Lamar Jackson plummeted 67 places in the player-voted NFL Top 100, dropping from No. 2 to a shocking No. 69. That’s after an injury-disrupted season where he still balled out, finishing fourth in passer rating at 103.8. It’s wild, right? Former Ravens running back Femi Ayanbadejo, an 11-year NFL veteran and a member of the 2000 Super Bowl championship team, is calling out this bizarre pattern of how the league talks about Lamar. He’s been an NFL analyst since 2013, and he’s not holding back.
The Goalposts Keep Moving for Lamar
Ayanbadejo nailed it: Lamar Jackson’s perceived value in the media marketplace acts like a meme stock. It surges after an MVP season, then crashes hard after a playoff loss, almost like everyone forgets all the underlying fundamentals. The film, the production, his whole body of work, that stuff changes gradually. But his “narrative price” moves overnight, instantly. This dude is judged differently than almost any other quarterback we’ve seen. Every achievement Lamar earns feels like it takes the stairs, getting scrutinized at every single floor, only to be met at the top with a new reason why it wasn’t enough. Meanwhile, every piece of criticism arrives instantly, gets amplified to the max before anyone even checks if it’s true. Old narratives just refuse to die, like zombies. Evidence of underperformance gets weighed against his whole career, but any growth is treated as temporary. When the facts change, the framing just finds a new form. This narrative volatility is insane right now, and the Top 100 drop is Exhibit A. Trevor Lawrence landed at 62nd and Bo Nix at 59th in that same poll, somehow ahead of Lamar. Even Colin Cowherd ranked Jackson seventh in May, then dropped him to 11th in July, calling him an “expensive, declining” asset while boosting Drake Maye. Seriously?
Don’t Call Him ‘Declining’ At 29
Here’s the kicker: Ayanbadejo says skepticism about Lamar’s decision-making in playoff losses, his postseason ball security, and that 3-5 playoff record, yeah, that’s fair game for criticism. But declaring him a depreciating asset after just one season marred by injury? Come on. Lamar Jackson is 29 years old. Matthew Stafford just won MVP at 37! Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning won theirs at 37 or older, and Tom Brady, the GOAT, won at 40. Age is clearly not the issue here. Then there’s the Baltimore supporting cast, which was ranked 22nd in the league. Ayanbadejo points out the hypocrisy: when Jackson has an MVP-caliber season, critics say he’s “loaded with talent.” Then, preseason rankings come out, that “same” supporting cast is “below average,” and suddenly Lamar’s individual value collapses. That isn’t consistent evaluation; it’s pure narrative chaos. Ayanbadejo firmly believes that if every NFL player were up for a franchise draft today, with the goal to win now, not five players would be picked before Lamar Jackson.
People underestimating Lamar Jackson isn’t a fluke; it’s his norm. He rarely responds to the nonsensical commentary, but Ayanbadejo is stepping up to do it for him. This isn’t about one game or one play; it’s about a whole narrative fighting to redefine one of the league’s most electrifying talents. Ayanbadejo is speaking truth, and you know this conversation is far from over as the new season gets underway.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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