Lamar Jackson’s Madden rating will interest non-Ravens fans

The Ravens have lacked a true ‘star’ since their victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, when Ray Lewis rode off into the sunset with the Lombardi Trophy in tow. Yes, they have good-to-great players but nobody the NFL or ESPN fawn over with commercials or segments from talking heads. But, with the final pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the franchise landed a popularity victory, winning over gamers of the football series, Madden.

EA Sports released their Top 5 Rookies QBs post earlier this week and Lamar Jackson landed in second, only behind the first overall pick of the draft, Baker Mayfield.

2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

79 OVR

Lamar Jackson could be the most interesting QB to play as in Madden 19. If you sim a lot of games in Franchise, he’s likely not the best pick at the moment. But holy hell, his base ratings make him fun. The stud athlete clocks a 91 Speed, making him not only the fastest QB in the game, but the only one who breaks 90 in that category. He also sports a 93 Ball Carrier Vision, an 86 Spin, 89 Juke, and 94 Throw Power. His accuracy scores (83 Short, 80 Mid, 74 Deep) can lead to some wild throws, but his running scores can also lead to several easy first downs after escaping the pocket. Watch out for this one.

This will certainly be something to explore for fans of Madden; from fantasy drafts to those trading Joe Flacco for the sole purpose of wanting Lamar in the driver seat from Day 1, it will be an enjoyable ride.

For me, personally, I haven’t touched a copy of the series after Madden 13, but that’s mainly due to my bank account. Also, it’s nice to own the year of the game where Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and many of my childhood favorites still are in the game. I do my best to trade for Randy Moss every time.

The excitement of Jackson has me intrigued though, and a 91 speed rating will be fun to utilize alongside a full arsenal of Michael Crabtree, Alex Collins, John Brown and Willie Snead.

As the title states, this could bring more fans flocking to the Ravens, as I know many who started following a team specifically for their ranking in a video game. Some became Rams fans due to Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf, while I’ve also met Ravens fans who started their life loving the Purple & Black from Ray Lewis and his glorious Madden commercial back in 2005.

Either way, Baltimore may receive new, younger fans, all due to the former Louisville Cardinal turned Baltimore Raven.