Getty Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens superstar second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson has been nothing short of amazing this season. The former Louisville Cardinal has helped lead his team to an 11-2 record, tied for the best in all of football.
He’s also currently the clear front-runner for league MVP, quarterbacking the NFL‘s highest-scoring offense while rushing for 1,017 yards on the ground this season.
Those outlandish numbers put Jackson just 23 rushing yards from surpassing Michael Vick for the most rushing yards ever by a quarterback in a single-season.
However, after sustaining a quad injury in the team’s Week 14 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Many questioned whether Jackson would need to wait an extra week before etching his name in the league’s record books.
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Lamar Jackson Active for Thursday Night
Lamar Jackson had been a limited participant in practice all week with an injured quad leading up to Thursday night’s tilt vs. the New York Jets.
Jackson had a noticeable limp on Monday, sending wavelengths across the NFL, where fans, fantasy football owners, and multiple media outlets began to question the potential league MVP’s availability for Week 15. This comes even after the fact that Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh proclaimed Jackson’s injury was not serious. Yet the fact that he also pegged Jackson day-to-day caused the majority of people to zone out the rest of what the coach had to say.
However, Jackson returned to the practice field on Tuesday, albeit still limited, and was reportedly moving a whole lot smoother during the media viewing portion of the practice.
Following that Tuesday practice, Jackson added some extra comfort to Baltimore Ravens fans around the globe with this statement…
“I feel great. I feel good. I’m 100 (percent)…I’m going to be out there Thursday night.”
Update: Jackson is officially active for tonight’s game vs. the New York Jets.
Lamar Jackson’s Fantasy Outlook vs. New York Jets
Now that we know Jackson is active, he undoubtedly belongs in your lineup. The reasoning behind that belief is quite apparent. Jackson has averaged 27.3 fantasy points per game this season, the highest per-game average by a quarterback, and second-highest by a player regardless of position.
The only question would be whether or not Baltimore would limit their star QB and give Robert Griffin III an extended look vs. the woeful Jets.
Jackson, however, seems to be having no part of that sentiment.
“I’m playing to win the game,” Jackson told media. “If I have to be out there all four quarters, that’s what it’s going to be.”
Mailing it in early against Gang Green would not be the wisest decision. While the Jets may be looked at as one of the laughing stocks of the NFL, they have won three of their last four games. Chance are, if Jackson is on the sidelines come the fourth quarter, it’s because he dominated for the first three, which bodes well for your fantasy team.
The Jets have been a surprisingly tough matchup for opposing quarterbacks this season, allowing the 14th fewest fantasy points to the position. The last three QBs to face off with New York have averaged just 11.26 fantasy points.
With that said, four of the last seven QBs to play the Jets have scored 18.06 fantasy points. Also, Lamar Jackson isn’t just any quarterback. The Ravens signal-caller has scored fewer than 20.8 fantasy points only once this season.
Don’t overthink it, Lamar Jackson is a must-start on Thursday, as he is on a weekly basis.