Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens is not happy with his 83 overall rating in Madden 25. In an Instagram story, Pickens expressed his displeasure, tagging the official Madden account and writing “you [alright] producing bad gaming?”
George Pickens on his Madden 25 Rating
“Ima fry yo ass” 👿🔥 #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/50YODVQTpt
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) July 30, 2024
“Aye @eamaddennfl you [alright] producing bad gaming 83 is wild,” Pickens wrote.
In a separate story, Pickens posted a picture of himself at training camp, writing “Ima fry yo ass,” but it’s unclear if it’s related to his Madden rating.
Pickens’ 83 rating puts him as the highest-rated receiver on the Steelers, but just the 33rd highest-rated receiver. It was the same rating former Steelers WR Diontae Johnson received and below receivers such as Gabe Davis, Zay Flowers and Christian Kirk.
Putting Pickens below Davis, who has never matched the 63 receptions for 1,140 yards Pickens achieved last year (and has never had more than 48 receptions and 836 yards in a season, which he did in 22), doesn’t make much sense, and Pickens has a legitimate gripe with his rating given some of the receivers ahead of him.
It’s not the first time Pickens isn’t happy about his rating. Last season, Pickens was an 80 overall before the season, and he griped that rating was “way too low.” After a 1,000-yard season, Pickens received just a boost of three overall, and for whatever reason, the game also gave him a slot archetype despite Pickens primarily being an outside receiver.
For a game that bills itself as a football simulation, Madden has strayed further and further from that with how the game is made each year, as it primarily focuses on its card-collecting Ultimate Team mode. Some of these bizarre ratings show more and more that the game doesn’t represent what’s actually happening on the field.
Regardless, the 83 overall for Pickens isn’t bad in a nutshell. He still has to improve his consistency week to week and continue to become a more well-rounded receiver. The bigger issue is his placement among other receivers in the league. On a pure talent basis and production basis, Pickens should be ahead of guys like Davis and should probably be ahead of Courtland Sutton, who got an 84 overall, as well. The rankings around the league make Pickens’ rating look bad, even if the actual rating itself isn’t all that egregious.
But, hey, it’s just a video game, and video games can be stupid. That (and my incredible stick skills) is why my UMass Minutemen could pull off an upset against No. 3 Missouri in College Football 25.
