NFL rookies can't catch a break, man. All the hazing for being the new guys on the team, tons of attention they aren't used to and 'professional athlete' money flowing in are all part and parcel after the draft. But what's harder than any of those? That Madden 15 rating.

The team behind Madden 15 asked some new recruits, including players like Khalil Mack of the Raiders, Sammy Watkins of the Buffalo Bills, and Blake Bortles of the Jacksonville Jaguars, to make a prediction on what their rating will be. It's hard to imagine that anyone joining the NFL these days didn't grow up playing EA's long-running series, so everyone's going to have an opinion on where they might rate.

Their reactions to their actual ratings are priceless. You're out there busting your butt on the field and some guy at Electronic Arts boils all your hard work down to a number. I'd swear one of those guys looked like he was about to tear up.

They don't have to worry, though. Thanks to weekly updates, players' ratings can shoot up through the ranks if they perform above their current expectation. I feel worse for the guy at EA responsible for these ratings, Donny Moore, who is hated by players and sports fans alike for his assessments, than I do for the players who will almost certainly improve those ratings with time.

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