Ravens' Lamar Jackson: My 94 Madden Rating 'Should Have Been a Little Better'

Add reigning NFL MVP and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to the list of players who thought their Madden NFL 21 scores should have been better.

Jackson, who's the game's cover athlete, spoke with ESPN's Laura Rutledge about his 94 overall rating, which places him below just Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson on the signal-callers list:

"I'm pretty cool with the guys who are ahead of me right now but...I'm hot 'bout the rating. I don't think I should have been a 94, I think it should have been a little better at least. But it's all good, it's better than it was last year, and the previous year before that, so I'm good," Jackson said.

When asked what rating he would be happy with, Jackson gave the following response: "Probably a 96 or a 97, I probably deserve that at least but it is what it is."

One could write the same story about players getting upset about their Madden ratings year after year, minus some name and stat changes here and there.

But some players have raised good points.

In Jackson's case, he's basically two players in one given his tremendous rushing ability, which helped him get 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on 6.9 yards per carry. That's in addition to tossing 36 touchdowns (versus only six interceptions) and completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 8.9 adjusted passing yards per attempt, according to Pro Football Reference. With those figures in mind, one could make a case for a 96 or 97. 

Jackson isn't the only quarterback who went on ESPN and said his rating should have been better. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is somehow a 77 overall (20th on the quarterback list) despite amassing 24 total touchdowns and completing 64.4 percent of his passes during his rookie season. The Cardinals offense improved from last in points per game in 2018 to 16th in 2019 largely because of his efforts.

Other players who didn't see eye-to-eye with ratings include Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, per Jordan Heck of Sporting News.

The latest edition of Madden will be released August 28.