fact that Adrian Amos was the highest-rated player on the roster. That was over both Howard and Akiem Hicks, which is absurd. Amos was good in 2017 but his season was hardly enough to justify that ranking. Yet the worst was still to come when it was revealed Tennessee Titans starter Derrick Henry also had a better rating.
Derrick Henry is an 88 in madden. At least 4 points better than Jordan Howard. They were both drafted in 2015 and Howard has 1,201 more rushing yards, 5 more rushing TDs, a higher yards per carry, 28 more receptions and 190 more receiving yards. Explain this @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/ucrlZUIEjg
— Stephen Letizia (@StephenLetizia) June 18, 2018
Does anybody outside of Chicago realize Howard’s existence and how good he actually is? Two-straight years over 1,100 yards rushing. This with Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley, and Mike Glennon as his quarterbacks for significant stretches of time. In these situations, it’s best to leave it to the experts. Guys who know the position he plays.
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Jordan Howard ranked 7th among all NFL running backs
Maurice Jones-Drew knows a thing or two about running the ball. He was a Pro Bowler back in the day for the Jacksonville Jaguars so his eyes see the position differently than most of the media experts out there. So what would he do on the subject of Howard when making his list of the best backs in the league?
“7. Jordan Howard, RB, Bears
Even with a plethora of offensive weapons thanks to some offseason additions, the Bears’ offense still must run through Howard. After rushing for at least 1,100 yards in each of his first two seasons, Howard will be a key piece for first-year head coach Matt Nagy and will have to carry Chicago late in the season if the squad is going to make a playoff push.”
While that still feels a little low, the fact that Jones-Drew ranked Howard ahead of Kareem Hunt, Leonard Fournette and Henry was enough validation to accept it. Too often people associate a team’s success in wins and losses with the individual performance of the player. That’s not how these lists should go. Howard has done anything and everything in his power to help the Bears win.
He’s their best offensive player. It could be argued he belongs higher on the list because he hasn’t had the same advantages as others. He didn’t have a Drew Brees liked Alvin Kamara did. He didn’t have a stacked offensive line like Ezekiel Elliott did. Maybe this year in a modern offense he’ll remind people of that.
