Reacting to 5 Baltimore Ravens making CBS Sports top 100
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports ranked the top 100 players in the NFL. Five Baltimore Ravens ended up on the list:
Lamar Jackson ranked seventh
Prisco had Jackson as the third quarterback on the list. He had Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson ahead of Jackson. Jackson being ranked below Mahomes isn’t a hard opinion to understand. I do however believe Jackson should be above Wilson. He certainly shouldn’t be four spots behind Wilson. Jackson isn’t getting disrespected here. He’s seen as a top 10 player. It just seems that the reigning MVP of the NFL should at least be in the top three.
This is what Prisco wrote about Jackson in his CBS Sports top 100 article:
"“He won the league MVP last season with his dynamic play and his ability to create something out of nothing. As he grows as a passer – and he will – he will stay up this high on the list – and probably push even higher.”"
Maybe Prisco wants to see more than one great season out of Jackson to get him in the top five. Mahomes just won a Super Bowl and Wilson is a veteran who puts up great numbers on a yearly basis. So it’s all in the eyes of the beholder. What I see in Jackson is the biggest difference maker in the NFL who is on par with Mahomes as a play-maker.
Ronnie Stanley ranked 27th
This is about right for Stanley. On Prisco’s rankings, Stanley is behind only one offensive tackle (Ryan Ramczyk of the New Orleans Saints). Quentin Nelson, an interior offensive lineman was put above Stanley as well. While I’d put Stanley over Ramczyk every day of the week, this is a fair position for Stanley to be at. He’s an elite left tackle.
The fact that Prisco sees Stanley as a top three offensive lineman in the NFL means that he is widely regarded as a great player at the premium position of left tackle. Stanley has a chance to become the Ravens highest paid player. It’s hard to imagine the Ravens letting Stanley go to another team. Waiting for a contract extension for Stanley is starting to become a hobby of mine.