Modern NFL fans have a chance to watch the most talented quarterback of all time every week. That is precisely how Stephen A. Smith sees it whenever Lamar Jackson trots onto the field to quarterback the Baltimore Ravens.
Smith knows that there are more talented passers in the league, but sees Jackson as the best overall quarterback in NFL history. While most view the two-time MVP as a prolific rushing threat with average arm talent, Smith believes that the sport has never seen a player like Jackson line up under center.
“Specifically, as a thrower of the football, I do not think he is the best,” Smith said on ESPN's ‘First Take.' “But to answer this question — the most talented quarterback in the National Football League, considering all the components that come with playing the quarterback position, there is no question that there's never been an all-around talent at the quarterback position that equals Lamar Jackson. He is, without question, the best.”
"There has never been a talent, an all-around talent at the quarterback position, that equals Lamar Jackson."
Stephen A. Smith holds the Ravens QB to high regard 🗣️
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/vtSTUi2sfn
— NFL on ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsNFL) August 1, 2025
Early in his career, the biggest knock on Jackson was his tendency to scramble instead of making reads under pressure in the pocket. Smith discredited that notion by referencing Jackson's league-leading touchdown-interception ratio and career-low 8.2 percent rushing rate in 2024.
However, Smith acknowledged the other major criticism of Jackson's career: his inability to win in the playoffs. The ESPN personality claimed that once he can resolve that part of his game, Jackson will be widely viewed as an all-time great.
Ravens, Lamar Jackson favored to win Super Bowl LX
Despite his postseason woes, many expect Jackson to finally get over the hump in 2025. One month ahead of the regular season, the Ravens are favored to win Super Bowl LX, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. Baltimore has the lowest odds at +650, with the Buffalo Bills closely behind them at +700.
Since Jackson took over as the Ravens' full-time starting quarterback in 2019, they have just a 3-5 playoff record and have not won more than two games in a single postseason. Of those five losses, three have been against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Bills. Jackson is 0-3 against Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the playoffs, as Smith pointed out.
Jackson has led them to three AFC North titles in the last six seasons and twice clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but he cannot get to his elusive first Super Bowl. If he can finally cross that bridge in 2025, as the odds suggest, it would be Baltimore's first Super Bowl appearance since the 2012 season.
