5 analysts humbled by Lamar Jackson feat. Mel Kiper Jr.
Lamar Jackson is a special talent. Yet, he hasn’t always been shown the respect he deserves, and he is making those analysts look stupid.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback plays the game in such a unique manner, fans can’t help but admire him. His rushing ability is brilliant to watch. Furthermore, he has the arm strength and accuracy of a more traditional QB.
Prior to being drafted, many analysts had Lamar Jackson tumbling out of the first round. These assessments came despite the game film that was available. Not to mention the fact that Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016.
Takes about Lamar Jackson’s position and NFL-suitability were laughable. The Ravens QB has made analysts guilty of those foolish takes look silly. He has humbled his doubters, with Mel Kiper Jr. being the highest profile of them.
Who are the 5 commentators Lamar Jackson has humbled?
5. Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman is one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks in living memory. This is precisely what made his pre-draft assessment of Lamar Jackson even more peculiar.
Aikman knows just what it takes to succeed as a QB in the NFL. However, he refused to see it in the former Louisville prospect.
“When I was studying him, I thought he was a Day 2 guy. I’m not surprised that he hasn’t been taken off the board just yet. A couple of things hurt him. He didn’t time in the 40 at the combine or his pro day.”
To suggest the Louisville QB would go on the second day of the draft was ludicrous. Everyone can make evaluation mistakes, but rarely to this scale.
Arguing that Lamar Jackson would be a second-round pick, when he has gone on to win an NFL MVP award, makes one look simply foolish.
4. Doug Gottlieb
“I would still to this day take Sam Darnold over Lamar Jackson. It’s the long-term play. If you want to tell me that Lamar Jackson is a good long-term play, then you’re going to tell me that Cam Newton was a good long-term play, too.”
These were the words of Doug Gottlieb in 2019, after the Baltimore Ravens starter won the NFL MVP award. Take a second to digest that.
Some analysts just take against players from day one and refuse to budge, despite what their eyes see on the field.
Gottlieb got this stupidly wrong. Sam Darnold was a prodigious college QB, but hasn’t found a way to succeed in the NFL.
To suggest you would still select a struggling QB over an MVP is beyond belief in its stupidity. Lamar Jackson has had to deal with this level of intellect a lot since his college years.
What makes this even more bizarre is the fact that Cam Newton was a brilliant NFL quarterback, too. He won an MVP award and led his team to a Super Bowl appearance.
Lamar Jackson is one of one 👏 https://t.co/vrHG96xfak
3. Todd McShay
Todd McShay’s comments weren’t as ludicrous as those made by Gottlieb, but they went out to a bigger audience.
Prior to the NFL Draft, ESPN’s analyst made a claim about Lamar Jackson’s draft position.
“He’s not in the Round 1 conversation at this point. He still has a long way to go in terms of making throws from the pocket and being accurate down the field. What worries me is that he’s a runner first with a slight 6ft 3in frame, and those guys don’t usually hold up in the NFL.”
Baltimore’s starting QB has more than held up in the NFL. In five years in the league, he has missed just seven games through injury.
In that time, he has thrown 100 touchdown passes and been voted to two Pro Bowls. That is more than enough for a player to be considered a first-round prospect. McShay was way off in his prediction.
2. Bill Polian
Perhaps the most offensive critique of the quarterback’s game came from Bill Polian prior to the 2018 draft.
Every quarterback has issues moving toward the end of their college career. There isn’t such a thing as a perfect QB prospect. However, Lamar Jackson was given unfair standards to hit compared to others around him… mainly Josh Allen.
“He’s short and a little bit slight. He’s clearly not the thrower that the other guys are, the accuracy isn’t there. It seems that Lamar Jackson should be a receiver.”
To suggest that one of the best QB prospects in football should change positions was disrespectful. Instead of embracing Jackson’s unique talents, Polian rejected them. He refused to see the benefit of a mobile quarterback and pointed to accuracy deficiencies that were no worse than others in the class.
Jackson has gone on to make Polian look silly. He has developed into an MVP-quality QB, and the NFL would have lost this had he been utilized as a wide receiver.
To his credit, the former Bills and Colts general manager has since admitted he was wrong in his analysis.
1. Mel Kiper Jr.
What was especially bizarre about Mel Kiper Jr’s analysis of Jackson was how contradictory it was.
On one hand, Kiper was critical of the Louisville starter’s completion percentage. However, those stats didn’t matter when he talked about Josh Allen.
“Stats are for losers, in my opinion. This guy [Allen] won.”
“[On Jackson not being a first-rounder] It’s about the accuracy throwing the football.”
Kiper would then go on to have Jackson falling out of the first round in his mock.
Jackson has been in the NFL for five years and has a completion percentage of 63.8 percent from 1,586 attempted throws.
Over the same period, Josh Allen has a completion percentage of 62.5 percent from 2,297 attempted throws. Allen has won 45 games while Jackson has won 43.
Kiper had Allen down as a winner, but he has managed two more wins than Jackson in the NFL. He had Jackson as an inaccurate thrower, but he’s ended up with a better completion percentage than Allen.
Both are outstanding quarterbacks at the top level. The scales with which Kiper used to differentiate the pair were just idiotic. It made no sense at the time, and it makes even less so now.
Lamar Jackson is one of the true stars of the NFL in 2022. He has proven all his doubters wrong. After throwing his 100th touchdown pass in the NFL on Monday, he continues to humble his detractors.