Lamar Jackson 'on a Hall of Fame arc' according to NFL analyst originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson failed to live up to expectations in 2020 after his historic 2019 campaign, but that doesn't mean he still wasn't a "special, special" player according to NBC Sports analyst and former QB Chris Simms.
"We’re still talking about maybe the most dangerous weapon in football in Lamar Jackson," Simms said on his podcast Chris Simms Unbuttoned this week. "It’s still in the class of greatest running quarterback we’ve ever seen. It’s still phenomenal. And again, maybe like some of these other quarterbacks we’ve talked about, the pressure he puts on you because of that skill set, you can’t quantify it. It’s unbelievable what he does."
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Simms is running through his annual list of the top 40 quarterbacks in football. Jackson slid slightly from no. 5 in the NFL to no. 6 in Simms's rankings, but it's not for a lack of talent or belief in the 24-year old QB.
In fact, Simms actually finds himself believing in Jackson even more now than he did a year ago when Jackson was coming off a record-breaking season in which he was named just the second-ever unanimous MVP.
"I think the other thing, too, with Lamar Jackson, the stats won’t say it, Lamar Jackson improved as a pocket passer last year," Simms said. "He definitely did. Every time I go back and watch it, the more and more confident I feel about that. He was better."
"We’re still questioning whether he can carry the team if the run game and his running ability can’t do it. Do I still have questions? Yeah, to a degree. But not to the point where I did last year," Simms continued.
Jackson threw for just 2,757 yards in 2020, but it's important to remember that he missed one game due to COVID-19 and was likely feeling the effects of the virus in other games as well.
He also still rushed for 1,005 yards and seven more touchdowns on the ground, which has to be taken into account when evaluating his season as a whole. And for what it's worth, the Ravens went 11-4 in the games he played.
Put it all together, and Jackson is still on quite a trajectory. When it was suggested even just the 2020 version of Jackson would still be on pace to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, Simms didn't hesitate to agree.
"No doubt about it, 100%. He’s on a Hall of Fame arc," Simms said. "Everybody looks at it as a down year because they weren’t 14-2...they were still awesome."
The scary part for opposing defenses (and the fun part for Ravens fans) is that Jackson still appears poised to only get better. Not only is he a young player still learning the NFL game, but the Ravens are also making a point to add playmakers like Rashod Bateman and Sammy Watkins to his group of weapons.
That will only help Jackson take another leap.
"I look at Baltimore and I still think Lamar Jackson and everything is going in the right direction," Simms said. "They’re not going to go 14-2 every year. But he’s still improving, and I have all the confidence in the world in his right arm and the ability. And I think it’s still going to continue to go forward."
