Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had a great rookie season, even if it largely went unnoticed.
It didn’t go unnoticed by those who voted on the offensive rookie of the year award. It apparently went unnoticed by the folks who assign the player ratings for the Madden game.
Murray enters the year with a 77 in new edition of the videogame franchise. It has him tied for 20th, with Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Allen should be upset. Murray definitely is, even though he tried to downplay his disdain (a bit) during an appearance on ESPN.
“Honestly, I thought y’all were joking when you said that,” Murray said of the initial rating for the 2020 season, via SportingNews.com. “I ended the year at a 77. I can’t really say everything I want to say on the air right now, but I kind of take it as disrespect, but it is what it is. Like I said, I’ll let my play speak for itself, so hopefully it’ll bump up during the year.”
He said that his number should at least be in the 80s, and that "[s]omeone in the Madden office is trying to hold me back.”
“I’m really shocked that I’m a 77 overall,” Murray added. “I don’t really know what to say. . . . That’s tough.”
Just behind Murray are Jameis Winston (76), Jared Goff (76 . . . oof), Joe Burrow (76), and Teddy Bridgewater (75). Just ahead of Murray are Cam Newton (78), Baker Mayfield (78), Derek Carr (79), and Ryan Tannehill (80).
Patriots, Browns, Raiders, and Titans fans would be crazy not to pounce on the opportunity to swap their current starter for Murray, who could become the latest second-year quarterback in four seasons to explode onto the scene, following Patrick Mahomes in 2018 and Lamar Jackson in 2019.
Of course, Madden didn’t see those two coming, either. Jackson was a 76 in the initial Madden 20 ratings an became the 2019 league MVP, Mahomes had a 77 in Madden 19, before becoming the 2018 league MVP.
Given that Mahomes ended up on the cover of Madden 20 and Jackson landed on the cover of Madden 21, it all adds up to Murray earning the cover of Madden 22.