It only took a year and a half, but someone is finally ready to admit they were dead wrong about Lamar Jackson.
One of the more prominent backers of that view is former Bills and Colts executive Bill Polian. Jackson, however, continues to excel as a quarterback, and Polian admitted to USA Today’s Jarrett Bell this week that he had been far off on his evaluation of the Baltimore Ravens’ star.
“I was wrong, because I used the old, traditional quarterback standard with him, which is clearly why John Harbaugh and (Ravens GM) Ozzie Newsome were more prescient than I was,” Polian said. “And (offensive coordinator Greg Roman) found a way in how he’s developed a system to use those dynamic skills. Bottom line, I was wrong.”
Jackson’s resume is quickly beginning to speak for itself. He’s won 12 of 15 starts and just beat the New England Patriots. He wasn’t happy with the talk about him switching positions before he was drafted, and he has likely used it as motivation through his first two NFL seasons.
At the halfway point of the season, Jackson is completing 64.3 percent of his passes and averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Additionally, he’s rushed for 637 yards and five touchdowns. He’s been so damn near unstoppable that the Patriots’ top-ranked defense even got bludgeoned by Jackson. As a result, Jackson is heavily involved in the MVP race with Deshaun Watson, even if Russell Wilson is leading the race by a decent margin at this point in the season.
