Ryan Clark framed Lamar Jackson’s drop to No. 69 on the NFL Top 100 as a sell-low mistake. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback is being judged off a ranking slide, but his recent production still looks like an elite player’s line, not a fading one.
Colin Cowherd And No. 69
Colin Cowherd used Jackson’s fall from No. 2 to No. 69 as the reason to sell his stock, but that move ignores the context around 2025. Jackson missed four games because of injuries, yet he said this offseason that he was injured before his time on the sideline and after he came back.
He also did not miss a game because of injuries in the previous two years. That matters because the ranking drop lands beside a short injury stretch, not a long pattern of missed time. His body of work is still the stronger indicator.
Jackson’s 2024 Numbers
In 2024, he led the NFL in yards per pass completed with 13.3, while throwing for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 6.6 yards per carry, the best mark in the NFL, which is the kind of combined production that makes a No. 69 slot look detached from the season he actually just put together.
The 29-year-old still produced 5.2 yards per carry in 2025 even while injured. That is the complication in the ranking: the number slipped, but the level of threat did not disappear, and the passing efficiency stayed high enough to keep him in the upper tier.
Protection And Play-Calling
The Ravens are set up to give him more help. John Simpson and rookie Vega Ioane were described as guard upgrades, and the article also says Jackson will play in a fresh offense installed by Declan Doyle that he likes.
Jackson has already shown he can win under different systems. He won MVP in his first season with Greg Roman in 2019 and again in his first season with Todd Monken in 2023, which gives the offense change a clear test: if the protection and structure improve, his efficiency can move again instead of sliding.
The support around him is still being built. The Ravens signed Mark Andrews to a contract extension late last season and want a long-term extension with Zay Flowers done before the season starts, while rookie wide receivers Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt were described as touchdown monsters in college.
That is why the No. 69 ranking reads more like a snapshot than a verdict. Jackson is coming off an injury-affected stretch, but the passing numbers, rushing efficiency and the incoming protection changes give the Ravens a cleaner read on what comes next than a single ranking ever could.
