Lamar Jackson Silences Patrick Mahomes Comparisons
Lamar Jackson has been on an incredible trajectory through his first two seasons that has drawn many comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. The dialogue continues to move in that direction behind the success he’s garnered in his brief NFL career. The chatter has again ramped up with the two taking each on Monday night in Week 3 action of the 2020 season. With that in mind, Jackson has swiftly disconnected himself from the ongoing conversation.
Lamar Jackson’s tremendous start to his NFL career
Since entering the NFL, Lamar Jackson has pushed through to find some substantial success in his first two-plus seasons.
It saw him guide the Baltimore Ravens back to the playoffs with consecutive postseason berths, which he took a massive step forward in his second campaign in 2019. In his first year as the full-time starter, Jackson put forth a historic season that earned him unanimous MVP honors. The 23-year-old quieted down doubt that stemmed during the 2018 Scouting Combine suggesting that he could play wide receiver.
He set the record straight in 2019 as he broke the single-season rushing mark for a quarterback with 1,206 yards. He also proved to be a highly capable passer with 36 touchdowns passes to six interceptions, first with an 81.9 quarterback rating, and held a 113.3 passer rating. Jackson was the guiding force of the league’s highest-scoring offense that became the first team to average more than 200 rushing yards per game.
The Ravens star quarterback has continued his historic pace into the 2020 season. He’s become the first player to record at least 45 touchdown passes and throw fewer than 10 interceptions (nine) over his first 600 career pass attempts.
Jackson’s success has thrust the comparisons to Patrick Mahomes upon him, which has shut down that dialogue yet again.
Lamar Jackson admits he doesn’t take anything from Patrick Mahomes
The path to stardom for Lamar Jackson has foreseeably pushed the discussion of comparisons to Patrick Mahomes on him.
Like Mahomes, Jackson secured the MVP honors in his first year as the full-time starter behind a historic campaign. The Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback has become the gold standard in the league, which has stapled down more chatter directed toward the Ravens quarterback.
During a recent interview with Louis Riddick of ESPN ahead of the Week 3 Monday night matchup, Jackson firmly stated that he doesn’t apply anything from Mahomes’ game to his own.
“Na, I don’t. I don’t know about anybody else but I don’t.”
Jackson stated these comments with absolute sincerity in his voice and demeanor. It’s likely a discussion that he’s tired of hearing daily. Aside from the awards garnered through their first two seasons, Jackson plays an entirely different style on the field. He’s not the traditional quarterback by any stretch of the imagination.
That isn’t to say that Mahome is either, but Jackson’s playing style is drastically different than the reigning Super Bowl MVP. He has found tremendous success behind his legs in the rushing attack that has made the Ravens into an NFL powerhouse running the ball. That alone makes it hard for him to aspire to replicate any of Mahomes’ ability aside from his admiration for the deep ball.
Carving out his own path
What Lamar Jackson’s comments speak to more intently is his desire to carve out his path.
Before the discussion emerged regarding Patrick Mahomes’ comparisons, he dealt with those lining up his playing style to former star quarterback Michael Vick. Jackson is a tremendous talent that shares many similar qualities that Vick had, but he’s his own player.
He performs things on the football field that just can’t be replicated by another quarterback. Jackson isn’t one to boast about his play as he lets it speak for itself. That is the course of action that he will take moving forward in his NFL career as he hopes to carve out a one-of-a-kind legacy.
