Lamar Jackson Isn’t Ranked a Top Three Quarterback in New League Poll
Coming off a historically good season, Lamar Jackson isn’t even ranked as a top-three quarterback in his own conference in the eyes of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts.
In this year’s ESPN poll, Jackson came in behind Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes (No. 1), Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen (No. 2), and Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow (No. 3).
Jackson was ranked as high as No. 1 in the poll and as low as No. 6. He was also No. 4 in last year’s poll.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler pointed to Jackson’s abilities and statistics when discussing the ranking.
“Jackson is the most breathtaking player in the game,” Fowler wrote. “He might be the most feared, too, depending on whom you ask. And he was close to winning a third MVP last season, in fact beating out the actual MVP Allen for first-team All-Pro status in an unusual split of those honors. … What Jackson did last year still puts him in his own class — he became the first player in NFL history with 40 passing touchdowns and four or fewer interceptions in a season.”
Commentary from the NFL respondents gave Jackson high praise for last season.
“A 10-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio [10.3], winning percentage is insane [74.4%] and he’s a leading rusher on any team he’s on,” a veteran NFL coach told ESPN. “He’s one of a kind.”
“Best space runner in the NFL, and he’s such a good passer now,” an NFL defensive coordinator said. “He probably doesn’t get enough credit for how he’s improved there.”
“I think he had to grow up as a passer,” a veteran NFL personnel man added. “He was always more athletic than everyone else, so why not run? But he had to stay in the pocket a little bit more to prolong his career, and he’s doing that increasingly well.”
Fowler went on to mention how outstanding Jackson’s 2024 season was.
“Jackson also led the NFL in Total QBR (77.3) and yards per dropback (8.3) and set new career highs in passing touchdowns (41), passing yards (4,172), yards per attempt (8.8) and touchdown-to-interception ratio,” Fowler wrote. “His Total EPA was 160.6, more than 16 points higher than any other quarterback.”
When the rankings were released, ESPN’s Benjamin Solak was stunned by Jackson’s placement, saying, “Lamar is closer to being above Mahomes than he is to being below Burrow.”
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