Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson took one of the biggest (virtual) leaps for this year's release of EA Sports' Madden 21.

The cover athlete for the tentpole video-game franchise is officially rated a 94 overall—18 points higher than where he started at this time last year.

Per Michael Rothstein in ESPN.

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Lamar Jackson, Ravens (94 overall): Jackson, this year's Madden cover athlete, took a massive jump from the start of last season, when he was a 76 overall and the No. 25 quarterback, to his current spot as the No. 3 quarterback in the game. After an MVP season in 2019, the question will be whether Madden developers made him too good — a la Michael Vick in Madden '04 — causing him to theoretically break the game.

Jackson, 23, is the reigning NFL MVP, winning the regular-season award during the 2019 campaign when he led Baltimore to a franchise-best 14-2 record. Unfortunately, in the postseason, Jackson the Ravens fell to underdog Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional Round Game, making it two playoff games in a row the team, under Jackson's stewardship, has lost will no postseason advancement.

In 2019, Jackson threw a league-best 36 touchdowns, tossing over 3,100 passing yards with a 66.1 completion percentage and just six interceptions. Additionally, the former first-round pick in the 2018 draft class and Heisman Trophy winner out of Louisville was a dynamic rusher, too. Jackson totaled 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 2019; the dual-threat quarterbacking made Jackson the standout MVP leader by December and clear favorite to earn the title of Madden cover athlete for Madden 21.