Madden 16: Biggest Snubs in Player Ratings and Predictions for Next Year's Cover

Will the lack of respect for Tony Romo ever cease? Perhaps the Dallas Cowboys quarterback won't be given the respect he deserves until he wins a Super Bowl. The latest piece of disrespect has come from EA Sports ratings makers.   

The list of the top five players at each position in Madden NFL 16 has been released, and guess what? Romo isn't on it. Here are the top five signal-callers:

Player	Team	Rating
Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	99
Tom Brady	New England Patriots	97
Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	95
Ben Roethlisberger	Pittsburgh Steelers	95
Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	94

Biggest Snubs

Tony Romo

Romo didn't get completely stiffed. He does have an overall rating of 93, but this is more about principle.

How can a guy lead the NFL in passer rating, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, completion percentage and not be one of the five best quarterbacks in the league? Being behind the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers and the New England Patriots' Tom Brady is understandable, but Romo could be considered even with the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees (95)—at least the one we saw in 2014.

Romo should definitely be ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck. Big Ben and Luck have gaudier passing numbers than Romo, but that was more of a product of the pass-happy offenses the Steelers and Colts ran.

Romo had the NFL's leading rusher behind him, but let's not forget he has had four seasons with over 4,000 yards passing. When he's healthy, he's as mobile as Roethlisberger and just a step behind Luck in that category.

Where can I buy a "Respect Romo" T-shirt?

Peyton Manning

EA Sports rated Peyton Manning even lower than Romo at 92 overall.

The Denver Bronco didn't have his best season in 2014, but it was close. His 4,727 yards were the second most in his legendary career. He also threw 39 touchdown passes. Manning's interception total was up to 15, but Luck tossed 16 with just one more touchdown pass at 40.

When you take awareness into consideration, Manning should still be near the top of the charts. Even if he's just one point below Luck in overall rating, it's questionable.

Matt Forte

You won't find Matt Forte among the top 10 rushers in the NFL, but there is no better all-around back in the NFL. Forte had 1,846 yards from scrimmage, and no back in the NFL had more receptions. Forte's 102 receptions didn't just lead all running backs—the total was good for fourth in the NFL. That was only good for a 90 overall rating.

In about 2.5 seasons, Forte is on pace to become just the fourth player in NFL history to compile 10,000 rushing and 5,000 passing yards in a career. Tiki Barber, Marshall Faulk and Marcus Allen—a player Forte is often compared to—are the others.

In football, having 2.5 seasons of healthy production is far from a sure thing, but he's only missed one game in the last three years.

Being overlooked is nothing new for Forte. He's talked it about it before:

Obviously, this is probably not going to be a huge deal for a veteran like Forte, but you just wonder if he will ever get the respect he's earned. 

Who's Next for the Madden Cover?

The New York Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. will grace the cover of Madden 16, but which star will see his likeness on Madden 17? We learned from the most recent cover vote that breakout stars who are dynamic, fan-friendly talents have the best chance to connect with the gaming crowd.

Here are two players who have a chance make an impact similar to the one Beckham made in 2014. The custom-made covers are courtesy of Matt Steller of Steller Covers:

Marcus Mariota

The No. 2 overall pick has the athleticism to make plays that will be featured in highlight reels during the season. To truly make an impact, he'll need need to engineer some team success. The Tennessee Titans probably won't make the playoffs, but if Mariota can have a rookie season like Vince Young had for the franchise in 2006, who knows what might happen.

Obviously, Tennessee would hope the rest of Mariota's career differs from Young's after the first season, but the former Texas Longhorns star did parlay his early shades of brilliance into an appearance on the cover of Madden 2008.

Todd Gurley

The only St. Louis Rams player to ever appear on the cover of a Madden game was Marshall Faulk. The Hall of Famer was the cover athlete of Madden 2003. The team's newest back, Todd Gurley could have the goods to become the next Ram to earn the honor.

Were it not for injury concerns that lingered from his days in college with the Georgia Bulldogs, Gurley might have been a top-10 pick.

He's big and strong enough at 6'1", 222 pounds and fast enough to create memorable plays. In Gurley's draft profile, NFL.com's Lance Zierlein compared him to Marshawn Lynch. If Gurley goes into Beast Mode as a rookie, he might find himself on the cover next year.

---

Tweeted images from NFL on CBS, Dawgsontop and Steve Noah of Operation Sports.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.