Bleacher Report ranks Lamar Jackson as best NFL player under 25 years old
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The Baltimore Ravens took a chance on Lamar Jackson in the 2018 NFL draft, trading back into the first round to select him at No. 32. Jackson was drafted into the right situation, as the whole organization believed in him and his ability to be a starting quarterback at the NFL level.
Jackson has blossomed into a star in Baltimore. He’s broken all kinds of records, won the second unanimous MVP award in league history, and has proved everyone wrong who doubted him. He is both the present and the future at the quarterback position, and he should only continue to grow as both a football player and a person.
When looking at the top players in the NFL under 25 years old, Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report had high praise for the 24-year-old Jackson, ranking him No. 1 on his list. When explaining his reasoning, Davenport pointed to the immediate impact that Jackson made during his first two years in the NFL.
As a rookie, Jackson took over for Joe Flacco in the season’s second half and led the Ravens to six wins in seven starts and a playoff spot. His 2019 was transcendent, as he set an NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,206, led Baltimore to a 14-2 record and was named the league’s MVP.
While Davenport notes that Jackson didn’t have his best season in 2020 and his passing numbers are modest compared to other quarterbacks, he also says that there’s no denying the results that Jackson has produced, especially in the regular season.
The 24-year-old is the only quarterback in NFL history to top 1,000 rushing yards in multiple seasons. While his passing yardage hasn’t been great, Jackson has just 18 career interceptions against 68 touchdowns (including a league-leading 36 passing scores in 2019). In 37 career regular-season starts, Jackson has lost just seven times.
Jackson has put up 7,085 passing yards to go along with 2,906 rushing yards in his short NFL career. He’s scored 87 total touchdowns and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. There’s no limit to how great Jackson can be, and through his first three years he’s shown that he deserves to be recognized as the best player under 25 in the league.
Davenport showed love for other young Ravens players on his list, ranking the 24-year-old Marlon Humphrey at No. 8 and the 24-year-old Orlando Brown Jr. in his No. 9 spot. Regardless of where Brown ends up in 2021, having three of the top 10 players on a list of top young talent is a testament to how Eric DeCosta and company have been able to identify skill in the draft.
