Bill Bates Madden Career 1995-1998 - Peak 90 OVR

Bill Bates ran a 4.8 forty and went undrafted out of Tennessee in 1983, which by every measure should have made him a training-camp cut. Instead he played fifteen seasons, all for the Cowboys, on sheer effort and fearlessness, becoming one of the most beloved special-teams players in franchise history and the human argument for why the NFL added a special-teams Pro Bowl spot in 1984, which he was the first to fill.

Madden's cards of him are few and a little odd. Bates shows a 90 in Madden NFL 95 for the 1994 season, a high grade that reflects his special-teams value and toughness more than any coverage skill, and a 72 later on. The numbers never quite know what to do with a player whose worth was measured in collisions on kickoffs.

Bates won three Super Bowls across his long career, made himself a fan favorite with a full-throttle style that John Madden loved to talk about, and later moved into coaching. He was a role player in the purest sense, a safety who was really a special-teams ace, and Madden's high 1995 grade is the game's nod to a player whose value never fit neatly into a rating.