Lamar Jackson is often heralded as the NFL’s best dual-threat quarterback. He’s capable of burning opposing secondaries with his arm or his legs, but Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says Jackson is still underrated as a passer.
During an appearance on “This Is Football,” Harbaugh said that Jackson’s passing game has flown under the radar his whole career. The Ravens coach said that, when you look at the numbers, Jackson is one of the best passers ever.
“He is a historically good passer,” Harbaugh said. “That’s really quite a statement because of the narrative that’s been surrounding him ever since the beginning. Lamar Jackson can throw the football. He can throw it every kind of way. He can make every throw any kind of way you want. He’s as good of a passer as there’s ever been, and the numbers are proving that.”
Harbaugh’s claim that Jackson can “make every throw any kind way you want” cannot be denied. Let’s start there.
Simply look at last year’s Week 5 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After escaping pressure and stiff-arming a defender, Jackson scrambled to the sideline and fired a cross-body bullet to Isaiah Likely in the end zone, despite the presence of Bengals defenders all around him.
At first glance, the rest of Harbaugh’s claim probably seems like a coach simply having his player’s back. However, when you take a deeper look at the numbers, his assessment may not be that far-fetched.
When looking at the raw passing stats, Harbaugh does seem pretty far off base. Jackson has averaged below 200 passing yards per game for his career, and his 166 touchdowns are tied with Brad Johnson for 80th all-time.
Given the frequency with which Jackson runs the ball, though, it’s probably not fair to evaluate him as a passer based simply on traditional raw totals. Why punish Jackson for his 1,000-yard rushing potential?
After all, Jackson has only averaged 25.1 passing attempts per game in his career. Players like Patrick Mahomes (37.2), Joe Burrow (36.9), Tom Brady (36.5) and Peyton Manning (35.3) have volume on their side.
That being the case, it’s probably more fair to evaluate Jackson based on his efficiency. In that department, Jackson stacks up very well with his peers. Just last season, he led the league in yards per attempt (8.8), adjusted yards per attempt (10.15) and touchdown rate (8.6%).
Zooming out and looking at it from a career perspective, Jackson’s 7.8 yards per attempt are tied with Mahomes, Phillip Rivers and Johnny Unitas for seventh all-time. He ranks ahead of Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees in that category.
When it comes to touchdown rate, Jackson is the best of the modern era. His 6.4% touchdown rate is tied with Len Dawson for fifth all-time, and it’s the top mark among all quarterbacks after 1975.
What about Jackson’s ability to avoid turnovers? His minuscule 1.9% career interception rate is tied with Derek Carr for 10th all-time. Mahomes, Burrow and Brady have only a very slight edge there at 1.8%.
Passer rating may be somewhat of a nebulous stat, but it at least gives you a rough indication of how a quarterback has performed, especially when it comes to a career. There, Jackson ranks third all-time at 102. Only Rodgers (102.6) and Mahomes (102.1) are ahead of him there.
Jackson is never going to blow anyone away with gaudy passing numbers, whether it be yards or touchdowns. Instead, when he drops back to pass, Jackson makes it count. In that respect, Jackson has proven his head coach to be correct.
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