Alan Ricard Madden Career 2004-2006 - Peak 85 OVR

Alan Ricard never carried the ball much, and that was the point. An undrafted fullback out of Louisiana-Monroe, he caught on with the Ravens in 2000 and became the lead blocker who cleared the way for Jamal Lewis, most memorably during Lewis's 2,066-yard season in 2003. Ricard made the Pro Bowl as an alternate that year on the strength of work that rarely showed up in a box score.

His own numbers were tiny, 43 carries for 172 yards and a couple of touchdowns across 55 games in Baltimore, plus a handful of catches. He was hired to move linebackers, not to touch the ball, and he did it well enough to start 32 games before later stops in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit.

Madden, which tends to shortchange fullbacks, warmed to him slowly. Ricard was a 57 in the 2002 edition, climbed to 72 and then 84 as he established himself, and reached his ceiling of 89 in the 2006 game, a generous top mark for a blocker whose value lived in the yards other men gained.