METAIRIE, La. — Zach Wood won’t be so disrespected by EA Sports’ Madden NFL ratings anymore.
The New Orleans Saints‘ third-year long snapper was given the lowest rating in the league in the recently released edition of the popular video game — a 36, which tied him with Oakland Raiders long snapper Trent Sieg.
So Wood delivered a clever and convincing response on Friday. The Saints shared a video clip of Wood knocking a copy of the video game out of a teammate’s hand with a perfect-strike snap from 14 yards away (yes — on his first attempt).
Might we suggest holding on to the game copy a little harder…
— Madden NFL 20 (@EAMaddenNFL) August 2, 2019
But a Madden representative also emailed the Saints to let them know that Wood’s rating will get a boost.
Wood later repeated his feat when he made a cameo appearance in the Saints’ daily quarterback challenge — which featured the team’s quarterbacks playing a version of “skeet shooting” with copies of the video game.
In honor of the launch, the #SaintsQBs used copies of @EAMaddenNFL for skeet shooting in today’s Challenge! #Madden20 pic.twitter.com/8QQk8Y3XN5
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 2, 2019
But Wood wasn’t able to escape some friendly ribbing from quarterback Drew Brees, who pointed out that he was still the league’s lowest-rated player despite getting a 3 percent boost from his 2018 rating.
Brees did come to Wood’s defense after his successful snap, though, yelling to the camera, “So much for that Madden rating. There’s your 36. How ’bout your 36 now?”
Wood is actually listed as a tight end by Madden — like many other long snappers who also bring up the rear in the game’s ratings.
Wood actually his NFL career as an undrafted defensive end and long snapper with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 before he landed a job as New Orleans’ long snapper shortly before the 2017 season.
The Saints’ kicking operation has been one of the NFL’s best during Wood’s tenure, with punter Thomas Morstead and kicker Wil Lutz both considered among the league’s elite.