Baltimore Ravens executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta has raised some eyebrows recently by admitting that the team uses EA Sports’ ratings from “Madden NFL” when evaluating players.
Eric DeCosta Details Ravens’ Player Evaluation Model
Appearing on “The McShay Show,” DeCosta answered questions on his process, drafting Lamar Jackson, and lessons learned throughout his career. Just over halfway through the interview, host Todd McShay steered the conversation toward the Ravens’ player evaluation model.
“I feel like we’ve gotten through the era of the great debate of ‘nerds vs. meatheads,’ ‘analytics vs. game tape,’ and all that stuff,” McShay said. “It seems like every organization that I’ve talked to has settled into how they utilize technology and analytics and those sorts of things.”
“What are the things that, as technology has become more and more a part of this game in every facet, what have you found to be really helpful for your job?” McShay asked.
DeCosta’s business-like expression remained unchanged as he began to answer McShay’s question. Watching the interview, it’s impossible not to be impressed by DeCosta’s assertive demeanor.
First, the Baltimore GM revealed that the Ravens have built their own scouting model, which evaluates players based on a huge range of factors.
“So the first way that we really, I think, used technology and analytics is just developing our own software. I think we have an unbelievable product that we started developing in probably 2013. It’s very, very advanced. We have two developers, full-time developers on staff with football backgrounds.”
“Is it for sale?” McShay interjected, almost bringing a rare laugh from DeCosta who, true to form, made sure to answer the question.
“No, it’s not for sale.”
DeCosta then paid tribute to another of Baltimore’s major sports franchises.
“Some of the best tweaks we’ve made are ideas I’ve gotten from the [Baltimore] Orioles because they’re very advanced, and I’ve looked at their software and we’ve added components, so that’s the first thing.”
‘Who Would Ever Think That an NFL Team Would Use Madden Ratings?’
Listening to DeCosta speak, it’s very clear that the Ravens are incredibly confident in their process, and for good reason — Baltimore is one of the favorites for the Super Bowl each year and continues to improve through the NFL Draft and free agency.
It’s perhaps a sign of the times then that, from such an impressive interview, DeCosta’s next admission caught the most attention.
“The second piece is really the modeling that we do. We do pro modeling and we do college scouting modeling, which basically assigns a grade to every player.”
“… In some way, that grade is driven by scout grades, but a lot of other stuff too that we use. For instance, Madden ratings; who would ever think that an NFL team would use Madden ratings in one of their models?”
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta on his evaluation and modeling process
“A lot of other stuff that we use too. For instance Madden ratings. Who would ever think that an NFL team would use Madden ratings in one of their models. Well we do” pic.twitter.com/haNKEZz1jy
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) February 5, 2025
“Well, we do. I’m giving you just a small piece of what we do.”
Hearing that a team is using Madden ratings as part of its player evaluation model will raise an eyebrow or two. The fact that it’s coming from a team like the Ravens, though, as opposed to a struggling, often-ridiculed franchise like the New York Jets, will no doubt create a different narrative.
A professional sports team using a video game to assess players is a notion that would be mocked by many. But when DeCosta reveals that the model actually outperforms the individual scout grades, it’s easy to understand why he stands by it.
“It spits out grades and values for players, and we use those. In some cases, we can look back and say, ‘You know what? Our model is actually 3% better than our scouts’ grades, in terms of predicting what the player is going to do.'”
While the Madden revelation will no doubt grab attention, DeCosta was very clear about the fact that the model is just one part of the evaluation process for the Ravens. At times, the model highlights players who can be scouted further by the scouting team; other times it’s used as a tie-breaker when the team can’t separate two prospects.
One certain thing is that technology will continue to grow in influence throughout football and other sports. In a copycat league, those who aren’t already using Madden ratings as part of their scouting may be a little more inclined to do so now, given the success the Ravens are having.