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Only one thing generates more flack than Madden NFL player ratings: players who get snubbed from the top. It's a rite of passage before the game gets officially launched, and 2022 is no different in that regard.
Tight end is a position where the rating always gets confusing, as a tight end whose receiving skills are fine tuned always gets more attention than a tight end with more blocking skills. That's the case even when both are extremely important for any offense.
Players like Travis Kelce and George Kittle will always feature in the top 5, and Darren Waller is trending in that direction as well, but then it's anyone's game. Check out three tight ends snubbed from the top 10.
#1 Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
Tonyan's breakout season seemingly came out of nowhere. Everybody was expecting Jace Sternberger to take a leap forward in 2020. But it was Tonyan who became the main tight end for the Packers in a year when Aaron Rodgers was simply amazing.
Although he's on a contract year after signing his tender, surely Green Bay will hope to lock him up for the future. Tonyan amassed an incredible 11 touchdowns on 52 receptions last season, the highest in the NFL.
He's not only a viable red zone threat, but his speed and ability to rack up yards after catches were on full display last season. If he gets a full-time starter gig in 2021, his numbers could get even better.
#2 Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
Ertz is not the top-3 tight end who went to three straight Pro Bowls and shattered the record for most receptions by a tight end in a single season. But outside the top 10? Seems a bit harsh.
Ertz had 335 receiving yards last season, the least of his career, but he played in only 11 games and the Eagles' offense last year was abysmal. He won't produce like in 2018, but he still has more than enough quality to be a top tight end in this league, whether that's in Philadelphia or anywhere else. Ertz outside the top 10 is a mistake.
#3 Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
Two solid seasons since Fant entered the league (and played with dismal quarterbacks) weren't enough to book him a spot inside the top 10 tight end ratings.
You can make valid arguments for Tonyan being out after one great season, or Ertz being out because his performance dropped in 2020, although Wentz and a contract stalemate were the reasons for that. You can't make the same kind of argument for Fant, an above-average tight end since he joined the NFL in 2019.
His blocking skills are great, a common trend from Iowa tight ends; his receiving skills are above average as well. TJ Hockenson, his former teammate, was placed into the top 10; Fant should have been as well.
