Lamar Jackson's disrespectful ranking in annual QB poll shows his path to a breakthrough may now be in his teammates' hands

"I think he had to grow up as a passer...he was always more athletic than everyone else, so why not run? But he had to stay in the pocket a little bit more to prolong his career, and he's doing that increasingly well." 

- NFL personnel veteran on Lamar Jackson via ESPN

Jackson was among the four quarterbacks to receive at least some first-place votes in the poll, conducted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. But he finished behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow — the same as last year. Jackson was also ranked as low as sixth on at least one ballot, which was the lowest any of the top four quarterbacks were ranked by any participant. 

Jackson's development as a passer was rightfully spotlighted in quotes from those across the league but it is hard to accept a ranking of fourth if he has indeed made the strides as a passer that he's getting his flowers for now. Over the last two seasons, Jackson has made major strides from within the pocket to create numbers inside of structure that match what he can be so devastating of outside of structure. He's stayed healthy. But he hasn't had the signature win late in the year, which at this point is the only thing missing on his resume. 

Lamar hasn't had a great deal of success in head to head matchups against Kansas City or Buffalo, which presumably leaves little room for a breakthrough in the quarterback rankings against Mahomes or Allen. The Bills ended Baltimore's season in the divisional round of last year's playoffs, the Chiefs the year prior in the conference championship. Lamar boasts a 3-8 career record in starts against those two quarterbacks, including 0-3 in the playoffs.

Losses to both teams sandwiched the season for Jackson in 2024 but both came with heartbreak. Fourth-quarter comebacks fell just short against both after tight end Isaiah Likely's foot landed out of bounds on the final play versus Kansas City to open the year and Mark Andrews dropped the game-tying two-point conversion in the AFC Divisional round versus Buffalo. The Ravens trailed the Chiefs by 10 entering the fourth quarter and the Bills by 11 at halftime. The plays were there to be made. But game-tying scores slipped through the hands of Andrews (literally) and Likely (figuratively). Is Lamar still ranked fourth if those two plays are made? 

Accepting a ranking of fourth among NFL quarterbacks after the past two seasons of play Jackson has registered is a hard sell. That certainly isn't a slight to the names ahead of him in Burrow, Allen, and Mahomes, either.

Perhaps 2025 will be the year for the breakthrough win. It seems his entire perception versus the league's elites is depending on it — no matter what his production, wins, film resume, hardware and more say for where he's already at.