As the end of the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft was nearing, a dejected Lamar Jackson was seen huddling with his mother, alone at a table in the green room, pondering why teams passed on him.
How could the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and the greatest player in Louisville football history be so disregarded?
Was it because he played for Louisville, a program never viewed as a national powerhouse? Was it because most considered him more of a runner than a passer, something NFL teams shied away from? Was it because he didn’t fit the traditional mold of a prototype NFL quarterback? Was it because he was Black?
As the first round wound down, it looked like Lamar was headed for the same experience had by Geno Smith in 2013 when West Virginia’s talented QB fell to the second round, where he was taken by the Jets
But then Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome, in his last draft before retiring, traded back into the first round to select Jackson with the 32nd and final pick in the first round.
After the life-changing moment, a relieved yet serious Jackson spoke with Deion Sanders and made a promise to the city.
“What are they getting?” asked Deion.
“Everything outta’ me,” replied Jackson. “They going to get a Super Bowl outta’ me. Believe that.”
After Saturday night’s victory over the Texans, everyone should believe Lamar’s 2018 promise.
But what struck me after that game wasn’t Lamar’s history-making performance. After watching him for years, including during his three years at Louisville, I’ve come to expect great things from him.
Instead, what surprised me was how few called him a generational talent. Even after five years in the NFL, very few have bestowed that title on him.
Players like Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence were deluged by analysts fawning over their NFL potential in college. Yet Herbert has yet to win a playoff game and neither have won league MVP.
But Jackson has won both.
As a star at Louisville, Jackson was vastly overlooked by everyone except the Ravens organization.
In three years, Jackson set multiple records including total yards (13,175), touchdowns (119. Malik Cuningham now has 120), rushing yards (4,132) and rushing touchdowns (50). As a sophomore, Jackson amassed 5,114 total yards and 51 total TDs en route to earning First-Team All-America honors and becoming the first Heisman winner in school history. A year later he went for 5,261 yards and 45 TDs but finished third in the Heisman vote behind Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Stanford’s Bryce Love.
To top it off, Jackson is only one of two players to have his jersey number retired by the school. The other was Pro Football Hall of Famer, Johnny Unitas.
On draft night, Jackson was the fifth QB taken behind number-one overall pick Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold (which means the Jets whiffed on Jackson twice), Josh Allen and Josh Rosen.
On Sunday, Baker and Allen both lost their playoff games. Darnold will play in the NFC Championship game as a backup with the 49ers and Rosen isn’t even in the league anymore.
But none have won MVP while Lamar is projected to win his second this year.
Lamar is a 3x Pro Bowler, 2x All-Pro player and 2019 League MVP. This season he threw for 3,678 yards with 24 TDs and 7 INTs while completing 67.2% of his passes. He also rushed for 821 yards and 5 TDs.
His detractors point at his playoff record (2-3) or venture to the extreme by degrading him professionally (not “quarterbacky” enough) and/or personally (“thug” and other racist tropes).
But Jackson is a star who will face Patrick Mahomes in Baltimore this weekend for the chance to fulfill his 2018 promise to the city.
Jackson has transformed the quarterback position and changed our way of thinking about it in a way no one has before. Not Randall Cunningham, Kordell Stewart, Michael Vick or Cam Newton. Not even the great Tom Brady changed the position the way Lamar has.
And the best thing is that he’s done it his way and on his terms.
When contract discussions between Jackson and the Ravens grew contentious, to the point where the team was rumored to be exploring a trade, Jackson remained focused.
Even when he was taking heat for not hiring an agent and letting his mother, Felicia Jones, lead the contract discussions, Jackson refused to blink.
In April 2023, right before the NFL Draft, the Ravens and Jackson agreed to a five-year $260 million deal with $185 million guaranteed. At $52 million per year, that made him the NFL’s highest-paid player until Joe Burrow signed his five-year, $275 million extension five months later.
Now, eight months later, Lamar is one win away from the Super Bowl and two wins away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
If that happens, Lamar will win for all those who preceded him and those who had their intelligence and ability to play the position doubted. And he will win by being himself and controlling his narrative.
That’s what makes him a true generational talent.
