New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was announced today as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 16. The evaluation that pegged him as the most likely candidate to get the cover in early March turned out to be dead on. Beckham was able to fend off Rob Gronkowski in the finals of this year's vote.
Despite missing the first four games of the season due to injury, Beckham Jr. had 91 catches for 1305 yards and 12 touchdowns. He wasn't just some one-catch wonder despite catapulting into national relevance with his remarkable grab on Sunday Night Football.
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Instead, he became an unstoppable force over the course of the season's final nine games in which he averaged nine catches and 133 yards per game. Seven of his 12 TD receptions came in the final four games. He finished Madden NFL 15 rated 90 Overall after starting as a rookie at 75.
Beckham is now the youngest player to ever be featured on the cover and the second to get it following a rookie season (Vince Young, Madden NFL 08).
Don't be surprised to see his incredible catch recreated with an animation in the game. In past editions, memorable moments such as David Tyree's helmet catch in the Super Bowl have been added the following year. Triggering animations along those lines would be limited only to receivers with high "Spectactular Catch" ratings. Those include the likes of Beckham (99), Calvin Johnson (98), and Dez Bryant (98).
While EA has yet to go into great detail on any features for the upcoming Madden, some information is known which explains why prominent pass-catchers were up for the cover. There will be new controls related to the battle between receivers and defenders for the ball . Interactions between the two have been a considerable area of weakness for the series.
Madden NFL 16 is slated for release August 25 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is a regular participant in the Press Row Podcast and Hangout shows, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.