The Baltimore Ravens are pushing back hard on Lamar Jackson’s No. 69 ranking on the NFL Top 100 list, arguing that the quarterback should be bought, bought, bought instead of treated like a fade. Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd used that same slide as his reason to sell Jackson’s stock, but Baltimore’s case is that the number misses what he has already done and what he still offers at 29 years old.
That argument landed now because Jackson’s name is back in the spotlight after a season that was interrupted by injuries and a ranking that looked far too low for a quarterback who led the NFL in yards per pass completed at 13.3 in 2024. He also ran for 6.6 yards per carry that year, the best mark in the league, and had already shown a ceiling few quarterbacks can match, including 4,172 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and four interceptions the year before.
The Ravens’ point is not just that Jackson has been great before. It is that the context around him is changing in ways that should matter. The team says he will be better protected in 2025, with guard upgrades John Simpson and rookie Vega Ioane expected to help. It also says Declan Doyle has installed a fresh offense that Jackson loves, a setup that fits a quarterback who won MVP in his first season with Greg Roman in 2019 and again in his first season with Todd Monken in 2023.
There is still a reason the ranking drew attention in the first place. Jackson missed four games in 2025, and he said this offseason that he was hurt before he sat out and again after he returned. That stands out because he did not miss a game because of injuries in the previous two years, making the 2025 stretch look more like a disruption than a new normal. Even then, he managed 5.2 yards per carry, tied with Derrick Henry and Josh Allen, which keeps the efficiency argument alive even in a down year.
What makes the Ravens’ defense of Jackson sharper is that it comes with a wider roster plan attached. The team signed Mark Andrews to a contract extension late last season and hopes to get a long-term extension with Zay Flowers done before the season starts, while rookie wide receivers Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt arrive with college profiles that included a lot of scoring. That matters because the Ravens were only 27th in red-zone offense last year and turned just 47.5% of those trips into touchdowns, a number that leaves room for Jackson’s playmaking to mean more.
Cowherd’s take, and the debate around it, may end up telling us less about Jackson than about how quickly one bad ranking can override a long record of production. Jackson is still the same quarterback who has won at the top of the league, and the Ravens are betting that with healthier legs, better protection and a cleaner offensive fit, the No. 69 tag will look more like a talking point than a verdict.
