Ravens' Lamar Jackson Reacts to Peyton Manning, Tom Brady
![Jul 27, 2024; Owings Mill , MD, USA; Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks up field to throw during the afternoon session of training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center, Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports Jul 27, 2024; Owings Mill , MD, USA; Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks up field to throw during the afternoon session of training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center, Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2875,h_1617,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/raven_country/01j5qr7b3dg076xed9sq.jpg)
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has long been hailed as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL today, and now some of the game's legends are echoing that sentiment.
At this weekend's Fanatics Fan Fest in New York, both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, two of the best quarterbacks to ever play, named Jackson among their top five signal-callers today. Brady said Jackson "always impresses me as a player, while Manning offered far more extensive praise.
“Lamar Jackson does things that just don’t seem possible with the football in his hands. He makes throws, he runs and he’s smart about — he protects himself, too,” Manning said. “Look, I never could run, so I never had that problem. The thing we were talking about earlier, quarterbacks that like to run, you still got to find a way to get out of bounds or get down and be there on the next play and not get hurt. Defenses — if the quarterback gets hurt, they’re probably going to win that game. So, I love the way Lamar carries himself. I think he’ll have a great year this year.”
That praise is not lost on Jackson, who, after Monday's practice, thanked Brady and Manning for their kind words.
"That's crazy. That's dope, especially coming from those guys," Jackson said. "Those [are] guys who [are] on top of the Mount Rushmore [of quarterbacks] right now, for me at least. That's great – that's great to hear that from the GOATs."
Jackson, 27, is fresh off his second MVP season in the past five years. It was also the best passing season of his career, as he completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He was also still a very effective rusher with 821 yards and five touchdowns, although he did rein it in a bit compared to past seasons.
As he prepares for his follow-up act, Jackson surely has a bit of extra motivation after hearing two legends speak so highly of him.