While Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson can be a bit of a controversial player due to the disparity between his regular season and playoff success, it's hard to rank the reigning MVP as anything worse than the third-best quarterback in the NFL due to his game-breaking play and consistent winning.
Jackson has done everything a star quarterback in the NFL needs to except go to a Super Bowl, as Lamar has just two playoff wins to his name. That demerit is apparently big enough for some talking heads to knock him down a tier when compared to the rest of the league.
FS1's Nick Wright declared that Jackson is not a Top 5 quarterback in the NFL. Mahomes earned his top spot, with Josh Allen, CJ Stroud, and Joe Burrow in the top four and the fifth spot "up in the air." In a separate quarterback draft, Wright used his second pick on Bears rookie Caleb Williams, who has as many NFL touchdowns as you and I.
When asked why Jackson, who was one vote shy of becoming the first player in NFL history to be named unanimous MVP twice, was not in his top five, Wright said that Jackson needs to not "have the worst game of his season in the playoffs" every year. Once a pro-Lamar voice, Wright has made a shocking heel-turn.
What does Lamar Jackson have to do become a top 5 QB in @getnickwright's eyes? 👀
— What’s Wright? with Nick Wright (@WhatsWrightShow) June 5, 2024
"I don't know, not every single year have the worst game of his season in the playoffs. Sorry." pic.twitter.com/h5vXMSmfB4
Nick Wright has hilariously bad take on Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Jackson is 2-4 in the postseason, and he does, unfortunately, have some stinkers against the Chargers and Bills to his name. However, assigning all of the blame to Jackson ignores the fact that the entire Ravens organization, from the top down, failed during these games.
Losing against the Titans as the No. 1 seed in 2019 was brutal, but Jackson amassing over 500 total yards shows he was one of only a few who came to play. Apparently, Zay Flowers fumbling just inches from scoring a touchdown and John Harbaugh abandoning the run was somehow an indictment on Jackson in Wright's eye.
While Jackson will need to eventually get the Ravens to a Super Bowl to be viewed as an all-time great quarterback, putting players like Stroud ahead of him based on a lack of playoff success that is not entirely No. 8's fault comes across as overly punitive.
Jackson has always had critics in the media, but now it appears as though multiple MVPs aren't enough to get you in the Top 5. Tough crowd.