The Baltimore Ravens are lucky to have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Lamar Jackson is undoubtedly among the most feared players that defenses will have to line up across, and what he does on a yearly basis is simply magical.
Usually, Jackson is in the conversation for the No. 1 quarterback in the league. When you have two MVP trophies, you pretty much get an instant bid in those arguments. Entering 2026, though, he’s gotten some disrespect—at least for a player of his quality. And a recent ranking is certainly going to spark debate.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports ranked the top 100 players in the NFL for 2026, and Jackson ranked 10th. That’s not bad coming off an injury-riddled campaign, but it might raise some eyebrows seeing he’s Prisco's fourth-best quarterback. Specifically, it’s Joe Burrow placing fifth overall that is the most questionable.
Baltimore Ravens rival Joe Burrow outplaces Lamar Jackson in controversial ranking
After a season that Lamar Jackson and the Ravens just had, you could understand Jackson taking a slight hit in rankings. He missed three games, dealt with a hamstring injury pretty much all year, and the team as a whole was awful. It makes sense to place guys like Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes ahead of Jackson. Joe Burrow, though? Personally, I’m not too sure about that.
Burrow saw injury troubles in 2025, too. He played in just eight games due to a turf toe injury and looked uncomfortable at times on the field. When he was on the field and healthy, he played exceptionally well, but the injury definitely took a toll on him. That’s pretty much exactly how this past season went for Jackson.
When you compare Jackson and Burrow, they both deserve to be in the top-five QB talks. There’s no debating that. However, Jackson certainly has the edge. Whether it’s head-to-head competition or individual accomplishments, Jackson has most of the numbers on his side.
For starters, Jackson is 5-2 versus Burrow. Both defenses have certainly played a part in each of their losses, but whenever they play, Burrow tends to unlock another level in Jackson, and the two-time MVP tends to do enough to push his squad over the finish line. Jackson is also obviously the best dual-threat quarterback ever, and in the same breath, his historic 102.2 career passer rating edges out Burrow’s 101.1 (albeit, that’s a bit skewed because of Burrow’s higher passing volume).
You can’t really make the argument that the injuries will start to catch up to Jackson in 2026, either. Burrow is actually one of the only players for whom that argument doesn’t hold weight. He’s about a month older than Jackson, and despite having roughly a season and a half less time as a starting quarterback, Cincinnati’s signal caller has missed eight more games due to injury. If anything, he’s the quarterback you’d have to worry about.
Overall, having Burrow ranked ahead of Jackson isn’t an egregious take. However, it should be uncommon, and the debate is definitely controversial. Even then, ranking Jackson five spots below Burrow is certainly a bit shocking.
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