Over the past two seasons, Baltimore Ravens veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy has had a front row seat to not only the best two-year stretch of Lamar Jackson’s career but arguably of any quarterback in NFL history.
Both players are coming off the best seasons of their respective careers, in which Van Noy led the team with a career-high 12.5 sacks and earned his first-ever Pro Bowl honors. Meanwhile, Jackson had the single-best dual-threat season of all time in which he became the first player to ever throw for over 4,000 passing yards and rush for over 900 yards.
Despite leading the league in total touchdowns with 41 passing and four rushing, the two-time league MVP was inexplicably snubbed from receiving the third of his career and second in a row due to what can only be irrationally explained as voter fatigue.
As historically dominant as Jackson’s two-year stretch has been and even though he has already improved light-years in his development as a complete quarterback since entering the league, Van Noy believes that he can take his game “up a notch” and that fact should scare the 31 other teams.
“He does a phenomenal job and I think the biggest thing that I always challenge Lamar every time I get a chance to talk with him is taking that next step,” Van Noy said Thursday during an appearance on ESPN’s NFL LIVE. “He’s already on another level but just continue that growth of what he’s doing (and) the path that he’s on.”
Prior to joining the Ravens, Van Noy won a pair of Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and played with future first-ballot Hall of Famer Tom Brady, who is universally recognized as the greatest quarterback of all time. He sees a similar drive for greatness in Jackson in his approach and is glad to be part of his pursuit of it.
“His path to continue to get better each and every game as well as the week, the preparation that he has, I’m excited and I’m grateful that I’m his teammate,” Van Noy said.
It’s hard to fathom Jackson taking his game to an even higher level from a statistical standpoint, given how he didn’t just put up incredibly prolific numbers in 2024 but also highly efficient ones. He only had four passes get picked off, none of which were truly on him, and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 10.25-1.
Jackson has continued to improve upon and evolve his game at each stage of his career, from being voted league MVP unanimously in his first full season as a starter to proving he can not only operate but thrive at an elite level in a more balanced scheme under offensive coordinator Todd Monken the past two seasons.
However, the next level that Van Noy is referring to isn’t just putting up gaudy stats again and making history as an individual but doing whatever it takes when it matters most in he playoffs to finally get the Ravens over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl for at least a shot at a championship. It’s a sentiment that he not only has about his quarterback but the team as a whole.
“The next step is get to that last game and eventually win that last game,” Van Noy said.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Ravens went heavy on defense with six of their league-high 11 picks being used to upgrade and reinforce that side of the ball after they were the team’s Achilles heel for the first half of the season. Their inability to stop opposing teams from carving them up through the air cost them some pivotal games that could’ve helped in postseason seeding after being the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2023.
“What they did in the draft was really, really good,” Van Noy said. “[General manager Eric DeCosta] is one of he best in the NFL at being a GM. I think getting Malaki Starks (to) complement Kyle Hamilton on the backend as well as Ar’Darius Washington. You also have Mike Green (who) led the NCAA in sacks last year with 17. An amazing talent he is, fell all the way to the second round where we picked him up.”
