Madden ratings.

Players seem to feel disrespected when the number doesn’t match up with their own beliefs, or when somebody is ranked higher than they are.

It would SEEM as though Zach Ertz is suggesting just that in this Twitter post:

For starters, Gronk didn’t even play last year. In 2018, he logged 682 yards and caught three touchdowns over the course of 13 games.

The only comparisons for Ertz should be Kittle and Kelce, if we’re being honest.

Last year:

  • Ertz: 88 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns, 50 first downs, 10.4 YPC, catch percentage 65.2
  • Kelce: 97 receptions for 1,229 yards and five touchdowns, 65 first downs, 12.7 YPC, catch percentage 71.3
  • Kittle: 85 receptions for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns, 53 first downs, 12.4 YPC, catch percentage 79.4%

You can go a little further into the weeds if you want, but Ertz really is not far behind those guys, if at all. I don’t think he’s eight full rating points behind Kittle and seven behind Kelce. They should have either moved Ertz up to a 91 or a 92 or brought down the other guys, because this makes it seem like there’s a big dropoff to Ertz, when really there is not. I’d take any one of the three on my team and feel very good about it.

Gronk, however, has no business being where he is, which I think we can all agree on.