Dexter Coakley Madden Career 1998-2007 - Peak 91 OVR
Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2007 rating

Dexter Coakley Madden Career 1998-2007 - Peak 91 OVR

Position
RLB
Team
Cowboys
Height
5'10"
Weight
236
College
Appalachian St.
DOB
Oct 20, 1972
Madden
1997-2006
86OVR
2006 Current
91OVR
Peak 2004
9
Seasons Played

Too small for the NFL, so he just tackled everyone

Scouts saw a 5'10", 216-pound linebacker from Appalachian State and figured he was too small for the NFL. Dexter Coakley spent eight years in Dallas proving them wrong. A third-round pick in 1997, he opened his career with seven straight 100-tackle seasons, a Cowboys record, and finished with 1,046 tackles, fourth in franchise history.

Speed was his equalizer. He chased the ball from sideline to sideline and took it the other way when he got his hands on it, scoring five defensive touchdowns, tied for a club record. He made three Pro Bowls, in 1999, 2001, and 2003, then signed with St. Louis in 2005, where a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle effectively ended things.

Madden rewarded the production. Coakley was already an 87 in the 2000 edition and stayed in the mid-80s through his Dallas prime before reaching a 91 in the 2004 game, on the back of his 2003 Pro Bowl year, and a 90 in 2005. For a linebacker many teams had written off as a special-teamer, that is a striking peak.

Dexter Coakley Madden Career Milestones

  • Peak rating: 91 OVR in Madden NFL 2005 (age 31)
  • Appeared in 9 Madden releases (Madden NFL 1998 through Madden NFL 2007)
  • Biggest single-year rise: 83 points into Madden NFL 2002
  • Played for 2 franchises: Cowboys, Rams
  • Final Madden appearance: Madden NFL 2007 at 86 OVR

Dexter Coakley Madden Career Ratings

Scale (starred* rows) Only the starred 1-15-era seasons convert; modern rows stay 0-99.
Madden Team Pos OVR Speed ACC AGI STR JMP STA INJ TGH AWR PRC THP TAS TAM TAD CAR BTK TRK BCV SFA SPM JKM CTH RBK PBK IBL TAK PUR MCV ZCV KPW KAC KRN
1998 *
1997 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB - 59 - 59 - - - - - 66 - - - - - - - - - - - - 59 - - - 33 - - - - - -
1999
1998 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB - 76 69 78 67 - - 9 - 80 - - - - - 14 17 - - - - - 19 - - - 87 - - - - - -
2000
1999 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB - 75 64 75 59 - - 90 - 64 - - - - - 29 29 - - - - - 29 - - - 75 - - - - - -
2002
2001 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB 83 82 74 78 71 63 88 83 83 82 - 27 25 25 25 26 - - - - - - 51 21 27 - 81 - - - 15 13 -
2003
2002 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB 85 79 82 77 74 63 82 75 83 - - 31 - - - 29 - - - - - - 56 27 31 - 83 - - - 19 18 -
2004
2003 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB 86 81 82 77 74 63 82 75 83 84 - 31 29 29 29 29 - - - - - - 56 27 31 - 83 - - - 19 18 0
2005
2004 NFL season
 Cowboys RLB 91 85 90 82 73 63 82 75 83 88 - 31 - - - 29 - - - - - - 58 47 31 - 84 - - - 19 18 -
2006
2005 NFL season
 Rams RLB 90 85 88 82 73 63 82 75 - 87 - 31 29 29 29 29 - - - - - - 55 47 31 - 84 - - - 19 18 0
2007
2006 NFL season
 Rams RLB 86 83 85 78 72 63 80 73 83 86 86 31 29 29 29 29 - 39 17 25 40 44 48 47 31 70 82 89 70 75 19 18 0
How to read these: Each row is the player’s rating in that year’s Madden, listed by the NFL season it covers (Madden NFL 2001 = the 2000 season). Madden sets its ratings before the season is played, so they reflect the previous season’s performance - a player’s breakout year tends to show up as a jump in the following year’s game.
About the starred rows*: Several early Madden releases rated players on a 1-15 scale, as printed in the game manuals, rather than the modern 0-99. We store those ratings converted to 0-99 (each manual point is about 6.6) so you can compare players across eras at a glance - use the 0-99 / 1-15 toggle above the table to see the original numbers on those seasons. EA didn’t publish an overall rating in those games, so the OVR* values for those years are our own calculation, the average of the player’s two best ratings.
Note: Some Madden releases tracked fewer attributes than others. Cells shown as - were not published by EA that year.

Dexter Coakley Madden Ratings by Year

Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 1998 rating: rated (1997 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 1999 rating: rated (1998 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2000 rating: rated (1999 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2002 rating: 83 OVR (2001 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2003 rating: 85 OVR (2002 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2004 rating: 86 OVR (2003 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2005 rating: 91 OVR (2004 NFL season, DAL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2006 rating: 90 OVR (2005 NFL season, STL). Dexter Coakley Madden NFL 2007 rating: 86 OVR (2006 NFL season, STL).