"If Deebo (Samuel) has a higher breaking-tackles rating than me, that's just not okay," the tight end said. "It's Deebo, isn't it?"
Yes. The second-year wideout owns a rating of 83 in that category.
"Sure, whatever," Kittle added. "I think I led the NFL in it the last two years, so it's whatever … I'm upset that Deebo is better than me at breaking tackles."
Another shocker was that one of the league's best young defenders, Nick Bosa, wasn't among the 10 highest-rated pass rushers.
Adam Rank of NFL Media had an issue with Bosa's overall rating of 89, which he felt was too low. He listed the young defensive end among his ranking of the 10 "most egregiously off-base player ratings" in Madden NFL 21.
Bosa came in at No. 4.
"Nick Bosa was a runaway choice for Defensive Rookie of the Year last year, on top of being one of the key reasons the 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl," wrote Rank. "He's also one of the reasons the 49ers are favorites this year. Seventeen defensive linemen or pass-rushers -- including Nick's big bro, Joey Bosa -- are rated higher than Nick Bosa. Outside of Aaron Donald (99), I'm not sure I would take any one of them over Nick at this point."
While Bosa may not be among Madden NFL 21's top pass rushers, he was one of the three best edge defenders according to a ranking conducted by ESPN, which polled 50 league executives, coaches, scouts, and players.
"We literally had no answer for him," noted one NFL executive whose team faced the 49ers last season. "Completely dominated us."
Bosa, who is entering his second NFL season, racked up 47 tackles, nine sacks (adding four more in the postseason), two passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble during his rookie campaign.
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