The NFL media has been kicking Lamar Jackson while he’s down this offseason. The Baltimore Ravens were a bitter disappointment in 2025, and for Jackson, injuries undid what had the makings of another exceptional campaign on his end.
While Jackson still performed fine given the circumstances, that hasn’t stopped seemingly endless disrespect from coming his way. It started with a No. 69 ranking on the NFL Top 100, and was quickly followed by an absurd take by Colin Cowherd, where he ranked the 29-year-old outside his top-10 for 2026.
Thankfully, through the dust of it all, there has been a fair bit of Jackson praise to combat the criticism. In an interview on the Ryan Ripken Show, Super Bowl-winning head coach Pete Carroll spoke about what makes Jackson different from the rest of the league.
Baltimore Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson earns heaps of praise from Pete Carroll
Throughout his coaching career, Carroll has squared off against Jackson twice (both with the Seattle Seahawks). In those games, he's learned pretty much all there is to learn about Jackson.
“[Lamar Jackson] is so gifted and so explosive and such a dynamic playmaker … When you have a guy like this, you have to understand that the play never stops,” Carroll said. “As soon as the game gets into his hands when he's on the move like that, he's as good as a player could ever be out there … He makes you play his game when he gets into that kind of element.”
In all honesty, Carroll is the perfect man to ask that question because he might have nightmares about the two-time MVP.
In 2019, Jackson put up 259 total yards and one touchdown in a Week 7 win over Seattle, 116 of which came on the ground. Then, in 2023, he totaled another 247 total yards en route to a 37-3 victory.
Both of those wins saw the Ravens dominate the running game, tallying 298 rushing yards in Jackson’s first matchup against Carroll and 199 in their second bout. That’s part of what makes Jackson so special, and it’s the part of his game people are forgetting about after injuries made him rather ineffective as a rusher last year.
Simply put, the critics should listen to what Carroll had to say about Jackson. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime threat at quarterback, and an underwhelming 2025 doesn’t change that.
It feels like the only thing that’ll silence the disrespect is another MVP-caliber season coming from Baltimore’s signal-caller. He’s still capable of that type of production, and it’s certainly a possibility he makes a run for his third career MVP.
Jackson is back at 100%, has a relatively easy schedule, and has a new and improved offensive line sitting in front of him. He’s somehow won two MVPs with less talent by his side, so with vast improvements on offense, Baltimore and Jackson should be cooking up a major recipe for success in 2026.
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