Gamers playing Madden may soon have a new favorite player.
Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Henry Ruggs III — who ran a 4.27 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine – was given a speed rating of 98, in the EA Sports Madden 21 rankings released by game developing EA Sports on Friday. The only player with a higher speed rating in last year’s game is the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill at 99.
The rankings for the upcoming rookie who will be featured in the game had Ruggs at the top of the list with an overall rating of 78, tied with Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. They are followed by Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy with ratings at 75.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr responded to Ruggs’ ranking by tweeting the eyes emoji and “this will be fun…” Ruggs tweeted back, “Can’t wait” with smirking face emoji.
While the 21-year-old Ruggs, who played collegiately for Alabama, may have the speed to potentially rival Tyreek Hill, his overall rating of 76 cannot compete with Hill’s number in Madden 20. The game ranks Hill as the No. 6 wide receiver with a 94 rating, and 99 in both speed and acceleration, 98 in agility and 64 in strength. In Madden 21, Ruggs’ speed and accelerations are 98 and 97 respectively, but he is only rated 87 for agility, 61 for strength.