Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson entered the NFL having already won one of the most prestigious awards in sports when he was a sophomore at Louisville. He won the 2016 Heisman Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding college football player. At the time, some draft analysts speculated Jackson would be better off playing running back or wide receiver instead of quarterback in the NFL.
In 2018, the Ravens selected Jackson as the last quarterback in the first round, and he started the final seven games of his rookie season. He had six touchdown passes with three interceptions, 695 rush yards, and five touchdowns, leading Baltimore to a 6-1 record and an AFC North title.
Lamar Jackson’s 2019 MVP Season
Jackson built off his strong finish to his rookie year and took his game to another level in his second season. He completed over 66% of his passes for 3,127 yards, with an NFL-leading 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. Jackson ran for seven touchdowns as he set an NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season with 1,206 yards.
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Jackson led Baltimore to a 14-2 record, including winning the final 12 games on the way to another AFC North championship. The team scored 40 points or more in five games and led the NFL with 33.2 points per game. The Ravens also set franchise records for touchdowns, points, rushing yards, and total yards. Baltimore became the first team in NFL history to average 200 rushing yards and 200 net passing yards per game in a season.
Jackson was the unanimous winner of the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award and joined Tom Brady in 2010 as the only player to receive a unanimous vote. He said in his acceptance speech, “There’s been a lot of doubt going on, me being a running back, a receiver, stuff like that. That came when I got to the league. I had a great group of guys and a great organization with me.”
Is 2023 Another MVP Campaign?
Jackson’s play through the first 11 games of this season has put him in the conversation for another MVP award. His completion percentage is 69.5%, which would be a career-high mark. Jackson’s best completion percentage for a full season was 66.1% in 2019, and he completed 63.7% of his passes from 2020 to 2022.
Jackson is averaging over 221 passing yards per game and has 12 touchdowns with five interceptions. He’s rushed for 535 yards and five touchdowns so far this season. Jackson is the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for at least 500 yards in each of his first six seasons.
DraftKings Sportsbook lists Jackson with the second-best odds to win MVP behind only Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
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