The Baltimore Ravens quarterback is officially the greatest scrambler in history.
Lamar Jackson is the fastest quarterback to reach 5,000 rushing yards and the greatest scrambler in history.
The Baltimore Ravens now have the greatest rushing quarterback of all time. With a gazelle-like stride, extreme athleticism, and a rocket arm, Lamar Jackson is one of the most exciting players the game has ever produced. Jackson is a superstar, a fan favorite, and an icon of the purple and gold. Jackson recently achieved one of the most astounding milestones in NFL history, accumulating 5,000 running yards. He not only hit the mark, but did it faster than any quarterback in history. Jackson broke the mark in just 82 games, which seems incredible.
In the league’s 103-year history, only four quarterbacks have accumulated 5,000 rush yards. Outside of Jackson, , Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson have all reached the 5,000 mark, but Jackson is the fastest. Cam Newton, for example, needed more than 130 games to accomplish the milestone, whereas Jackson needed only 82. By the same token, Russell Wilson had to play more than 150 games before making the list. Michal Vick leads the rushing leaderboard with slightly more than 6,000 career yards in 143 games. Jackson is on track to become the NFL’s all-time rushing leader (QB) well before retiring.
Lamar Jackson attended the University of Louisville from 2015-2017, where he cemented his legacy as arguably the greatest quarterback to come out of the school. As a freshman, Jackson showed promise, completing 54% of his passes and rushing for close to 1,000 yards. As a sophomore, Jackson took off. Every game, Jackson proved himself to be a walking (or running) highlight reel. There was nary a Saturday that Jackson wouldn’t be listed as number one on any network’s top plays. After becoming the most polarizing player in college football in less than two full seasons, Jackson was named the Heisman trophy winner in 2016. To this day, Jackson remains the youngest player to ever hoist the Heisman trophy at only 19 years old. During the campaign, Jackson passed for over 3,500 yards and rushed for over 1,500. The following season, Jackson posted even better numbers on his way to NFL superstardom.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Lamar Jackson with the 32nd pick in Round 1 of the 2018 NFL draft. With quarterback Joe Flacco already at the helm, many pundits were not in support of the move. Flacco had begun to show his age through lackluster play and nagging injuries, thus putting the Ravens in a peculiar spot. According to sources at the time, Baltimore had no intention of taking a quarterback. Rumors that Jackson could be available in the second round began to swirl, and Baltimore saw an opportunity to make a low-risk high-reward move. Ultimately, the Ravens were rewarded. Ironically, Jackson’s draft position slipped because of the effectiveness of his legs. Scouts began to diminish Jackson’s talent as a quarterback, insinuating that he should be delegated to a wide receiver or infamously “a running back”.
Well, maybe they were on to something. Lamar Jackson is only the second quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, Michael Vick is the other. Unlike Vick, Jackson has done it twice. That’s right, Lamar Jackson stands alone as the only quarterback in NFL history to post two seasons of 1,000 rushing yards. Not to mention, he did it consecutively. Jackson has been flying through Baltimore since the day he became the starter. In 2018 as a rookie, Jackson rushed for close to 700 yards, which was an indication of what would follow.
In 2019, Jackson posted 1,206 rushing yards on his way to winning the NFL’s MVP award. Jackson was the youngest to ever win the award at 22 years old. The following season in 2020, Jackson posted 1,005 rushing yards, his second straight season of a thousand yards. Due to injury, Jackson only played 12 games each in 2021 and 2022 but still managed to post over 750 rushing yards in each season. As for the 2023 season, Jackson has taken his overall game to the next level. The Ravens sit atop the AFC North and look to make a deep playoff run.
