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By Cameron Kiszla
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The Athletic's ranking of all NFL starting quarterbacks into tiers is here, and one two-time MVP has lost his status as one of the best in football.
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens fell to Tier 2 in Mike Sando's Quarterback Tiers, and the 50 coaches and executives polled attributed his fall to a drop off in the skill that helped make him the threat he is.
'Not Always Moving With Purpose'
Jackson's issue, according to those experts, is that he's not running as much or as well.
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A true dual-threat QB, Jackson often relies on his feet to avoid pass rushers and make the defense pay if they focus too much on his receivers.
Sando noted that last season, "back and hamstring injuries surely played a role" in his reduced rushing, but it's unclear if the 29-year-old will be a threat to run for 1,000 yards again.
“I’m not sure how much he wants to run and take hits anymore,” an opposing coach told Sando. “He can’t be special without the threat of a run. I think he needs to be more active when he does run. It used to be he would go and outrun you. Now, he kind of goes, but he is not always moving with purpose.”
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An offensive coordinator added that in terms of Jackson's career trajectory, "the arrow is probably down," though that coordinator implied that he still rated Jackson a Tier 1 QB.
"I’m just not ready to give him a 2 yet. If he doesn’t play well, they don’t win games. He has been able to carry that roster no matter what the rest of it looked like, even last year," he noted. “Now, if he stops running, I do think he drops into the 2 category. I think he can win games and be an elite quarterback without running, but I don’t think he’s a 1 without running.”
In Jackson's defense, he did get the top spot in Tier 2, just missing the highest level.
And while he was a Tier 1 QB last season, he wasn't in either of his MVP seasons.
In 2023, he was Tier 2, and ahead of 2019, his second season in the league, he was Tier 4.
Perhaps this lack of respect will prompt another huge year for Jackson.
It seems, though, he'll have to use his legs a bit more to make that happen.
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