Madden NFL 21: 5 Vikings who should see their ratings jump in 2020

Kirk Cousins

Some fans will make the joke that Cousins’ clutch rating should be zero, but the facts are that Cousins outplayed his Madden rating in 2020. Entering the year with an 81 OVR rating, Cousins didn’t move the needle much jumping one point to 82 at the end of the season. But that wasn’t indicative of the way he played.

While his overall yardage totals were ordinary, Cousins brought his efficiency to a new level last season. With 26 touchdowns and six interceptions, Cousins was opportunistic in his passing attack and was especially deadly off play-action, where he ranked fourth among qualifying quarterbacks with a 129.2 passer rating.

This isn’t a case to throw Cousins into the 90s and have him rival Aaron Rodgers (89 OVR), but even a slight bump would do. Even his statistical doppelganger Matthew Stafford had an 82 rating but was on pace for just under 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns before getting hurt midway through last season. If they bump up Stafford, Cousins should get a jump as well.