(Photo: The Baltimore Banner)
2. Lamar Jackson: Eight down, two to be revealed. Doubts can only drive you to be better and you can’t always take what people say into consideration. At the end of the day, you’re on the field, they’re not. When he was drafted, some suggested that he should switch his position. He didn’t and in the words of Jay-Z, he never changed. In his first full season in the league in 2019, he made history and set the single-season rushing record for the most rushing yards by a Quarterback, led the Ravens to the one seed in the AFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history and won league MVP becoming the second Quarterback to win the award unanimously, Tom Brady was the first. Lamar Jackson, he is for real (The Real Know That Reference). Welcome back! He’s claimed the second spot on my list and is the top-rated Quarterback.
I’d love to sit down with many of the “experts” who said he’d be a bust and I’d personally let them all know that their analysis didn’t age well. Lamar is one of the toughest Quarterbacks to prepare for in this league and it’s so tough to be patient with someone who is always moving. If you aren’t displaying patience with him and you unfortunately over-pursue him, he will burn your defense and he’s already up the field. Lamar was blessed with some of the quickest feet given to anyone on this earth. When the defense appears to be crashing down at him and he looks to be stopped, he finds ways to keep the play alive and scramble out of duress. In the open field, he’s one of the most dangerous players in this league with the football in his hands. Also, he’s one of the more difficult players in the league to try and tackle. Lamar has a ton of tricks up his sleeve when he has the ball and he’s consistently keeping a defense on the edge of its seat simply because you don’t know what he’s going to do next. With tackling him, you don’t know whether to go low or high because he can make you miss badly depending on the angle you’re coming from. Lamar is at his best in play-action situations because you don’t know what he’s going to do. Will he take off running? Or, will he stand in the pocket and throw it? He knows how to sell the fake to draw the Linebackers in, then fire the ball down the field. His vision doesn’t get enough credit to me. Lamar can scan the entire field and read everything.
2023 was by far his year. He signs a contract extension to keep him in Baltimore which he rightfully earned and wins his second league MVP award. His game last season against the Detroit Lions was the best I’ve ever seen him look. He was calm in the pocket, took what the defense gave him, and finished that game completing 21 of his 27 pass attempts for 357 yards passing and three touchdowns along with a rushing touchdown. The game that sealed up MVP for him was in December against the Miami Dolphins. 18-21, 321 yards passing and five touchdown passes. The Ravens won the AFC North for the first time since 2019 and finished with the one seed for just the second time in franchise history. None of what I listed happens without Lamar Jackson.
