The excitement for the Las Vegas Raiders’ Madden ratings release was short-lived after viewing the wide receiver group. The safeties came out on the same day, and there is little for gamers to be happy about. Both starting safeties are amongst the worst first-team guys in the league.
Free safety Marcus Epps (77 overall) is ranked 24th at the position. Tre’von Moehrig (76) sits at 36th among strong safeties.
Free Safety | Overall |
|---|---|
Marcus Epps | 77 |
Christopher Smith | 67 |
Isaiah Pola-Mao | 60 |
This isn’t without good reason. Epps comes to the Raiders after being a single-season starter for the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent three seasons as a backup after being drafted in the sixth round by the Minnesota Vikings who cut him during his rookie season.
On the game, his coverage numbers are poor (69 man coverage and 74 zone coverage), but true to life, his tackling is decent for a DB (71). His pursuit rating is (81).
Also at free safety, Christopher Smith enters his rookie season at 67 overall. The unanimous Consensus All-American from Georgia is an interesting prospect on the game. Except for pursuit and awareness, his numbers are already close to Epps. Some pre-season work might help bump him into a respectable back-up range.
The third free safety is Isaiah Pola-Mao (60) who is the second-to-last rated free safety.
Strong Safety | Overall |
|---|---|
Tre'von Moehrig | 76 |
Roderic Teamer | 67 |
Jaquan Johnson | 67 |
Moehrig begins his third season in the league after the Raiders selected him with a second-round pick. He’s been a starter every year but has failed to meet expectations. The game ranks him slightly better in zone coverage than Epps which is debatable. There is good news though.
Several teams have backups rated better than Moehrig, so there might be some early trade options available.
Raiders should have strong battles at camp this year
Roderic Teamer (67) and Jaquan Johnson (67) will battle for the backup strong safety position. According to the ratings, Teamer appears to have the edge with slightly better pass coverage and a massive eight-point jump advantage. Plus, he is a year younger, so there is more time for improvement before the regression sets in.
The safety group is pretty soft for this year's rendition, but it is honest. The Raiders’ entire secondary was horrendous last year. Despite this, the front office failed to go after anyone. Hopefully, there will be someone in the free agency market to start the game.