Ravens Lamar Jackson reacts to surprising Madden 21 ranking and Mahomes deal

Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson has been receiving a lot more criticism and disrespect in the media since Kansas City Chiefs star signal-caller Patrick Mahomes inked his record-shattering extension than love and admiration. For some who just had one of the best single seasons by a quarterback in league history in just his second season and first as a full-time starter, the critics have been harsh as of late.

Jackson’s 2019 MVP campaign was so electrifying that he was the clear and obvious choice for not only the top individual honor the NFL has to offer, after leading the league with 36 touchdowns and coming in sixth in rushing by setting the single-season rushing record at the quarterback position with 1,206, he was named the cover athlete for the popular sports video game Madden for their 21st edition.

He had achieved yet another one of his childhood dreams by being on the cover of the games that he and so many other youths and adults across America and the world enjoy and indulge in playing yet despite being on the cover of the game itself, Jackson was not only snubbed from the elite 99-club where a select few players are given perfect ratings, he was not even the second-highest-rated player at his position.

That distinction went to Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks who Jackson beat head to head in Seattle last season in lopsided fashion. Wilson ranked right behind Mahomes, who received a perfect 99 overall rating, with an overall rating of 97 while Jackson was given a preliminary overall rating of 94 by the evaluators.

It is still a significant jump from the rating of 79 that he received when Madden 20 was released, but it is still not what anyone or Jackson himself expected considering that he is the best and most fun player to use on the entire game, even more than Mahomes, with all of the incredible plays he can make running and throwing the ball, just like he does in real life on the actual fields.

He appeared on Sports Center on Monday and when ESPN’s Sage Steele informed him of his ranking, he was surprised, to say the least after previously expecting a number in the higher 90s like a 97 or at least a 96 at worst.

“A 94?” Jackson said before waving his hand, scratching the back of his head and laughing a little bit. “I wish it was better. But hey, it’s better than it was last year. So, I guess we can roll with it till the season starts.”

Once again, Jackson scoffs at the doubt being cast his direction and remains focused and confident that he’ll prove them wrong once again. It seems at every turn and every level, no matter how much he improves from year to year, he doesn’t get the respect he deserves and I guess the video game that he is featured on the cover of is no different.

“I’m grateful for the MVP, all that. (But) I feel like I haven’t done anything yet,” he said. “There is always room for improvement. I just want to keep going. … I want to win a Super Bowl.”

One area where he did come in first among quarterbacks on Madden was his speed rating where he received a 96 with the next closest being Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray at 91. Maybe making Jackson the highest-rated player in the game gave the Ravens too much of an advantage in their simulations since he was nearly impossible to stop in the regular season in 2019 and would likely have been unstoppable in the virtual world with any rating higher than what he was initially given.

Jackson continues to brush off and is fueled by the skeptics and even though he doesn’t get the love and respect that he feels he deserves; he is still happy for and congratulatory of his fellow players and quarterbacks when they get theirs.

“I gotta win me a Super Bowl. I gotta get to where he’s at,” Jackson said with a laugh when asked what his initial reaction was when news broke of the Mahomes deal worth $503 million. “It’s a crazy number. No one has ever dreamed about that. Well, probably dreamed about it, but no one ever expected that. Especially half a billion dollars. That’s different. He deserves it, though.”

The two young shining stars and faces of the league seemed to be tied at the hip when it comes to discussions of the top players not only at the quarterback position but the best player in the game in general. If Jackson can lead his team to pinnacle of the NFL’s mountain top and come down with the third Superbowl title in the franchise’s 25-year history, he could become the next half a billion-dollar quarterback next offseason when he becomes eligible to negotiate a new contract.

“That means he’s about to get a half billi,” Ravens running back Mark Ingram said in an appearance on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access last week. “He’s about to secure the bag. He’s coming up next. So, all he’s gotta do is follow the same trend … then he gets his half a billi.”