Eric Bjornson Madden Career 1996-2000 - Peak 70 OVR

Eric Bjornson went to Washington as a quarterback, third-string on the 1991 national champions, and left as a receiver, an athletic converted skill player the Cowboys drafted in the fourth round in 1995 and turned into a tight end. It was his third position in five years, and the learning curve showed early, both on the field and on the card.

Madden opened him at a 52, the grade of a rookie still figuring out where to line up, and it stayed low through his Dallas years, a 44 and a 56 while he split time and learned the position. The number climbed as the receiving work came, up through the 60s and to an 83 peak in Madden NFL 2001, his one season in New England, built on a catch rating that finally reflected the hands he had shown flashes of. His best Dallas years were 1996 and 1997, when he caught 48 and 47 passes as a genuine part of the offense.

Bjornson won a ring as a rookie on the Super Bowl XXX roster after the 1995 season, and finished with 147 catches for 1,384 yards across six seasons with the Cowboys and Patriots. He was never a star, but he was a smart, versatile piece a good roster keeps around, and Madden's climb from a 52 to an 83 tracks a converted quarterback slowly growing into an NFL tight end.