Checking in On The "Lamar Jackson Is a Running Back" Narrative

John Rich11/08/2024 5:15 PM

I gave this scorching hot take after Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. Controversial, I know. Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, who plays "quarterback", was fresh of a putrid 7-point loss to the Patrick Mahomes led, back-to-back Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. So naturally, there were questions as to whether Lamar Jackson, the 2023 NFL MVP (from the quarterback position), was even fit to lead a franchise. Was Lamar Jackson even a quarterback at all?

It's hard to say. He's quarterback presenting, the way he calls the play in the huddle, receives the ball from center, proceeds to throw it to a receiver roughly 30 times per game, etc. But is simply lining up at the quarterback position really all it takes to be considered a true NFL quarterback? (picture again for reference)

Yes. Yes it is. Lamar Jackson is quite literally an NFL quarterback, and there is no arguing that. But I know that's not the point. Obviously the "Lamar Jackson is a Running Back" crowd is not arguing whether he technically lines up at the quarterback position. They simply believe that Lamar Jackson's ability to read a defense, and throw a football with his pathetic right arm is so far inferior to where a legitimate NFL QB should be at, that they don't see him as QB at all. He's a running back who occasionally throws the football. A real quarterback shouldn't be running the ball "x" amount of times per game. A real quarterback should stand in the pocket, survey the field, and find an open receiver. They don't want the supposed leader of their football team engaging in bullshit plays like this.

So let's take a look at the stats. Specifically, Lamar Jackson's passing stats. How has this fake quarterback faired in the passing game since that putrid 26/41, 273 yard, 1 TD, 0 INT performance against arguably the best defense in the NFL.

I will say, Baker Mayfield has played 1 less game. So after this week, more likely than not, Lamar Jackson will merely be tied for second in passing TD's. And I know I'm biased. I've always held the highly contentious "Lamar Jackson is good" opinion. But if you give me a shot of truth serum and put a revolver to my head, I'm pretty confident I would still say that the player who is leading the NFL in passer rating, is top 3 in TD passes, top 4 in passing yards per game, and lines up every play behind the center is in fact a quarterback, and not a running back.

Now to be fair, I wouldn't be telling the full story if I didn't mention that in addition to being a top the NFL in all important passing categories, Lamar Jackson also ranks 16th in total rushing yards among all players. Lamar Jackson has 538 yards rushing on 91 attempts, which is good for 3rd most yards per carry in the league. As a quarterback, you'd like to see that number closer to 0. Ideally it would be in the negatives. Because a real quarterback knows when to tuck the ball and take a sack. Live to fight another day. That's what Tom Brady would have done.

Unfortunately, the "Lamar Jackson is a Running Back" crowd is down bad right now. Well actually… that's probably not true. They had a pretty enormous victory a few days ago. But when it comes to that one specific Lamar Jackson take… boy are the numbers not in their favor. Lamar Jackson is a quarterback. A fucking good one. So good that his stats this season are dwarfing those of last year's NFL MVP QB.

And Lamar will continue to be a great quarterback for as long as he's in the NFL. Where he has a record of 65-22 as a starter.

Unless of course the NFL goes full 1960's NBA (when they banned dunking because their brains couldn't handle how much better Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was than everybody else) and Roger Goodell decides to implement a drastic rule change, as was suggested in one of my all-time favorite BarstoolSports.com comments on my last "Lamar Jackson is NOT a Running Back" blog.