Lamar Jackson named as top 10 quarterback by collaborative list on ESPN

Lamar Jackson named as top 10 quarterback by collaborative list on ESPN

The Baltimore Ravens have seen quarterback Lamar Jackson develop into one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s broken countless records, won a unanimous-MVP award and most importantly has improved many of his skills since coming into the league.

In a collaborative list on ESPN where over 50 NFL players, coaches, executives and more voted on the top 10 quarterbacks in the league, Jackson was voted in at the No. 8 spot. He lost a tiebreaker to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, where one AFC executive explained that he believes that “Lamar is a better all-around football player, Dak is the better QB.”

As for evaluations as to why Jackson was voted as the 8th-best quarterback, a veteran NFL player said that the league has figured the quarterback out a bit.

“People are figuring him out a little bit…Those guys on the list, in the two-minute drill, they can go do it. Not sure he’s there yet. The running is great, but when you have to play from behind and throw, that can be very tough.”

When talking about how Baltimore has handled their star player, one quarterback said that they believe Jackson can make things happen as a passer if the team would let him throw the football more.

“He can become a better passer if they put more on him to do…But if they continue to build a fence around him that’s RPO gimmick type of stuff only utilizing his running skills, I think they will never score enough to make a deep run.”

An AFC Scout said that if the Ravens put more talent around Jackson, he can have success, even though he doesn’t believe he’s that “accurate, down-inm  passer”.

“[Jackson] might not be that accurate, down-in, down-out passer, but you can tailor things around him and he can have more success in that area…It’s not like he can’t make the throws. He can.”

There seems to be a lot of doubt surrounding Jackson on the list, even though the quarterback has led his team to a 30-7 record as a starter and has shown the ability to be a threat both as a thrower and as a runner. While there are certainly some areas of his game where Jackson can improve, being as good as he is at the age of 24 is extremely impressive. There are plenty of talented quarterbacks throughout the entire NFL, and Jackson is right up there with the best of them.