The official Madden NFL social media account has released a top 10 Tight Ends list for the latest Madden 26 video game, and this list has created an outrage among the gaming community instantly. The post with San Francisco 49ers player George Kittle, who is the first on the list, makes it to inquire if he is the best tight end in the league and who else is deserving to be on the list. The community gave a quick and mixed response which clearly indicated the strong emotions and occasional heated discussions that come with players’ ratings in the long-established American football simulation franchise.
It is almost as if they knew the consequences when EA Madden released this list. They rated Kittle the highest with 95 points, which is probably a fair assessment. However, they went further by questioning, “Is he the best? Who else belongs?” and practically igniting the internet. While it may be the oldest trick in the book, it is nevertheless very effective every single time. The replies are nothing but chaos, turning into a beautiful mess of people arguing about statistics, injuries, and which player “doesn’t know ball.”
First of all, Kittle is a very popular player. Many of the replies are just simple affirmations of his ability. To quote one player “He has been since 2018.” Another one just shares a GIF of Kittle looking live with the accompanying text “George is #1.” Coach_KG_ chips in saying, “Absolutely @gkittle46 is the best TE in football.” So, there is indeed a fairly large portion of the community that agrees with the rating. However, there are also those who belong to the “if he stayed on the field” camp. Lloyd is one such person, to whom Kittle’s critics reply, “If he stayed on the field yes,” which is the classic negative remark about Kittle – he is phenomenally good but at the same time, he frequently suffers from minor injuries that reduce his playing time. Does that mean he can no longer be considered number one? Some say yes.
That is when the other contenders come up. The list is likely to have players like Trey McBride, Mark Andrews, and Travis Kelce, among others. And the entire McBride vs. Kittle argument is such a big deal. One player, XEnjoyer25480, engages in the discussion by saying that, if you are building a team today, you might go after a healthier McBride who has “marginally better stats.” But then KP comes back with a strong statement saying, “Kittle is a clear tier above,” and health is the only advantage McBride has. It is a clash between numbers and the eye test, availability and peak performance. A classic sports bar discussion, albeit with a video game rating attached to it.
But wait, it gets weirder. Who is Tucker Kraft, and why is he the center of so much conversation? To be honest, there are at least four or five different comments regarding Tucker Kraft. “where is tucker kraft,” “Tucker Kraft should be higher,” “I’d rather take tucker kraft with 1 functioning acl than hockenson.” It turns out that this guy is a member of the Green Bay Packers, and the Madden community is really angry because he is not on this list or is rated too low. It’s like one of those deep-cut fan favorites that the developers probably didn’t see coming, but the players are loud about it. The same can be said for guys like Harold Fannin and Tyler Warren. Moe is ranting about Fannin having better stats than Warren and getting “no respect,” ending with “Madden adjusters be wilding out.” The exasperation is almost palpable through the monitor!
In contrast, there are those who lean more towards less constructive criticism. One comment said, “Can yall niggas remove the speed boost,” which, okay, that’s a completely different gameplay complaint creeping into the discussion of ratings. And of course, the usual “learn ball” insults are thrown around. Josh seems to be on a mission, telling multiple people they “don’t know ball at all and that’s alright.” It is quite aggressive yet at the same time, it is quite funny because of its sincerity. People really take these things so personally!
What is really amusing is that this simple list is a genuine test of different people’s viewpoints. Some are using pure receiving numbers from last season as the only metric. Others are putting a large premium on blocking which is Kittle’s niche. Some are thinking of future potential, others of past greatness. And some are just supporting their favorite team player, with the Packers fans being the ones with Kraft. EA Madden releases one picture, and it turns out to be a Rorschach test for how you assess football players. The developers have the impossible job of trying to satisfy all, and this tweet shows that they indeed cannot win. The gaming community’s passion extends to other franchises too, like the recent news about the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel affecting both PlayStation and Xbox players.
