Kelvin Martin Madden Career 1992-1997 - Peak 97 OVR

Kelvin Martin was a slot receiver and punt returner out of Boston College, a fourth-round pick in 1987 who led the nation in punt-return yardage in college and made his NFL living the same way. He spent his best years in Dallas, a reliable third-down target and return man on the roster that grew into a champion.

Madden's cards of him are noisy, with one glaring spike. Martin shows a 97 in Madden NFL 95 for the 1994 season, a Seahawks card so far above his other grades that it can only be a data error, since nothing about his production justified it. His real numbers sat much lower, in the 40s and 50s, the honest range for a slot receiver and returner.

Martin won a Super Bowl ring with the 1992 Cowboys, then bounced to Seattle and Philadelphia before a final year back in Dallas. He finished with 367 catches and nearly 2,600 punt-return yards, a useful, versatile role player across a decade. Madden's phantom 97 tells you nothing true about him; the return yardage and the ring tell you what a good complementary player he actually was.