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Syracuse Football: Madden 2019 rankings are out for Cuse alum

By Paul A. Esden Jr.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 09: JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Young Kiv, Madden 18 Champion, speak on-stage about 'Madden 19' during the Electronic Arts EA Play event at the Hollywood Palladium on June 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The E3 Game Conference begins on Tuesday June 12. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 09: JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Young Kiv, Madden 18 Champion, speak on-stage about 'Madden 19' during the Electronic Arts EA Play event at the Hollywood Palladium on June 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The E3 Game Conference begins on Tuesday June 12. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Madden 2019 rankings are out for the Syracuse football alum in the NFL. Here’s the full breakdown of all the Orange in the pros.

The Syracuse football team has been quite fortunate with their alum’s success in the NFL. That has been documented in this millennial age with the latest installment of Madden 2019.

The college football video game is no longer active due to that lawsuit. Which means Orange fans can’t play as their favorite squad. But I’ve got one better: playing as your favorite Orange stars in the NFL!

So the Syracuse players that are included in this year’s Madden game are ranked below according to their overall ratings.

Plus we included a little snippet on each player and where they’re in their NFL careers, here’s the Syracuse players who made the cut!

  • Chandler Jones (right defensive end), Arizona Cardinals

    • 89 overall ranking
    • 79 speed
    • 86 acceleration
    • 81 agility
    • 81 strength

The highest rated Syracuse football star in the NFL is of course Chandler Jones. He is the pride and joy of the Orange and a wonderful representative of the program. Like a fine wine he has gotten better with age.

Jones led the NFL in sacks last season and just signed a fat new extension with the Cardinals. The interesting thing is Jones ‘only’ had 10 career sacks with the Cuse. But in the NFL he has truly blossomed into one of the lankiest and scariest pass rushers in the game. Next stop Canton?

  • Justin Pugh (right guard), Arizona Cardinals

    • 80 overall ranking
    • 87 awareness
    • 67 speed
    • 85 acceleration
    • 73 agility
    • 88 strength

The top two ranking stars in Madden are now reunited as teammates with the Arizona Cardinals. After spending five years with the New York Giants, Justin Pugh selected a new location in the desert.

It may be easier to list what Pugh hasn’t done in the NFL, it’d probably be a shorter list. He was drafted to be Eli Manning’s blind side protector. Then because of injuries had to shift over to right tackle. Then played some guard. Now he is listed as the starting right guard for the Cardinals.

  • Riley Dixon (punter), New York Giants

    • 75 overall ranking
    • 61 awarness
    • 78 speed
    • 81 acceleration
    • 79 agility
    • 57 strength

While some people just want to label Riley Dixon as a ‘punter’. I think that’s a tragic mistake. Dixon is more than that, he’s a football player. Someone that can certainly get the job done as a punter, but then fake plays are always in the mix. We saw it here at Syracuse, it hasn’t translated yet to the pros. Hopefully with his new gig with Big Blue and his return to New York, he can maximize his potential.

  • Jay Bromley (defensive tackle), New Orleans Saints

    • 73 overall ranking
    • 77 awareness
    • 70 speed
    • 83 acceleration
    • 69 agility
    • 85 strength

Bromley is another player that is headed to a new locale. That’s too bad because he would’ve been reunited with Dixon if he stayed with the Giants. But I can’t blame him because things were getting crowded in the defensive line room. Now with the New Orleans Saints he can become a key part of the rotation and carve out a role in the NFL for a long time. Bromley has an innate ability to collapse the pocket for the opposing quarterback, I expect a ton of that with Big Easy.

  • Zaire Franklin (right outside linebacker), Indianapolis Colts

    • 68 overall ranking
    • 55 awarness
    • 85 speed
    • 90 acceleration
    • 82 agility
    • 80 strength

One of my favorite players I’ve ever interviewed. Zaire is much more than a football player, he’s just a wonderful human being. Now if I had to bet an amount of money that I cared about on a player succeeding at the next level, my guy would be Franklin. He’s a super intelligent player, versatile, keeps his body in impeccable shape, and should be a 10-15 year player in the league. This is definitely a guy I’m grabbing in franchise mode on Madden to develop.

  • Cameron Lynch (right outside linebacker), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    • 66 overall ranking
    • 59 awarness
    • 79 speed
    • 85 acceleration
    • 75 agility
    • 81 strength

A 66 OVERALL RANKING? Fair to say Cameron is a bit underrated. I just recently had a conversation with Lynch on ‘Drive Time Sports’ on The Score 1260. This is a guy who will never get the love he deserves from the Madden gameplay designers. He’s a special teams fiend and is a role player on the defensive side of the ball. You love having players like Lynch on your team.

  • Amba Etta-Tawo (wide receiver), New York Giants

    • 61 overall ranking
    • 47 awarness
    • 90 speed
    • 91 accleration
    • 89 agility
    • 67 strength

Amba may have had the single greatest season in Syracuse football history with his lone season in Orange. That did not translate into being drafted, but he has had a few opportunities with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the latest being with the New York Giants.

Next: Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History

The speed is probably a little overrated because he never really blew by people. Although he did record a sub 4.5 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine and ran a 4.3 40 at his Pro Day. If he can improve the one major weakness of getting off the line of scrimmage against corners, the sky is the limit for this prospect.

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