Imagine, before he was drafted into the NFL, some people said Lamar Jackson should be a wide receiver. Now, six seasons later, there’s a good chance Jackson could go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. And, without a doubt, the greatest Black QB in history.
All week, the game everybody talked about was the Ravens vs Commanders. It featured the reigning NFL MVP and the league’s latest shiny new player, Jayden Daniels. The Commanders entered the matchup against the Ravens 4-1; the last time they started a season 4-1 was in 2008. The Commanders were winning and on top of their division, a rarity for them, and Jayden Daniels is the main reason. On the season, he was thrown for over 1400 yards and six touchdowns. He has been the most accurate rookie ever, leading the entire NFL in completion percentage at 75 percent, so it makes sense why the Daniels’ hype had gotten to these levels. But to already call the rookie the next Lamar was disingenuous, and we all saw why yesterday.
Have you ever heard the saying that a Chrysler looks like a Bentley until a Bentley shows up? Every Black QB looks like a Lamar Jackson until the Lamar Jackson pulls up. Jackson completed 20 of 26 passes for 323 yards with a touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 40 more yards on 11 carries. It’s not that Daniels played poorly either; he threw for more TDs than Lamar, but it was how Lamar controlled the game and made all the necessary plays at the perfect time that elevated his status. We haven’t not seen a Black quarterback dominate the game like this.
Heading into his seventh season, Lamar was in historic conversations. After winning his second MVP last season, he is now the only NFL player to win a Heisman and multiple NFL MVPs. After the win against the Commanders, Lamar is well on his way to win his third MVP. His biggest competition for the award this year is Mahomes, the only active QB we should mention in the same breath as him. And honestly speaking, the only reason Mahomes is still in the MVP debate is because his team is somehow still undefeated despite Mahomes’ subpar play. That is not the case for Lamar. The team wins because of him, not despite him, which should earn him his third MVP award.
Though he has three MVP awards (the most claimed by any Black NFL player) and most of the QB rushing records (the ones he doesn’t yet have, he will by the end of his career), Lamar’s resume has a giant hole. He still needs that elusive Super Bowl win.
Being the greatest Black QB requires more than being Black and a quarterback. You have to be a dual threat. You must be able to run as good as you can pass or vice versa, which ultimately disqualifies Patrick Mahomes. Yes, Mahomes has the same amount of MVPs, and three Super Bowl wins, but we never truly considered Mahomes a Black QB. Though he’s Black, his QB game is far from being a dual-threat. Lamar, on the other hand, is easily the best running QB we’ve ever seen. And, yes, that includes Michael Vick.
Lamar Jackson is only missing a Super Bowl Championship, and by the looks of it he has as good a shot as anybody in getting that ring this season.
