Is Ravens' Lamar Jackson overrated? Where 2x MVP stands among NFL's greatest QBs
As Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens gear up for another NFL season, the discussion around the team isn't as happy as it could be. The Ravens are under pressure to right the wrongs of the 2023 playoffs, when they had the first seed in the AFC but lost in the championship game.
Lamar Jackson's performance in that game was criticized and with good reason. The Ravens quarterback missed many easy reads, could never get the offense going as he should and failed to take control over when his team was struggling. Baltimore had the best team in the AFC, but they couldn't make it count when it mattered the most.
The performance generated even more questions about whether Lamar Jackson is an overrated quarterback, with plenty of people putting him on the elite tier of quarterbacks and two MVPs in the league. However, he still needs to show up more in the playoffs.
Is Ravens' Lamar Jackson Overrated?
Lamar Jackson is not overrated by any means. His individual performances are excellent, and the Ravens know that there's a pretty small number of quarterbacks who are better than him. Hence why they gave him such a big contract in 2023.
Since his college days, Jackson has always been compared to Michael Vick, probably the most famous dual-threat in the NFL, so it's scary to think that he's already surpassed his master. Especially since he has consistently developed with his fundamentals.
The big concern regarding Lamar was his ability to become a consistent passer. In 2018, after benching Joe Flacco and assuming the starting role in the final weeks of his rookie year, he had already shown his privileged physique and his talent as a runner, but he suffered a lot in the passing aspect of the game. His throwing mechanics were terrible, which negatively influenced the accuracy of his throws.
What we saw from that year was a great evolution in this sense. Lamar isn't the best passer in the NFL, and probably never will be, but today he's a technically much more polished signal caller. The videos show this, as do the statistics.
The Ravens themselves also had a problem dealing with Jackson as the quarterback negotiated the second contract of his career. Baltimore and Lamar couldn't get themselves on the same page and the negotiation dragged for over a year, creating a lot of unwanted distractions for both sides.
However, prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have reached an agreement to extend the player's contract. He signed a 5-year, $260 million contract, with $185 million guaranteed. He negotiated the contract individually with the franchise. After playing the first five years under his rookie contract, he remained a member of the Ravens due to the application of the non-exclusive franchise tag.
Even his team seemed to have doubts about his future and his quality, but nobody earns the MVP award two times without having enough quality to do so. When you look for Lamar Jackson, his playstyle and his quality show up big time. Even if, at this point, the playoff success hasn't been there.
Yet.
Baltimore will have to navigate a tough AFC North in 2024 if they want to return to the AFC Championship Game, but they have the biggest difference maker: the best quarterback when compared to the Cleveland Browns, who are set to be their biggest competitors.
Lamar Jackson is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and not overrated at all. He would be an upgrade over many other passers, and trying to argument he's not good is just a waste of time. There's only a handful of players who are better than him.