5 NFL players who have been influenced by 'Madden' video game

AFC Championship - Cincinnati Bengals v Kansas City Chiefs

#3 - Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes made the cover of Madden NFL 20 after his outstanding performances with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes is one of the new generation of stars that doesn’t have those worries about trying something on the field that looks like it comes from a video game.

His no-look throws have become a signature, whilst the underarm looping pass to Travis Kelce has kept many a Chiefs drive alive.

Mahomes has gained a lot of this confidence and love of trick plays through his youth spent playing the game.

“I’ve had a lot of great memories, I’ve been playing Madden my whole life. It started off with my dad killing me with Randy Moss, Daunte Culpepper and the Vikings, making me cry in my room."

He also said:

"It obviously had a huge impact on me, playing the video game and kind of learning football by playing it growing up."

Cleveland Browns v Baltimore Ravens

#4 - Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson arrived in the NFL with some analysts questioning his suitability to be a quarterback in the NFL.

Despite suggestions he’d fall into life as a running back, the Baltimore Ravens star made critics eat their words as he won the NFL MVP in 2019. This led to him being on the cover for the 2021 title.

He was the third youngest player to ever be on the cover, with only Odell Beckham Jr. and Michael Vick being younger than he was.

Jackson’s style of play in real life has been compared to the almost superhuman style of Vick in Madden 04, and he welcomes the comparisons.

“I’ve had Madden for a long time. The first Madden I remember playing is the one with Michael Vick on the cover in 2004. He was unbelievable, I’d play with him. I just remember Vick doing all this crazy stuff, he was unstoppable, I just remember how dynamic he was in the game."

"I really just try to play the game my way, but he was one of the guys who represented a kid coming out of poverty, that’s what he was to us… our idol."

Los Angeles Chargers v Las Vegas Raiders

#5 - Derek Carr

The legacy of the Madden video game is legendary in the Carr household, with brothers David and Derek having played the game together when they were younger.

That both managed to reach the NFL as starting quarterbacks may be nothing more than a coincidence, or something related to their genetics, yet Derek Carr believes those video game sessions helped him grasp the fundamentals of the sport.

“I started playing as early as I can even remember. It [Madden] helped a lot, to be honest. I wasn’t on there just mashing buttons or looking for the open guy, I was literally trying to use motion to figure out coverages and things like that."

He continued:

"I was always trying to go 30-for-30 with my quarterback making good decisions. It helped me to compete whilst putting my feet up."