Second-year wide receiver Mike Evans isn’t content with his 87 rating in the new edition of Madden, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ budding star is hoping a slight position switch will help improve the number.
According to Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune, Evans is moving to the X position—also known as the split end—where he’s bound to receive more targets. With more opportunities comes greater responsibility, though, so Evans can both help the Bucs offense and demand an increased rating.
“When I was a kid I always used to create myself and I (had a) 99 rating all the time. I mean, it’s cool to see myself, but my rating isn’t as high as I want it to be. I need to get it higher. That’s one of my goals this year.”
Evans tallied 68 catches last season, finishing with 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns. As long as the Texas A&M product stays healthy, he should have no problem increasing the reception and yardage totals.
Although eclipsing the 12-touchdown mark will be more difficult, Evans constantly finding himself in the end zone undoubtedly would force the Madden employees in control of game updates.
Evans joins fellow receivers Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin and Brandon LaFell as NFL players who’ve expressed discontent over their initial ratings—not that the trend is a bad thing by any means. It’s merely a video game, and thanks to the eventual updates, some changes will be made.
Until they’re released, though, Evans can show why he deserves a higher rating than 87.