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Steve Young knows Lamar Jackson is so much more than merely a mobile quarterback. The Hall of Famer who won a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers defended Jackson’s progression in a more complex offense this season, while also urging the Baltimore Ravens to continue to trust the process and let Jackson develop his game.
Speaking to Sarah Ellison and Bobby Trosset of “The Vault: A Daily Ravens Podcast,” Young said Jackson’s rushing skills will “never go away. He’ll be 40 years old and making people miss. I promise you.”
Instead, Young wants Jackson to continue focusing on refining his eye for a pass. There’s been considerable improvement this season after Todd Monken took over as offensive coordinator and the Ravens equipped Jackson with wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Nelson Agholor and rookie Zay Flowers.
Even so, Young believes there’s still work to be done: “It’s not just getting weapons and not just getting the process and the commitment to a sophisticated passing game and then calling them in clutch situations in big games or week to week. It’s really Lamar needs to make that transition and I think he is chewing on that, and I just encourage him to keep chewing on it.”
Jackson will get the chance to show he’s taking Young’s advice when the Ravens meet Young’s former team at Levi’s Stadium on Christmas Day. It’s a matchup of the only two teams in the NFL with 11-3 records.
The Ravens have got there behind Jackson’s brilliance, even though Young knows he’s still learning the ropes within a more nuanced system. The 62-year-old passionately defended Jackson and the running quarterbacks who dominate today’s game.
Steve Young Defends Lamar Jackson, “Mobile” QBs
Young knows a thing or two about “the challenge of being mobile and playing the position.” He was a left-handed QB known as much for his ability to run like a fullback than attack defenses through the air.
He eventually confounded his critics and defied expectations by passing his way to a pair of NFL MVP awards and throwing a record six touchdowns in the Super Bowl.
Young did his part to alter the perceptions of running quarterbacks, but he still gets annoyed when people put limits on what Jackson can do throwing the ball and reading defenses. Jackson is no stranger to the stereotypes, since he was once considered destined to be a wide receiver in the pros by former NFL general manager Bill Polian and at least one team.
Polian changed his mind, admitting to USA Today Sports’ Jarrett Bell in 2019, “I was wrong, because I used the old, traditional quarterback standard with him.” Jackson changed perception, but Young still gets frustrated by the narrative.
As Young told Ellison, “Don’t tell me Lamar is, ‘well that’s Lamar, he can’t do certain things.’ Like, I pull my hair out.”
Young demanded Jackson’s critics “Do not diminish the potential of what Lamar Jackson can be in the game today. The game IS his game.”
While he acknowledged the “growing pains” of Jackson’s early development in Monken’s offense, Young believes the Ravens need to give their QB1 room the way the Kansas City Chiefs did with Patrick Mahomes: “I beg them to continue to take chances to let him develop because I still believe that, like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar could be the greatest player.”
A comparison to Mahomes would have lacked credibility this season, but Jackson has raised his all-round game to elite levels.
Lamar Jackson Posting Steve Young-Like Numbers
Mahomes may be in his sights as a contemporary rival, but Jackson is doing his best to emulate Young. He was on pace to equal Young leading “all QBs in completion % and rushing yards in a single season,” per NFL Stats.
Jackson is still beating defenses in both phases, but progress as a passer is defining his season. No. 8 is just 23 yards shy of surpassing his career-high tally for passing yards in a single campaign, while Jackson’s 66.3 completion percentage is also a career-best mark, per Pro Football Reference.
He’s always been able to ad lib and make splash plays, but Jackson has become more productive and efficient as an in-rhythm passer. Numbers from NFL Total Access and Next Gen Stats prove the point.
Jackson is delivering what Young knows is already there. Namely, the gifts of a complete quarterback who will only get better the more the Ravens “just let him cook.”
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