As people debate about Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson possibly winning his third Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, there are some that believe he is still underrated or underappreciated. After the Ravens demolished the Houston Texans on Christmas Day led by a sensational performance from Jackson, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark would speak on the conversation around the quarterback.
Clark was on “First Take” where the question was asked if Jackson is the most underappreciated quarterback in the entire league which he would argue that what he’s done and the accolades awarded say otherwise.
“The actual accolades say that Lamar Jackson isn’t underappreciated,” Clark said about Jackson being underrated. “Now there’s going to be the stupidity that’s outside of the actual game of the people who know what’s going on on the field that’s going to make you feel like he’s underappreciated, right?”
“The same way you felt he was underappreciated on draft night when we watched him lay on the table next to his mother,” Clark continued. “When the Baltimore Ravens had to move back up and probably make Ozzie Newsome’s greatest pick of all time of, a second Hall of Fame sort of career, he was underrated when people ask him, Hey, should you switch position? Correct? But when we watch him on Sundays now, he’s not underrated in any way.”
Ravens’ Lamar Jackson needs to win Super Bowl to reach next level
As the Ravens have turned it around in the AFC North because of Jackson’s impeccable performances, he seems on his way to his third MVP award. However, Clark would say that the one achievement that Jackson needs to obtain to reach the level of Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahones is to win a championship, especially how revolutionary it would be for the history of Black quarterbacks.
“We all know who Lamar Jackson is,” Clark said. “I believe what changes the entire narrative is you gotta go win the championship, right? And the reason you have to go win the championship is because you are no longer underrated. Because we rate you perfectly where you are. We say you are on the tier right under Patrick Mahomes. Why? Because Patrick Mahomes has three championships. In order for you to be in that sort of conversation, you have to go win one.”
“And you have to go win one playing any kind of way, whether it’s the traditional Lamar way that involves his legs and quarterback runs, or it’s Lamar Jackson being the pocket passer that we see now,” Clark continued. “See, we’ve needed at that position, because of all the negativity surrounding whether or not people like you can play it, we needed each of you to get to this point, and that’s why we need Lamar Jackson to take that next step and hold that Lombardi Trophy, the same way we all cried when Doug Williams did it in the 80s.”
The Ravens are 11-5 which puts them first in the division as their final game is against the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 5 as the 27-year-old Jackson looks for his first Super Bowl.
