Chicago Bears: Khalil Mack and 5 Madden ’21 franchise cornerstones

2. Lamar Jackson

Mahomes is a clear no. 1, but Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has to be the easy choice for no. 2. This guy is the closest thing we’ve seen to a new-age Michael Vick since he retired. In fact, Jackson is even better than Vick, and that’s easy to see after just a season and a half.

Remember playing Madden with Vick back in the day? He was a cheat code; a real, live cheat code. That’s what you have in Jackson, who is bigger, stronger and a better passer than Vick. It’s scary, really, when you think about it.

Like Mahomes, Jackson has a legitimate shot to make some history of his own. The NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback is, of course, Vick (6,109). Vick’s career spanned 14 years from 2001 to 2015, with a two year hiatus in between, obviously. But, in 13 seasons, that would mean Vick averaged 469.9 rushing yards per year.

Vick had one 1,000-yard rushing season, and it came in his sixth season where he ran for 1,039 yards). Jackson already has one such season under his belt, in which he broke that number and ended with 1,206 yards on the ground.

So, you’re telling me a kid who threw 36 touchdowns in one season also ran for over 1,200 yards? And he’s only 23 years old? Not only could he break Vick’s all-time rushing yardage record — he could shatter it.

If Mahomes is gone and I have the second pick in my franchise mode draft, it’s an easy decision. It’s Action Jackson.