3 NFL WRs who are criminally underrated in Madden 23 ft. Deebo Samuel

When Madden releases their annual player ratings, it grabs the attention of the entire NFL world. Players and fans always look forward to seeing what ratings the mega-popular video game will assign to their favorite teams and players. This usually sparks debates and controversies about who is overrated and who is underrated by the game.

Madden NFL 23 recently began releasing their player ratings for the upcoming version of the video game. Wide receivers were featured in their first set of releases. Typically, there are several players who have been severely underrated in the game this year. Here are three of them.

#1 - Deebo Samuel

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Deebo Samuel has received an 89 player rating in Madden 23. This may look solid at first, but comparatively to other elite wide receivers, it feels a bit low. There are 12 other wide receivers who have received a higher player rating this year as well as two other players with the exact same rating.

Deebo Samuel was one of the most dynamic players in the league during the 2021 campaign, which was reflected by his first-team All-Pro selection. He ranked fifth in receiving yards while leading the NFL in yards per reception. This doesn't even account for his rushing contributions. His Madden rating failed to reflect his dominant 2021 season.

#2 - Ja'Marr Chase

Ja'Marr Chase burst onto the scene with a dominant rookie year during the 2021 NFL season. He wasn't just one of the best rookies in the league, but one of the top overall wide receivers. He finished the year in the top five in receiving yards, touchdowns, and yards per reception.

Despite the huge season, Madden decided to rank 17 other wide receivers higher than Ja'Marr Chase. They also gave two other receivers the same 87 player rating. While it's fair to note that one season is a small sample size, it's hard to justify Chase barely cracking the top 20 receivers in Madden 23.

#3 - Tee Higgins

Tee Higgins recorded the 15th most yards among all wide receivers during the 2021 NFL season. He was one of just 23 to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards. In two seasons in the NFL so far, Higgins is one yard shy of 2,000 receiving yards and has scored 12 touchdowns.

Despite his consistently solid output over the past two years, Higgins received just an 83 player rating. Somehow, 30 other wide receivers are rated higher than Tee Higgins in Madden 23. This includes his teammate Tyler Boyd. Boyd has recorded 330 fewer yards and three fewer touchdowns over the last two years but still received an 84 rating.

About the author

Adam Hulse is an NFL journalist at Sportskeeda with 4 years of experience. He is also the host of the podcast "Sports Talk with Adam Hulse."

Adam studied Communications at Villanova University and played American football at Pop Warner and as a high school Freshman. His favorite team are the Dallas Cowboys, and if Adam could lay his hands on a time machine, he would love to witness their glory years from the 1990s. The Cowboys' 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX is his favorite Super Bowl of all time.

Given his affinity for 'America's Team,' Adam's favorite players of all time include Emmitt Smith. Michael Irvin, Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.

Adam takes a lot of pride in his work, which naturally culminates into insightful content for his readers, performance analysis being his forte. When not writing about football, Adam spends a time on his podcast.

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Edited by John Maxwell