Lamar Jackson Finally Named a Tier 1 Quarterback by NFL Executives and Coaches
An injustice has been rectified.
Lamar Jackson has finally made it into Tier 1 in The Athletic’s annual quarterback tiers, which are determined by a panel of 50 NFL executives and coaches.
Despite all of Jackson's accolades, including two MVP awards, he had landed in Tier 2 (out of five tiers) the past five years in a row.
All it took was Jackson putting together one of the best statistical seasons ever for a quarterback in 2024 to convince the majority of the voters that he is a Tier 1 quarterback. Jackson received 46 top-tier votes, doubling his total from last year.
"I'm a firm 1 on Lamar now," a defensive coordinator said. "Even last year's game in the playoffs, he brought them back. … Lamar is the total package, a very unique player."
Another voter said: "There is a maturity of how he plays the game and when he turns on his magic. We played them, and [shoot], he was almost perfect that day. He is definitely a 1."
Not only did the panel vote Jackson into the top tier, but most voters thought Jackson should have won the MVP award last season.
"It would have been his third," an offensive coordinator said. "You can't win three MVPs, still be in your prime and not be a 1."
Apparently, the four voters who put Jackson into Tier 2 didn't agree. Jackson finished fourth overall, the same spot he occupied last year.
The Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow were unanimous Tier 1 choices. The Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen, who edged Jackson for MVP last season, received 47 Tier 1 votes and three Tier 2 votes to take the No. 3 spot.
The Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford (26 Tier 1 votes, 23 Tier 2 votes, one Tier 3 vote) was the other Tier 1 quarterback.
Roquan Smith's Ranking in NFL Top 100 Revealed
The Ravens have their second player in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025, as inside linebacker Roquan Smith came in at No. 40.
"Very little has gone wrong for Smith since he joined the Ravens via trade midway through the 2022 campaign," NFL's Bobby Kownack wrote. "In two full seasons since, Smith has made two Pro Bowls, twice been named a first-team All-Pro and compiled over 100 tackles more than any other Raven. He's a bit vulnerable in pass defense compared to sniffing out ball-carriers, but that can be forgiven when he's flying around quarterbacking the top-ranked D against the run as he did last year."
Despite posting similar stats as he did in 2023, Smith fell 21 spots in the rankings.
The NFL has revealed Nos. 100-39 in the countdown. Safety Kyle Hamilton (No. 51) is the other Ravens player on the list so far.
Pundit Says Playing Starters in Preseason Games Not Worth the Risk
An annual debate during training camp is whether teams should play their starters in preseason games.
The Baltimore Sun’s Josh Tolentino contended that the decision is clear for a Super Bowl contender such as the Ravens.
"The Ravens' biggest opponent over the next two weeks isn't the Cowboys or Commanders. It's bad injury luck," Tolentino wrote. "Any potential reward of seeing quarterback Lamar Jackson shake off perceived rust against opposite-colored jerseys is minimal. The injury risk, on the other hand, is glaring."
The majority of the Ravens' starters have not played in preseason games in recent years. Five projected starters saw action in this past Thursday's 24-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts: offensive linemen Roger Rosengarten, Daniel Faalele, and Andrew Vorhees, inside linebacker Trenton Simpson, and first-round safety Malaki Starks. Jackson has not played in a preseason game since 2021.
"The romanticized notion that a series or two of live game action will further sharpen already established superstars is laughable," Tolentino wrote. "Even Chiefs coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes jokingly agreed after Mahomes logged three snaps and played just 48 seconds in Kansas City's preseason opener."
Tolentino pointed out that the Ravens already have advanced tools and resources to evaluate players without game risk.
"In fact, the team's in-house evaluations feel more paramount than ever," Tolentino wrote. "Baltimore's new grading system, which hyper-analyzes every rep from practice and is projected on screens across the Under Armour Performance Center, allows coaches to measure progress in granular detail.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said on Saturday that "we'll just wait and see" when he was asked if more starters could play in Saturday's game in Dallas.
"I'm kind of relying a little bit – we're having conversations with the leaders about that throughout [the preseason]," Harbaugh said. "[We'll] see how practice goes this week, see how we feel about it toward Wednesday-ish. We'll see how we feel about it."
