Jake Ferguson Madden Career 2023-2026 - Peak 81 OVR

Jake Ferguson has Wisconsin football in his blood, the grandson of Barry Alvarez, the coach who built the modern Badgers, and he played his college ball there before Dallas took him in the fourth round in 2022. He spent his rookie year behind Dalton Schultz, learning the job, waiting for the veteran to leave in free agency and open the door.

When it opened, he walked through it, and the Madden card walked with him. He started at a rookie 66, then jumped to a 79 and an 81 peak once he became the starter, a Pro Bowl season in 2023 with more than 70 catches driving the climb. The grade moved exactly when his role did, a backup number that became a starter number the moment he got the snaps, the tidy kind of cause-and-effect the ratings do not always manage.

Ferguson turned into a reliable middle-of-the-field target for Prescott, a chain-mover rather than a burner, exactly the tight end a quarterback trusts on third down. He earned an extension to stay in Dallas and a second Pro Bowl nod as his career went on. His 66-to-81 arc is the story of a well-coached football grandson who waited his turn, took the job, and kept it.