Jessie Armstead Madden Career 1996-2004 - Peak 92 OVR

Knee questions dropped Jessie Armstead to the eighth round of the 1993 draft, deep into a round the NFL no longer even holds, and the Miami linebacker turned that slight into a long argument that the Giants had found a gem. He started on special teams, earned a starting job, and became the fastest, most instinctive defender on the roster.

From 1997 through 2001 he made five straight Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 1997, finishing with 40 sacks and 12 interceptions from a linebacker who covered ground sideline to sideline. He helped carry the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV after the 2000 season, a game they lost 34-7 to the Ravens. He closed out his career with two seasons in Washington.

His Madden card sat at 54 back in the 1996 edition, before the league knew what it had. By the 2000 edition, in full command, he was a 93, and he held a 92 the next year. The number settled into the mid-80s through his final seasons, but that leap from afterthought to elite is the whole story of his career in two data points.