Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens fleet quarterback, has been rated 96 in the latest Madden NFL 20 update. This makes him the fastest quarterback in Madden history, surpassing one of the greatest video game athletes of all time.
That would be Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons in the Madden NFL 2004, who, along with Jeremy Roenick and Tecmo Bo Jackson, is remembered as one of the last great, over-powerful video game athletes. Sixteen years of live service and weekly roster updates have made superhuman players obsolete as assessment science has improved and the ability to re-evaluate and balance the game has picked out anomalies.
Jackson’s 7.1 yards per rushing attempt leads all NFL runners, and his 897 rushing yards take ninth place in the standings. On Monday, he led the Ravens to a 45-6 throttling of defending NFC champion Los Angeles, who ran eight straights for 95 yards, scoring five touchdowns.
These were um, ordinary results for Madden 2004 Vick, rated 95 in SPD. Vick was also rated 95, with 94 being accelerated to Jackson’s 93, which means he can reach top speed a bit faster. Vick also had a whopping 97 throwing power on Jackson’s 91.
The throwing accuracy has been different in the 16 years since Madden NFL 2004, but it looks like Vick has a slight lead at 84. Jackson’s average casting accuracy (short, medium and low) is 84.67. But if you throw your 88 on the run and 89 under pressure, it goes up to 85.6.
However, it should be noted that Vick’s reviews were noted on the CD and were invariable. Jackson’s SPD has risen by 11 in the nearly four months since Madden 20 was launched. Where Jackson really has an advantage over Vick in running is his 69 (nice) ball bearer. Vick had a car at 54, and his high risk of coughing the ball was a notorious test of his otherworldly power. It still has not stopped players from making a drop and roll out in eleven steps before using Peerless Price for a flight pattern to convert the 4th and 31st of their own 10s.
In a press release, EA Sports noted that Jackson is just as popular with Madden fans. The company’s telemetry gave him 704 million rushing yards within the player base (yes, really, EA is pursuing this). His 6.3 million rushing touchdowns are also the most since launch.
Jackson’s milestone comes a week after Christian McCaffrey, the previous Carolina Panthers, has received an overall rating of 99 and is the youngest player to reach this summit. McCaffrey, who started the season at 91, joined five other running backs, including Hall of Famer’s Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson.
To celebrate Jackson’s speed rating, Vick Jackson presented the studs from an EA Sports Nike collaboration to commemorate Jackson’s otherworldly talent. The shoes are a variation on the Nike Vapor Untouchable Pro 3 that Jackson already wears. They are a tribute to his 96 SPD and “Not bad for an RB,” a nod to the dismissive scouting that made Jackson, a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Louisville, better for running back. “Whoever said it to Lamar, now they’re eating those words,” Vick said.
