Ja’Marr Chase was not happy one week before preseason camp begins. That’s because EA Sports published its ratings for the top 10 wide receivers in this year’s annual installment of the Madden video game series and he wasn’t included.
Chase was left out of Monday’s reveal in favor of veterans like DeAndre Hopkins and Amari Cooper despite a stunning rookie season that saw him rank fourth in the NFL with 1,455 receiving yards and second after averaging 18.0 yards per catch. Fortunately, he’s among good company when it comes to players the Madden franchise underrated in their second seasons as a pro.
Like the time EA designated a future seven-time Super Bowl champion so disposable they didn’t even bother naming him on the 2001 New England Patriots roster:
Don’t sweat it man. Madden didn’t even put me in the game my second year 😂 @Real10jayy__ https://t.co/je5GbMfFrQ
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) July 18, 2022
That’s right, Tom Brady was so forgettable after completing one pass in three attempts as a rookie that Madden programmers not only dropped him behind John Friesz and Michael Bishop on the depth chart (combined Super Bowl wins: zero), they also neglected to type out the eight characters necessary to give him a name.
41 awareness was just unnecessarily mean. https://t.co/o7cXnsICTz
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) July 18, 2022
Brady went on to win Super Bowl 36 after taking over for 86 overall Drew Bledsoe in Week 2 of the regular season. Chase is prepared to use his slight as motivation for the upcoming fall; if Brady’s experience is any indication, he’s going to ride it all the way to a Lombardi Trophy.
